Technical Information: Global Footprint:
We are responsible global citizens with a sustainable international footprint

Last updated: 04 November 2021

Global environmental impact of Scotland’s consumption

Options for indicators to understand and track the overseas environmental impact of our consumption in Scotland are being considered - recognising that living with the planet’s sustainable limits will require us to reduce our consumption of the world’s resources. An indicator of Scotland’s water footprint is currently under development.



Percentage of Scotland’s waste managed in Scotland

Indicator Updated: 04 November 2021

% of waste managed in Scotland by method (%)
Year All Waste Disposed Recycled Recovered
2014 87.76 99.06 80.02 70.66
2015 89.65 98.75 84.50 75.22
2016 86.42 96.65 83.90 50.03
2017 86.15 97.56 83.07 50.78
2018 86.77 96.94 82.07 69.49

This indicator reports for each type of treatment (recycled, recovered or disposed), the annual amount of Scotland’s waste managed in Scotland by volume as a percentage of Scottish waste managed anywhere. Recovered waste is used for fuel and energy generation. Disposed waste includes waste landfilled or disposed by incineration.

Source: The underlying waste volume data is produced by SEPA, from which the indicator is calculated. A summary of the waste generated and managed in Scotland is available here. All waste data for Scotland is available here.

Update Frequency: Annual

Further Information: NA



Sustainability of fish stocks

Indicator Updated: 04 November 2021

% of fish stocks fished sustainably (%)
Year Fish mortality below maximum sustainable yield Spawning Stock Biomass below maximum sustainable yield trigger point Combined mean
1991 10.43 38.46 24.45
1992 11.13 39.72 25.42
1993 11.31 37.74 24.53
1994 10.88 37.17 24.03
1995 9.89 46.26 28.07
1996 13.25 37.20 25.23
1997 12.54 45.13 28.84
1998 9.54 48.98 29.26
1999 10.60 50.48 30.54
2000 14.64 47.04 30.84
2001 15.95 51.94 33.95
2002 17.73 59.01 38.37
2003 22.86 58.10 40.48
2004 27.46 62.20 44.83
2005 25.77 57.57 41.67
2006 19.71 53.45 36.58
2007 19.03 50.41 34.72
2008 21.79 57.19 39.49
2009 27.67 66.20 46.93
2010 34.24 72.15 53.20
2011 38.46 72.02 55.24
2012 46.39 71.56 58.97
2013 49.70 63.56 56.63
2014 41.81 64.42 53.12
2015 43.87 69.89 56.88
2016 49.47 68.86 59.17
2017 43.42 77.14 60.28
2018 56.97 77.53 67.25

This National Statistics indicator reports the percentage of Scottish fish stocks each year which are fished sustainably i.e. fished at or below the level at which the fish are able to replenish themselves, without stocks being depleted.

Source: Data for this indicator for each relevant fish stock are taken from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) assessments of annual fishing mortality and the corresponding ICES estimates for the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) reference points for fishing mortality and spawning stock biomass, where available. The determination of which stocks to include in the indicator was made based on the value of stocks landed by Scottish vessels by value in 2019, as listed in Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics (Table 5) for 2019.

Update Frequency: Annual

Further Information: Sustainability of fish stocks indicator information is available on the National Performance Framework website.