Supporting a Just Transition in Scotland - how do we decouple consumption from growth?

To truly end our contribution to the climate crisis, we need to rethink how we consume in Scotland and around the world. We know that around four-fifths of Scotland’s footprint comes from the products and materials we manufacture, use and throw away.

This year we revealed in the Material Flow Account that the average Scot consumes 18.4 tonnes of materials every year – that’s the equivalent of 50kg per week on average. The evidence is clear. Consumption in Scotland is unsustainably high. Zero Waste Scotland will lead a series of discussions about this issue and how the circular economy can help us tackle it, we want to inspire people – citizens, business leaders, decision makers – to play their part.

Scotland has decarbonised its grid faster than most, however the reality is that four-fifths of our carbon footprint, and most of our impact on biodiversity globally comes from consumption of stuff, often imported from elsewhere. To reduce this, we need a new economic model that isn’t dictated by an addiction to GDP growth. This event will explore themes in the Decoupling Report, produced by Zero Waste Scotland and its Decoupling Advisory Group and looks at how we can support GDP growth by focusing on a circular and wellbeing economy.

This event will be streamed live from the Scotland Climate Ambition Zone and available for you to watch.