Circular Economy and Social Sustainability: A Transdisciplinary Approach to the Basque Country´s automotive sector

Abstract

This paper contributes to the debate of the circular economy (CE) through understanding how this concept is constructed and linked to the sustainability triple-axis. We aim to observe if the way the term is defined by scholars is in line with the definitions and discourse emanating from the actors involved in our analysis. Based on the Responsible Research and Innovation framework, we held two meetings with stakeholders in the Basque Country´s automotive sector. The results reflect that there is no single way of understanding the concept, either among the agents studied nor in the academic literature, since although many concordances exist, various discrepancies have emerged. However, we do observe a general pattern, in that the social axis of sustainability is cornered, while the environmental and economic axis are at the centre of CE concept.

Keywords

• Circular economy
• Automotive sector
• Sustainability
• Social sustainability
• Multi-stakeholder study
• Transdisciplinarity