CSR and Circular Economy: Sustainable Solutions for a Responsible Future

Vitoria-Gasteiz at the Crossroads of Industrial Transition

In northern Spain, the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz stands as a symbol of both industrial success and looming uncertainty. For decades, its economy has revolved around two industrial giants: Mercedes-Benz, whose factory employs nearly 4 800 people and contributes around 5% of the Basque Country’s GDP, and Michelin, with more than 3,000 workers producing tyres that travel the world. Together, they form the beating heart of a city built on the rhythm of assembly lines, logistics, and technical precision.

But this heart is now under pressure. As the European Union tightens its climate policies—notably through the ban on sales of new combustion engine vehicles by 2035—cities like Vitoria face a pivotal question: how can a local economy so deeply rooted in the automotive industry reinvent itself without losing its social and economic balance?

The challenge is not only technical; it’s existential. The shift toward electric mobility, circular production, and stricter carbon targets will redefine everything from employment to resource management. In this new landscape, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) must move beyond compliance to become a driver of transformation—linking innovation, sustainability, and human resilience.

Why CSR Must Be Linked to Territorial Sustainability and Economic Pillars

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) cannot be understood in isolation from the economic foundations of the regions where companies operate. Sustainability is not just about protecting the planet; it’s about preserving the living conditions of the people who inhabit it. And that starts with one simple truth: without work, there is no livelihood—no tax revenue, no consumption, no community stability.

In cities like Vitoria-Gasteiz, where industry defines both the skyline and the social fabric, this link is particularly clear. The automotive and tyre sectors are not merely economic players; they are structural pillars of the territory. According to regional economic data, the Mercedes-Benz plant alone accounts for nearly 5% of the Basque Country’s GDP and 10% of its exports, while Michelin employs over 3,000 people, sustaining hundreds of local suppliers and service providers. In a metropolitan area of fewer than 260,000 inhabitants, that represents a massive concentration of economic dependency.

When the European Union announces the end of combustion-engine vehicle sales by 2035, this is not an abstract goal—it’s a seismic shift for cities like Vitoria. Entire ecosystems of subcontractors, logistics companies, and metalworking SMEs depend on an industrial model that is now being rewritten. Without a proactive CSR strategy integrating environmental and territorial sustainability, the social consequences could be devastating:

• Rising unemployment as combustion-engine production declines.

• Reduced fiscal capacity for local governments.

• Social fragmentation as economic precarity spreads.

True CSR therefore extends beyond the factory gates. It must include territorial impact assessments, supply-chain transitions, and skills-adaptation programs to ensure that sustainability does not come at the expense of local communities. A factory that decarbonizes but leaves thousands jobless has failed its social mission just as much as one that pollutes.

The paradox is striking: the green transition can destroy value locally if it isn’t socially anchored. The challenge for Vitoria—and for every industrial region in Europe—is to ensure that CSR becomes a tool for collective resilience, not just a corporate checklist.

In that sense, CSR is not a philanthropic gesture. It’s an economic necessity, a framework that ensures the survival of both the company and its community in the face of transformation. Because when jobs vanish, so do schools, local shops, and the sense of belonging that holds a territory together.

Sustainability, at its core, must therefore connect planet, profit, and people—not as three parallel objectives, but as a single ecosystem in balance.

Economic Transitions and Industrial Responsibility in Vitoria-Gasteiz

Vitoria-Gasteiz is not just another European city—it’s one of the industrial lungs of northern Spain. The local economy is largely driven by the automotive and tyre industries, with Mercedes-Benz and Michelin as its two powerhouses. Together, they employ nearly 8,000 people, accounting for more than 15% of local industrial jobs. The automotive sector contributes close to 25% of Álava’s GDP, and over 40% of the province’s exports come directly or indirectly from vehicle manufacturing and components.

This prosperity, however, rests on an industrial model now entering a critical transition phase. The Mercedes-Benz plant in Vitoria, which produces around 150,000 vans per year (Vito, eVito, and EQV), still relies predominantly on diesel engines. According to data from Spain’s automotive association ANFAC, over 80% of commercial vehicles manufactured in Spain in 2024 were powered by internal combustion engines.

The problem is structural: Europe has committed to ending the sale of new combustion-engine cars and vans by 2035, under the “Fit for 55” legislative package. The goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from transport by 90% by 2050, a sector that currently represents about one quarter of the EU’s total CO₂ emissions. For Vitoria, this target is both a technological and a social earthquake.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) estimates that the shift to electric vehicles could eliminate up to 500,000 jobs in Europe by 2035, mainly in mechanical engineering, transmission systems, and component manufacturing. Electric drivetrains require six times fewer moving parts, drastically reducing demand for traditional suppliers. In regions like Álava—where one job in five depends on the automotive supply chain—the risk of industrial hollowing-out is very real.

This is precisely why Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can no longer be limited to environmental compliance. For companies like Mercedes-Benz and Michelin, CSR must address the economic sustainability of the territories they inhabit. A responsible transition means investing not only in electrification and energy efficiency, but also in reskilling programs, R&D hubs, and local innovation ecosystems capable of absorbing the industrial shift.

Mercedes-Benz has already begun electrifying part of its production lines in Vitoria with the eVito and EQV, supported by over €50 million in investment for process modernization and supplier adaptation. Yet this remains a fraction of what is needed to secure long-term territorial resilience. Without structural public-private coordination, the region risks becoming a symbol of ecological progress but social decline.

