Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the process of transforming raw materials into finished goods through various processes while maintaining economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
Scotland’s manufacturing spans from heritage sectors like whisky, textiles, and timber to advanced industries including satellites, aquaculture, life sciences, and heat pumps.
Gross Value Added (GVA) to Scotland's economy in 2023:
Percentage of Scotland's international exports:
Percentage of innovation-active manufacturing businesses in past three years:
Manufacturing a circular economy
The circular economy offers a sustainable alternative to the traditional linear model of "take, make, waste". If you're involved in manufacturing in Scotland, especially in a leadership or strategic role, now is the time to:
- Explore circular design and production models to reduce waste and increase product lifecycle.
- Engage with government and industry bodies for support and collaboration.
- Invest in innovation and workforce development to stay competitive in high-growth sectors.
- Consider remanufacturing and resource efficiency as pathways to profitability and sustainability.
Circular economy principles in manufacturing
Design for Longevity and Reuse: Products are designed to last longer, be easily repaired, upgraded, or reused. Modular design and standardised components make disassembly and remanufacturing easier.
Use of Renewable and Recycled Materials: Prioritise bio-based, recycled, or sustainably sourced materials. Reduce reliance on virgin raw materials and critical resources.
Resource Efficiency and Waste Minimisation: Optimise production processes to reduce energy, water, and material use. Implement lean manufacturing and closed-loop systems.
Product-as-a-Service Models: Shifting from selling products to offering services (e.g. leasing, maintenance contracts) encourages manufacturers to retain ownership and responsibility for product lifecycle.
Reverse Logistics and Take-Back Schemes: Systems for collecting used products for refurbishment, remanufacturing, or recycling enables recovery of valuable materials and components.
Digital Technologies for Circularity: IoT, AI, and blockchain can track materials, monitor product health, and optimise resource flows. Reduce downtime and waste through digital twins and predictive maintenance.
Circular opportunities being explored in Scotland
Remanufacturing
Offers potential for significant job creation and revenue growth.
Construction Materials Reuse
Circular practices in the built environment are gaining traction.
Food & Bioeconomy
Identified as high-impact sectors for circular innovation.
Critical Raw Materials
Focus on reducing dependency on virgin materials and improving recovery from waste streams.
Tools and resources
Circular Economy Toolkit
The Circular Economy Toolkit has consolidated all of the opportunities and provided information on how your company could start finding benefits. Read through the toolkit, complete the 5 minute opportunity assessment tool and run your own workshop to start creating more valuable and sustainable products and services.
Circular Glasgow ACTS Toolkit
The Circular Glasgow ACTS Toolkit tackles the unique challenges SMEs face when adopting more sustainable practices.
Scottish Enterprise Net Zero Accelerator Tool
The Scottish Enterprise Net Zero Accelerator Tool can help your organisation to create a roadmap to reducing its harmful emissions to net zero.
Support from external organisations
National Manufacturing Institute Scotland
The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland helps manufacturers of all sizes, and from all sectors, seize the opportunity to realise their net-zero ambitions by making it easier to develop and embrace new technologies while de-risking innovation, and supporting them in their efforts to transition to a low carbon economy.
Scottish Institute for Remanufacturing
The Scottish Institute for Remanufacturing supports the remanufacturing community in Scotland and beyond, by providing collaborative links between academia and industry, supporting funding opportunities, through education and training, and providing a central hub of knowledge and expertise to allow business to develop and sustain remanufacturing business models.
