Packaged science? Incumbent strategies of science capture from a power perspective

•This paper explores incumbent strategies that target mechanisms of science for policymaking.•It studies resistance to moving away from single-use models towards more circular ones.•Power analysis helps uncover deeply rooted patterns of incumbency. Transitions to a circular economy in Europe have not accelerated despite being a priority of the Green Deal. One reason behind the slow uptake is the active resistance by incumbent actors. This article explores the case of Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation to uncover resistance and capture strategies of incumbent single-use and takeaway industry actors that succeeded in reducing the ambition of the policy. Building on lobbying databases, and document and media analysis, the article uncovers strategies of using the legitimacy of science to exert influence. It shows how incumbents created doubts about the evidence base and produced their own scientific messaging; presents the ways they legitimised their role as scientific stakeholders in institutional settings; and examines the approach they took to align their interests with the policymakers’ expectations. It analyses these strategies from a power perspective to investigate the complexity of capture and to provide a discussion on the mechanisms that reinforce deep-rooted patterns of incumbency.