Material Flow Accounts (MFA)
Everything we use - from the food we eat to the energy we rely on - starts with materials from our planet. Material Flow Accounts help us understand how much we use, where it comes from, and its impact.
What is a Material Flow Account?
A Material Flow Account (MFA) tracks all the materials that flow into, around, and out of our economy. It helps us understand the true scale of the resources we use and the environmental impacts that come with them.
MFAs give us the evidence we need to prioritise a circular economy – one that’s more resilient, more efficient, and more sustainable.
Why is an MFA Important?
Scotland’s MFA helps us track progress towards a circular economy and supports decisions for the economy, national resilience, and a just transition by showing:
- Which sectors are consuming the most resources
- How reliant we are on imported materials, including critical minerals
- Where the environmental impacts are the highest
Explore Scotland’s latest MFA
Zero Waste Scotland has published the nation’s most in-depth MFA to date, highlighting risks to Scotland’s resource resilience.
For the first time, using a more refined methodology, the MFA provides a full sector by sector breakdown of Scotland’s material use, carbon emissions, and wider environmental impacts. Through this, it’s clear where demand is highest and, crucially, where circular economy actions and practices can have the greatest impact in cutting resource use, reducing emissions, and improving resilience.