Circular Communities Scotland welcomes the Scottish Government’s 2026-2031 Programme for Government, a key document that sets out the government’s priorities and what it aims to deliver over the next 5 years.

On behalf of our membership, we’re pleased to see that tackling the climate emergency remains one of the government’s top priorities. 80% of Scotland’s carbon footprint is linked to the products and materials we consume, making reuse and waste reduction key to achieving the government’s climate goals. We are concerned, however, that the Programme for Government lacks explicit commitments and detail on the action that will be taken to reprioritise our approach to waste, to focus on prevention and reuse over recycling.

We also welcome commitments to place community empowerment and community wealth building at the heart of a new model of governance, and to publish a new Social Economy Strategy. Our members are already helping to build stronger local economies, creating green jobs and generating significant social value in their communities. Stronger, national support has the potential to help our sector realise even greater impact and outcomes.

There is also a strong focus on delivery throughout the document, and circular economy must be one of the areas that is followed through: we have legislation, a strategy and route map – now we need to see the actions within these delivered. A key upcoming test will be whether circular economy targets are ambitious and measurable.

While there is a risk that public service reform could take attention away from this much needed delivery, we support the principles of developing more efficient public services and focusing on prevention and early intervention. The circular economy, and our members, should be recognised as vital to achieving these, and increasing the third sectors capacity would help to build more resilient economies, stronger communities, and a healthier environment.

We look forward to working with the government and its partners to help turn circular economy commitments into reality, and to ensure that the transition is delivered in a way that keeps wealth within communities, delivers a just transition, and helps meet our climate goals.

To discuss our policy work in more detail, email our Circular Economy Policy Officer becky@circularcommunities.scot.