Business Plan 2025/26 – 2026/27

1.1

Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) is a Non-Ministerial Office established under the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 and accountable to the Scottish Parliament.

1.2

Our role is to monitor, investigate and secure public authorities’ compliance with environmental law in Scotland. We also scrutinise the effectiveness of environmental law and policy in Scotland and how it is implemented and applied. In our investigative and analytical reports, we may also identify instances where we consider there to be gaps in environmental protection legislation.

1.3

To deliver on these responsibilities ESS previously worked to the Strategic Plan 2022-25, which set out our approach from the point the organisation was originally established in 2021. This first three-year plan concluded within this reporting period and has been succeeded by our new five-year Strategy 2026-2031.

1.4

Due to this cross-over period, this Business Plan will consider both achievements from the final year of the Strategic Plan 2022-25, alongside key priorities for the first year of the Strategy 2026-2031, through to March 2027.

2.1

During the period covered by this Plan, there will be a Scottish Parliament election. There will be a significant turnover of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and the establishment of new committees by the new Parliament and potentially a new legislative programme. ESS will work with the new committees of the Parliament to ensure that its accountability to the Parliament operates effectively.

2.2

The Plan will also cover the preparation, integration and delivery of new aspects of scrutiny for ESS. This includes scrutinising local authorities’ delivery and reporting of their climate change duties and acting as the new Independent Review Body for scrutinising progress towards the delivery of Scotland’s statutory targets for nature recovery. Our prioritised objectives will ensure ESS is ready to meet and report on these new responsibilities.

3.1

Our Strategy 2026-2031 sets out how we will work as an organisation to deliver a series of strategic objectives which, together, will help us progress towards achieving our Vision.

3.2

We will report our progress publicly through our annual Business Plans, alongside our Annual Report and Accounts. We will also update the Scottish Parliament directly on our progress with videos, Committee appearances and written correspondence, all of which we publish on the ESS website.

3.3

As set out in the ‘our work’ section below, a review of the Strategic Plan took place across 2025/26 culminating in the publication of our new Strategy in March 2026. An overview of our revised approach is summarised on the next page.

3.4

ESS’ vision is:

• ‘by holding public authorities to account, we will ensure that Scotland’s people and nature benefit from a high-quality, healthy environment through improved compliance with and better implementation of effective environmental law’

3.5

Our Principles set out that we will:

• be independent and trusted
• be evidence-driven
• be open and transparent
• engage widely and effectively
• seek to resolve issues through agreement where appropriate
• prioritise our efforts and resources to maximise our impact

3.6

We have set key priorities going forward:

• climate change: driving climate change mitigation and adaptation
• nature: reversing biodiversity loss and delivering healthy ecosystems
• resources: securing sustainable resource use, reducing waste and developing a circular economy
• water: protecting and enhancing Scotland’s freshwater, coastal and marine systems

3.7

We will continue to consider all representations raised with us by members of the public on any environmental topic. We will signpost people to relevant organisations if their concern does not fall within our remit.

3.8

Alongside this work we took the opportunity to also review our approach to communications and performance management, culminating in the development of a new Communications and Engagement Plan and updated key performance indicators and performance management indicators.

4.1

ESS’ Chair Dr Richard Dixon leads a Board made up of six other members. Our Board meets regularly and the minutes of its meetings are available on our Publications page, as are the minutes of the Audit and Risk Committee.

4.2

ESS is accountable to the Scottish Parliament and has a legal duty to report on its activities each year. As a body corporate, ESS operates in line with the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 and has a duty to produce annual accounts in line with the Government Financial Reporting Manual. All Annual Reports and Accounts are published on the ESS website alongside all other corporate and governance reports.

4.3

The ESS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Roberts, is the Accountable Officer for ESS. The CEO is responsible to the Scottish Parliament for: the propriety and regularity of ESS’ finances; the economical, efficient and effective use of the resources placed at its disposal; and for signing ESS’ accounts.

4.4

Deloitte LLP provides the external audit function for ESS on behalf of Audit Scotland. Scottish Government Internal Audit provides an audit advisory service to the Accountable Officer and the Audit and Risk Committee.

5.1

ESS’ Business Plan for the period from April 2025 to March 2026 was published in April 2025. Set out below are the key pieces of work which were identified for the financial year 2025/26. A progress update is included alongside each item.

