Circularity Gap Report

The whole world is currently moving towards net zero. But we can only end our contribution towards the climate crisis if we look, honestly, at what and how we consume and make changes.

It is clear that we use too much virgin material. By introducing circular strategies, such as using products for as long as possible, Scotland can cut its material consumption per capita from 22 tonnes per person per year to 12.

We must accelerate the transition to a more circular economy.

The Circularity Gap Report provides us with an understanding of the most impactful opportunities, and how these can be delivered through coordinated action from government and business.

The Circularity Gap Report analyses material flows. This paints a picture of the scale and nature of Scotland’s consumption by calculating all the raw materials used to make products (e.g. oil and metal ores) and all the finished products we consume, whether made in Scotland or imported.

This is used to understand the volume of material in Scotland that is currently being ‘cycled’ back into use – what is known as the Circularity Metric.

It also outlines Scotland’s material and carbon footprint.

The report found:

• Only 1.3% of the resources Scotland uses are cycled back into the economy, with over 98% of Scotland’s material use coming from virgin resources.
• Scotland’s per capita material footprint is 21.7 tonnes, nearly double the global average of 11.9 tonnes.
• Scotland extracts 22.8 tonnes of material per person per year, 60% of which comes from fossil fuels. The UK average is 5.5.
• High consumption and extraction tie into a similarly large consumption-based carbon footprint of 75 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e).

This means that consumption in Scotland is unsustainably high. This is, in part, due to the quantity of things we buy – but also due to the way we operate as a society.

A circular economy will have big implications for the economy and on jobs.

Putting circular strategies into action could create nearly 60,000 new jobs, especially in labour-intensive sectors such as repair, maintenance and waste management.

As well as showing how circular Scotland’s economy already is, the report also provides policymakers and business leaders with a roadmap of seven scenarios.

Each scenario sets out opportunities to increase the country’s circularity and, in turn, regenerate vital eco-systems and build on Scotland’s climate leadership.

Combined, not only would these scenarios cut both Scotland’s carbon and material footprint by roughly 43%, reducing Scotland's resource use and bringing it’s circularity to 11.8%: