Draft circular economy strategy: strategic environmental assessment

Introduction

1.1 Strategic Environmental Assessment?

This Draft Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) has been prepared to accompany a public consultation on A Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland (the Strategy).

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a statutory requirement under the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 (‘the 2005 Act’), to assess the likely significant environmental effects that a public plan, programme, or strategy (PPS) will have on the environment if implemented. The process identifies how adverse environmental effects can be avoided, minimised, reduced, or mitigated and how any positive effects can be enhanced. It also allows the public to give their view on the programme and its potential environmental impacts.

This SEA is an assessment of the likely significant environmental effects of the strategy and the alternatives to it. The Environmental Report considers the environmental effects of the Strategy as they would influence activities across Scotland. The SEA is required to consider the likely significant effects in relation to the following topics (referred to as the ‘SEA topics’): biodiversity fauna and flora; population and human health; soil; water; air; climatic factors (adaptation and mitigation); material assets; cultural heritage including architectural and archaeological heritage; and landscape; as well as the inter-relationship between the topics.

The assessment identifies positive and negative environmental effects and the significance of these; considers whether they would be temporary or permanent; and notes where they would arise in the short, medium or long term. It also distinguishes between effects arising directly from the Strategy and any ‘secondary’ effects, which would indirectly impact on the environment.

SEA comprises of 7 key stages which are set out in further detail on page 6.

The SEA approach has been amended where appropriate in response to the comments received from statutory consultees during the consultation period on the combined Screening and Scoping Reports.

1.2 Results

A summary of the SEA impacts within each sector and environmental topic area is provided in the table below. It should be noted that not all chapters of the Strategy were eligible for an SEA assessment at this stage due to the high level nature of the underlying priorities. Environmental effects of specific interventions should be assessed once these have been defined in more detail. For the Built Environment, the Food System, Transport and Textiles priority sectors, it has been possible to carry out a high-level assessment, but there is insufficient detail at present for Net Zero Energy Infrastructure. Net Zero Energy Infrastructure priority sector Policy Mechanisms and Product Stewardshipave therefore been excluded from the assessment.

Key

++ Significant positive

The majority of impacts identified are positive and are not expected to be offset to any significant extent by unintended consequences or negative impacts

+ Positive

More positive impacts were identified than negative, so effects are indirect, uncertain, or offset by some negative consequences.

/ Neutral or None

No significant impacts were identified, or a mixture of positive and negative effects are expected.

? Uncertain

The net effect is uncertain in nature, for example, both positive and negative impacts are expected to an uncertain degree.

1.3 Which reasonable alternatives have been considered?

The reasonable alternative of a more ambitious timeline was considered against the results of the assessment.

It was concluded that increasing urgency e.g. by attaching specific and ambitious timelines to the priorities within the Strategy, would reduce the uncertainty in the assessed environmental benefits, thus improving some of the SEA impacts.

The nature of the environmental impacts would be otherwise unchanged under an expedited version of the Strategy.