Draft circular economy strategy: consultation

Next steps: How you can get involved

Handling your response

If you respond using the consultation hub, you will be directed to the About You page before submitting your response. Please indicate how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are content for your response to published. If you ask for your response not to be published, we will regard it as confidential, and we will treat it accordingly.

All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Government is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider any request made to it under that Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation exercise.

If you are unable to respond via Citizen Space, please complete and return the Respondent Information Form provided alongside this document.

To find out how we handle your personal data you can view the privacy policy here: Privacy - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Next steps in the process

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public, and after we have checked that they contain no potentially defamatory material, responses will be made available to the public at Citizen Space. If you use the consultation hub to respond, you will receive a copy of your response via email.

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us. Responses will be published where we have been given permission to do so. An analysis report will also be made available.

Comments and complaints

If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted,

please send them to the contact address above or email above

circulareconomy@gov.scot

Scottish Government consultation process

Consultation is an essential part of the policymaking process. It gives us the opportunity to consider your opinion and expertise on a proposed area of work.

You can find all our consultations online: Citizen Space. Each consultation details the issues under consideration, as well as a way for you to give us your views, either online, by email or by post at the relevant addresses above.

Responses will be analysed and used as part of the decision-making process, along with a range of other available information and evidence. We will publish a report of this analysis for every consultation. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:

• indicate the need for policy development or review
• inform the development of a particular policy
• help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals
• be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented

While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body.

Consultation questions

Vision and Outcomes

Question 1: To what extent do you agree with the vision and outcomes for the strategy?

[Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Not answered]

Question 2: Do you have any comments on the vision?

Question 3: Do you have any comments on the outcomes?

Policy Mechanisms

Question 4: To what extent do you agree with the policy mechanisms identified? [Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Not answered]

Question 5: Do you have any comments on the policy mechanisms identified?

Question 6: Do you have any comments on the associated plans and priorities?

Priority Sectors

Question 7: To what extent do you agree with the priority sectors identified? [Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Not answered]

Question 8: Do you have any comments on the priority sectors identified? Question 8a: Do you have any comments on the plans and priorities for the built environment?

Question 8b: Do you have any comments on the plans and priorities for the Net Zero Energy Infrastructure?

Question 8c: Do you have any comments on the plans and priorities for textiles?

Question 8d: Do you have any comments on the plans and priorities for the transport?

Question 8e: Do you have any comments on the plans and priorities for the food system?

Product Stewardship

Question 9: Do you have any comments on the proposed approach to product stewardship?

Circular Economy Monitoring and Indicator Framework

Question 10: Are there any changes or additions that you would like to suggest in relation to the Circular Economy Monitoring and Indicator Framework to ensure it is fit for purpose?

• No
• Yes (If yes, please specify below in relation to the framework as a whole and under the relevant outcome sub-questions below if in relation to specific indicators/outcomes)

Question 10a: Do you have any comments in relation to the indicators proposed for outcome “The economic value derived from material use is maximised without increasing our environmental impacts”?

Question 10b: Do you have any comments in relation to the indicators proposed for outcome “The Scottish economy is more resilient to disruptions in global supply of materials, including critical raw materials”?

Question 10c: Do you have any comments in relation to the indicators proposed for outcome “Business and entrepreneurs have opportunities to develop circular economy innovations”?

Question 10d: Do you have any comments in relation to the indicators proposed for outcome “Non-renewable resource extraction is minimised and renewable resource use is sustainable”?

Question 10e: Do you have any comments in relation to the indicators proposed for outcome “The negative environmental impact of our production, consumption and disposal is minimised”?

Question 10f: Do you have any comments in relation to the indicators proposed for outcome “The negative impacts experienced internationally from production, consumption and disposal are reduced”?

Question 10g: Do you have any comments in relation to the indicators proposed for outcome “People and communities engage in and benefit from circular activities in a fair and inclusive way”?

Question 10h: Do you have any comments in relation to the indicators proposed for outcome “Circular behaviours are the norm across business and society”?

Impact Assessments

We are committed to assessing the impact of proposals. Alongside this draft circular economy strategy, we have published a series of assessments of the potential impacts on equality, socio-economic considerations, island communities, business and regulation, and the environment. This is in accordance with our legislative requirements and, importantly, to inform the final policy development process. High-level partial and screening impact assessments have been developed to accompany this consultation.

The publication of the strategy itself will not result in direct impacts. However, it is expected that, depending on the design, specific priorities may have an impact if they are introduced. We aim to use this consultation process to highlight potential overarching impacts for sectors or themes. The feedback we receive will be used to update the high-level impact assessments accompanying this consultation. We will also incorporate feedback to inform future impact assessments for specific priorities, as required.

Question 11: Please provide any further information or evidence that should be considered in the accompanying Equalities Impact Assessment. Question 12: Please provide any further information or evidence that should be considered in the accompanying Fairer Scotland Assessmen.t Question 13: Please provide any further information or evidence that should be considered in the accompanying Island Communities Impact Assessment. Question 14: Please provide any further information or evidence that should be considered in the accompanying Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment.

Question 15: Please provide any further information or evidence that should be considered in the accompanying Consumer Duty Impact Assessment.

Question 16: Please provide any further information or evidence that should be considered in the Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires those plans, programmes and strategies that are likely to have a significant impact on the environment to be assessed and measures to avoid, prevent or reduce adverse effects are sought, where possible, prior to implementation.

The responses received to this consultation, and the findings of the SEA, will inform the final strategy and will be reflected upon in the Post Adoption Statement. Scottish Government will also monitor the implementation and environmental effects resulting from implementing the strategy. This will be considered further as part of our development of the associated monitoring and indicator framework.

The SEA Environmental Report is being consulted on alongside the draft Circular Economy Strategy. Use this SEA Environmental report link to read the report and send consultation response by Tuesday 13 January 2026.

Question 17: Do you have any views on whether there are likely to be any positive or negative environmental impacts from the draft Environment Strategy that have not been identified in the Strategic Environmental Assessment?