The future Scotland wants – is it really all about Sustainable Economic Growth?

This article analyses the legal and practical implications of the Scottish Government's overall stated objective of increasing sustainable economic growth and the further implications that arise now that the term is formalised in legislation. It draws on the author's previous research into use of legal duties to deliver government objectives and the meaning and delivery of sustainable development and economic development. It is based on a critical review of Scottish Government policy, the provisions of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, as well as the written and oral evidence submitted to parliamentary committees scrutinising Bills, their reports, and the subsequent Government responses. More broadly, the article examines the relationship between sustainable economic growth and the more widely accepted and used objective of sustainable development as complementary or contrasting policy objectives and legal duties. In doing so, it also aims to demonstrate the difficulties governments face in trying to put flesh on the bones of the Brundtland definition of sustainable development and accelerate progress towards sustainable living.