6.1

The sections below set out the key priorities and outputs that will be delivered from April 2026 to March 2027, in this the first year of the new Strategy 2026-2031. These actions will be reviewed quarterly and updated as required.

Objective 1 – Securing compliance and improving effectiveness

6.2

Objective 1 of the Strategy 2026-2031 outlines that ‘ESS has significant statutory powers to secure public authorities’ compliance with environmental law and to bring about improvements to the effectiveness of environmental law and how it is implemented or applied, with the aim of protecting and improving the environment and public health’.

6.3

We set out our intention to:

• take action to ensure public authorities’ compliance with environmental law
• take steps to improve the effectiveness of environmental law
• seek to reach agreement with public authorities on action needed to protect the environment before using our enforcement powers
• where enforcement action is taken, be clear on the nature of the environmental failing and the changes and outcomes required, and ensure the necessary steps are taken within agreed timescales
• report publicly on all enforcement action, including what has been agreed with public authorities, results of monitoring of implementation, and outcomes achieved

Key pieces of work for 2026/27

6.4

We will:

Objective 2 – Analysing and investigating environmental concerns

6.5

Objective 2 of Strategy 2026-2031 outlines the importance of our functions in ‘ensuring that we analyse and investigate the most important environmental concerns’ to protect that environment’.

6.6

We have two mechanisms to do this:

• individual members of the public, community groups, whistleblowers and organisations can highlight concerns about compliance and effectiveness to us (we call these ‘representations’)
• our own proactive work to monitor and analyse environmental performance and engagement with stakeholders can highlight areas of concern about compliance with, and the effectiveness of, environmental law and may result in more detailed work

6.7

We also:

• seek independent, external expert advice if necessary to reach a full and robust decision
• publish full details of concluded investigations and analytical work, including what action we think needs to be taken and where relevant, what changes have been agreed with public authorities
• explain and publish our reasoning, and offer as much assistance as possible, where we may choose not to take an issue forward
• consider relevant international obligations, standards and laws, paying particular attention to maintaining alignment with positive developments in environmental policy, law and regulation in the European Union. We will also look globally to identify further examples of good practice across the full breadth of our remit

Key pieces of work for 2026/27

6.8

The table below sets out planned actions to meet this strategic objective.

We will:

Objective 3 – Monitoring and scrutinising environmental performance

6.9 

Objective 3 of Strategy 2026-2031 outlines the commitment of ESS in utilising evidence and research to identify where there may be non-compliance with environmental law, or ineffective law or implementation.

6.10

We set out our intention to:

• engage with public authorities, evidence partners, research institutions, citizen scientists and wider stakeholders to understand the current situation and inform investigation or analysis
• maintain our independence and strive to be a well-connected organisation. We will engage widely with other environmental organisations, and seek opportunities to work in partnership to drive improvements in environmental data monitoring and reporting in Scotland
• if necessary, commission work, or issue our own calls for evidence from stakeholders about compliance, how the law is working in practice, and whether tools and measures are sufficient and effective
• respond to consultations and calls for views on environmental law from the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government and other public authorities
• prepare for, integrate and start delivering new aspects of scrutiny, including: local authorities delivery and reporting of statutory climate change duties, and acting as an independent review body scrutinising progress towards Scotland’s nature recovery targets

Key pieces of work for 2026/27

6.11

The table below sets out planned actions to meet this strategic objective.

We will:

Objective 4 – Engaging and communicating effectively

6.12

Objective 4 of the 2025-2031 Strategy explains our approach to effective and engaging communication.

6.13

We set out our intention to be:

• independent – we will communicate our findings and views through our communication channels with a distinct and confident voice free from bias and influence
• trusted – we will ensure that the content of all our work is factual and objective, and will communicate in a timely and consistent manner
• transparent – we will publish all our procedures, updates on our progress and our completed work, and will explain our findings
• effective – we will outline why our work is relevant to the people of Scotland and the Scottish environment in a clear and accessible way, and communicate the longer-term outcomes of our findings and recommendations. ensure our work is well understood and accessible to all

6.14

Strong relationships with our stakeholders will ensure:

• ESS’ accountability
• the ability of the public to raise concerns with ESS
• knowledge and evidence exchange across the environmental governance system
• understanding of the different roles of different bodies
• assurance that we are adding value through our work

Key pieces of work for 2026/27

6.15

The table below sets out planned actions to meet this strategic objective.

