Draft circular economy strategy: consultation

1. Introduction - the benefit of change

A circular economy drives sustainable growth, competitiveness, innovation and jobs, and is vital to achieving our climate and environmental goals.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a circular approach to our economy, where we move from a "take, make and dispose" model to one where we value the materials we use. Economic models based on ever-increasing resource extraction and high carbon intensity are simply not sustainable. That is why embedding circularity within our economy is essential to ensure resilience and sustainability.

A more circular economy brings benefits at all levels (see figure 1). At a national level it can increase the resilience of our supply chains, promote innovation, create jobs, drive skills development, and ensure the country is well positioned to take advantage of key global macro-economic trends over the coming decades.

A circular economy benefits individual businesses by increasing efficiency, reducing costs, providing resilience to commodity price fluctuations, and responding to consumer demand. It strengthens communities by providing local employment opportunities, skills development and lower cost options to access the goods we need.

It is also fundamental to tackling climate change and other global challenges like biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution, by decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources. Such a shift requires systemic change, where economic growth goes hand-in-hand with sustainable resource management. For a circular economy to work effectively it needs to drive economic growth while aligning with the 'waste hierarchy'^[2]: the order of preferences for action to reduce and manage waste. A circular economy should always endeavour to keep materials in use as high up the waste hierarchy and for as long as possible.

Further detail on the development of the strategy is included at Appendix 1.

The image is an infographic titled 'The Circular Economy and its Benefits'. It consists of concentric coloured circles with icons and text, illustrating the principles and benefits of a circular economy.

The focus of the infographic shows the Circular Economy process which starts with 'Take less' and links to a cluster of actions surrounding the core activity of 'Use'. The surrounding actions are: 'Make', 'Recycle', 'Reuse', 'Remanufacture' and 'Repair.' These are connected with lines and arrows, showing a continuous cycle between actions. The process ends with a line to 'Waste less'.

Around the Circular Economy process, the environmental benefits of the Circular Economy are in a green circle and listed as:

• Protect biodiversity
• Reduce consumption
• Value resources
• Lower carbon emissions
• Reduce pollution

The outer circle is purple and lists the economic benefits of a circular economy as:

• Investment
• Innovation
• Resilience
• Jobs
• Prosperity
• Skills