In other words, the question is not whether the automotive transition will happen—it already is—but whether Vitoria’s economy will evolve with it or be left behind. The measure of true CSR, in this context, will be the city’s ability to keep both its engines and its people running.

Combustion Engines, Carbon Footprints, and the European Paradox

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Vitoria specializes in mid-sized vans, mainly the Vito (for commercial use) and the EQV/eVito (for passenger and electric mobility). Despite the growing presence of electric models, diesel versions still represent the vast majority of units produced. These vehicles are powered by four-cylinder OM 654 diesel engines, compliant with Euro 6d-Final standards, generating between 180 and 230 g of CO₂ per kilometer, depending on configuration and payload.

At full production—around 150,000 vehicles per year—this represents a potential lifecycle output of nearly three million tonnes of CO₂ annually, based on an average European driving cycle of 180,000 kilometers per vehicle. Even within current regulatory limits, these figures highlight the tension between industrial performance and the European Union’s ambition to reduce transport-related emissions by 90% by 2050.

Most vans produced in Vitoria are exported to Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, but a substantial share continues to reach non-EU markets, including Latin America, North Africa, and the Middle East. In these regions, diesel technology remains dominant, fuel prices are often subsidized, and emission standards are less restrictive. This dynamic exposes a fundamental geopolitical imbalance: while Europe accelerates its environmental transition, much of the world is not following at the same pace.

From a CSR standpoint, this creates what might be called a “European paradox.” The EU bans the sale of new combustion-engine vehicles within its borders by 2035, yet it continues to export these same engines abroad. As a result, carbon emissions are not necessarily reduced—only displaced.

However, this asymmetry also means that Vitoria’s economic core may remain intact, at least in the medium term. As long as global demand for combustion engines persists, the city’s automotive cluster can continue to operate at high capacity, sustaining thousands of jobs and protecting local purchasing power. The real challenge will be to use this period of relative stability to prepare for the next industrial paradigm—developing new value chains in batteries, recycling, and hydrogen technologies before external markets eventually tighten their own emission rules.

In other words, the future of CSR in Vitoria cannot rely solely on compliance or short-term resilience. It must transform temporary economic breathing space into strategic foresight—ensuring that when the rest of the world catches up with Europe’s environmental standards, the Basque automotive hub will already be one step ahead.

From Strategy to Narrative: Why CSR Needs Editorial Intelligence

One dimension is often underestimated in industrial transitions: the power of narrative. Strategies, investments, and technological roadmaps are essential—but without clear, structured, and credible communication, they remain invisible to stakeholders who matter most: employees, local institutions, partners, and international markets.

In territories like Vitoria-Gasteiz, CSR cannot be reduced to internal reporting or regulatory disclosures. It must be translated into language, explained in context, and connected to the lived reality of the territory. Workers need to understand where their jobs are going. Local authorities need visibility on long-term commitments. International partners need reassurance that sustainability is not a slogan, but a structured process embedded in industrial strategy.

This is where editorial CSR services become a strategic lever.

Well-crafted CSR content does not embellish reality; it clarifies it. It helps companies articulate how environmental constraints intersect with employment, skills, and territorial resilience. It connects decarbonization goals with training programs, supply-chain evolution, and circular-economy initiatives. And above all, it creates coherence between what companies do, what they say, and what stakeholders perceive.

For industrial actors operating at the crossroads of European regulation and global markets—as is the case in Vitoria—editorial CSR work must be:

• Territorially grounded, reflecting local economic dependencies and social realities.

• Economically literate, capable of speaking the language of industry, exports, and value chains.

• Strategically aligned, linking sustainability commitments to long-term competitiveness rather than short-term compliance.

• Internationally readable, especially in English, to address investors, partners, and institutions beyond national borders.

CSR, in this sense, is not only implemented—it is transmitted. And transmission requires precision, rigor, and an intimate understanding of both industrial ecosystems and social dynamics.

Conclusion — CSR and Circular Economy: Sustainable Solutions for a Responsible Future

The transition facing Vitoria-Gasteiz is a microcosm of Europe’s greatest challenge: reconciling economic vitality with environmental urgency. In this city where Mercedes-Benz and Michelin drive both employment and identity, the question is not whether change will come—it already has—but whether it will be managed responsibly.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is no longer a question of compliance or public image; it has become a strategic framework for survival. The automotive industry, historically one of the engines of European prosperity, must now reinvent itself as an engine of sustainability. This means more than electrifying vehicles—it means rethinking entire value chains, from raw materials to logistics, from production to end-of-life recycling.

The circular economy offers the roadmap. In a model where materials are reused, components are refurbished, and waste becomes input, every link in the chain gains resilience. Michelin’s innovations in tyre recycling, Mercedes-Benz’s experiments with battery repurposing, and the growing network of Basque start-ups working on industrial symbiosis show that the seeds of transformation are already here.

But circularity cannot succeed without social inclusion. A sustainable territory is one where economic transitions protect workers, new skills replace obsolete ones, and technological progress serves collective well-being. For Vitoria, this means using the breathing space provided by export markets not as an excuse for inertia, but as a window for strategic anticipation—investing in training, research, and green infrastructure before global regulation catches up.