Creating the conditions for circularity for Scottish businesses
Author
Helen Lavery, Zero Waste Scotland’s Business Support Manager, shares how we work with organisations to create the right conditions for circularity across Scotland.
Circularity is sometimes treated as a specialist concern, yet for many Scottish businesses it is already part of everyday decision making.
Our business support team at Zero Waste Scotland works with organisations that are managing tight margins, changing markets and complex supply chains. What we see consistently is that circular approaches help firms reduce risk, open up new revenue and strengthen competitiveness. The task is to make these opportunities easier to recognise and act on, not to ask businesses to make a leap into the unknown.
Bringing circularity into the conversation
To help with this, we are supporting the wider business support system in Scotland so that circularity becomes a natural part of mainstream advice. Many companies first speak to local advisers, membership organisations or sector bodies long before they approach a specialist programme. If those touchpoints understand the commercial value of circular practices, more businesses will see where the benefits lie. We work to build that understanding, from how circular models can create income and new markets to how they can make businesses more resilient in the face of external shocks.
Finding value beyond waste
A systems approach underpins this work. Businesses do not operate in isolation but sit within networks of suppliers, customers, infrastructure and policy influences. Looking at these connections helps identify the points where targeted support can shift outcomes at scale. It also reframes circularity away from a narrow focus on bin choices or recycling rates and towards the bigger question of how value is retained in products and materials for as long as possible. When conversations start there, the economic logic becomes clearer and the practical options more visible.
Putting ideas into action
Businesses want to know what works in practice, not just in theory. That is why we run collaborative cohort activity that brings companies together around shared challenges. In construction, for example, we have supported contractors and waste management firms to explore how materials traditionally treated as waste can be kept in the value chain for longer. This sort of collaboration allows peers to learn from each other and to test approaches that are more effective when tried collectively than by a single firm working alone.
From practical choices to strategic change
A recurring theme in our conversations is that many firms are already more circular than they realise. Actions taken for cost saving or efficiency reasons are often circular in effect. Reusing components, repairing rather than replacing, or buying refurbished assets all keep value in circulation. Recognising these choices as part of a deliberate circular strategy can be the bridge to exploring more ambitious models, such as take back arrangements with suppliers or service based offerings that retain ownership of high value assets.
Long‑term resilience, not short‑term cycles
Risk reduction deserves particular attention. Supply chains face growing disruption from climate impacts and other external shocks. Businesses that can repair, remanufacture or reuse materials and components are less exposed to price volatility and delays. We see this principle emerging in different contexts. In the Highlands, for instance, partners are exploring how circular options such as remanufacturing major components could complement new industrial activity and help avoid the boom and bust cycles seen in the past. The specifics vary by place and sector, but the resilience logic is consistent.
Support from Zero Waste Scotland
Scale is less important to us than potential impact, although we often work with small and medium sized enterprises because they can move quickly and demonstrate outcomes. SMEs tell us that time and confidence are major constraints. That is understandable, which is why accessible entry points are essential.
The Business Information Hub is designed to help organisations get started at their own pace. It provides plain language explanations, practical tools and examples that show what circularity looks like in the real world. Used well, it can shorten the path from curiosity to action.
