Re-designing a more circular Scottish economy

Policies to develop a more circular economy can unlock opportunities that change how businesses, supply chains and economies could operate in the 21st Century. Such approaches build on the application of earlier concepts of industrial ecology (Frosch and Gallopoulos, 1989), cradle-to-cradle (Braungart and MacDonough, 2002) and the performance economy (Stahel, 2010). This article explores the nature, benefits, barriers and enablers of the shift towards a more circular Scottish economy, drawing on the global evidence and the programme of research undertaken by the Scottish Government and its public sector partners. In particular, it assesses the nature and scale of the opportunities in two of Scotland’s growth sectors – oil & gas and the bioeconomy – and highlights the policy and evidence issues that will be important to support the transition to a more circular – and sustainable – Scottish economy.