We will:

Objective 5 – Being an effective and efficient organisation

6.16

Objective 5 of the Strategy 2026-2031 is a commitment to ensuring that ESS runs as efficiently and effectively as possible in the public interest so that it remains a trusted environmental voice.

6.17

We set out our intention to:

• align with the commitment in our People Strategy to attract and keep the right people, develop and nurture our people, and enable great performance and delivery
• prioritise diversity, equality and inclusion and wellbeing
• have a professional and trusting working culture with respect and empowerment at the core of how we work
• ensure that all members of our team are able to continue to develop and have the space and opportunity to try new ideas and innovations
• meet the public sector duties as set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2004 as set out in our Sustainability Plan
• complement our team with support from other organisations including legal, human resources, cyber security and information technology
• explore opportunities to collaborate with others
• continue to maintain a clear approach to how we allocate and prioritise our spending to ensure best value
• write to the Scottish Parliament each year to set out whether we believe the draft budget is sufficient to perform our functions, and publish information in our annual report on whether the yearly budget has enabled us to deliver on our functions
• ensure our plans and operational activity are regularly reviewed and accountable
• publish an Annual Business Plan at the start of each financial year to set out the work we plan to do and the outputs we aim to publish

Key pieces of work for 2026/27

6.18

The table below sets out planned actions to meet this strategic objective.

We will:

7.1

We will evaluate both the impact of our work and the effectiveness of how we work, to deliver on our Strategy 2026-2031 ambitions.

7.2

We use a theory of change approach to demonstrate how our scrutiny work has an impact on the environment. We also utilise key performance indicators (KPIs) and performance management indicators (PMIs) to measure our organisational performance.

7.3

Together these approaches will enable us to assess how well we are achieving our vision.

Theory of change

7.4

For each of our major investigations and analytical projects that make recommendations for improvement, we will prepare a theory of change to explain how the actions taken by ESS are expected to contribute ultimately to improved environmental outcomes.

7.5

We will include details of these in our publications which are published on our website.

7.6

Each theory of change will set out the intended improvements to environmental law and regulation, the chain of events that is expected to result in improvements, any key assumptions that underpin our theory of change and the wider context.

7.7

Each theory of change will also identify specific indicators that ESS will use to track improvements in areas of the environment in which ESS has acted.

Long-term outcomes

7.8

In addition to these indicators, we will commission detailed case studies on a three-yearly basis to examine the long-term outcomes of our work and ESS’ contribution to changes in law, policy and regulation which will be published on our website.

7.9

Those improvements should, alongside other contributing factors, lead to better environmental outcomes for nature and people and contribute to the achievement of Scotland’s ambitions for the environment and climate change.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Performance Management Indicators (PMIS)

7.10

We also measure our organisational effectiveness on a regular basis using PMIs and KPIs.

7.11

Our PMIs set out below include a wide range of operational and management information related to our investigation and analysis work, our engagement and profile, delivery against our People Strategy pillars, delivery of our annual Business Plan objectives and compliance with governance and financial reporting requirements set out below.

7.12

These PMIs are organised under three KPIs:

• performance, focusing on ESS’ operational effectiveness
• people, demonstrate how well we are supporting our staff and delivering against our People Strategy
• profile, measuring how well we are promoting the work of ESS and delivering against our Communication and Engagement Plan priorities

This will enable us to describe and explain our progress each year in a qualitative and quantitative way.

7.13

The first year of reporting performance against these KPIs and PMIs will be at the end of the financial year April 2026 to March 2027. All PMI data will be made available on the ESS website each year, and published alongside the Annual Report and Accounts by end of October.

7.14

In the annual report and accounts, a revised performance management section will be added, which will focus on a descriptor of progress under the three KPIs. In this section, we will indicate whether we have: met, partially met, or not met our ambitions in this area.

7.15

Our KPIs will remain constant across the period of this Strategy. However, to enable a flexible approach, and to build more challenge into our KPIs over time, we will regularly review our PMIs, which may be added to, or enhanced, where additional insight is required.

Key:

Objective 1. Securing compliance and improving effectiveness

Objective 2. Analysing and investigating environmental concerns

Objective 3. Monitoring and scrutinising environmental performance

Objective 4. Engaging and communicating effectively

Objective 5. Being an efficient and effective organisation