Circular Economy Congress

“Circular Economy Congress” was held on 5-6 October 2017

With the "Circular Economy Congress" to be organized by ÇEVKO Foundation at Istanbul Cevahir Congress Center on 5-6 October 2017, the new "circular economy model", based on the efficient use of resources and recycling, was brought to the country's agenda.

"Circular Economy", which is a very new concept not only for our country but for the whole world, was evaluated comprehensively for two days with the participation of many different stakeholders, from the public to the private sector, from financial institutions to representatives of non-governmental organizations.

ÇEVKO Foundation, which has been operating for 26 years for the establishment and development of a sustainable recovery system for the economical and orderly recovery of packaging waste in Turkey, discussed the "Circular Economy Package", which is expected to come into force in the EU in 2018 and will bring new legal regulations, at the international congress to be held on 5-6 October.

“Circular Economy is a new economic approach that will accelerate Turkey's sustainable growth”

Evaluating the Circular Economy Congress held at the Cevahir Congress Center in Istanbul and attended by international participants, ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer reminded that the circular economy will be implemented within a calendared action plan by the European Union, and emphasized that they want to bring the circular economy model, which is a new economic approach, to the country's agenda with this congress. Mete İmer made the following evaluation:

“In a non-cyclical economy; “Produce! - Use it! - Throw!” Products that follow this line end up in garbage or disposal facilities. The ever-increasing population, limited natural resources and human activities that cause major environmental problems such as global warming have shown that things can no longer continue as before; initiated the search for new business models. Here, the "circular economy" model, which considers the processes of "sustainable production", "sustainable consumption" and "up-conversion" as a "circle" instead of "linear economy", is a new approach for sustainable development in the world. This approach can bring competitive advantage by paving the way for new inventions that highlight the more efficient use of natural resources and the utilization of waste as resources. New business models can create new income and employment opportunities. It can encourage the provision of cheaper, durable and quality products to consumers. As a result, it can provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits by using and recycling scarce resources more carefully and in harmony with the environment.”

The transition to a circular economy will enable companies in EU member states to save up to 600 billion Euros annually!

İmer, "According to the European Union Commission report, it is estimated that the circular economy will provide companies in EU member states with a net profit of 600 billion Euros, or 8 percent of their annual turnover, and a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions of 2-4 percent, thanks to waste prevention, eco-design and reuse. In the reuse, production and repair sectors, for example, if the mobile phones that are out of use are easily dismantled, the production of new mobile phones that have become waste." "If 95 percent of out-of-use mobile phones can be collected, 1 billion Euros can be saved annually in material production costs," he said.

ÇEVKO Foundation Circular Economy Congress!

ÇEVKO Foundation Circular Economy Congress, held with international participants, brought an ambitious and new economic approach to Turkey's agenda within the framework of the EU Circular Economy Package, which was announced in 2015 and is expected to come into force in 2018.

Within the scope of the congress, sessions titled "EU Circular Economy Package", "New Plastic Economy", "The Importance of Circular Economy in the Fight against Climate Change", "Fiscal Mechanisms for the Transition to Circular Economy" and "Circular Economy in the Eyes of the Press" organized by the Association of Economic Journalists were held.

“Green Dot Press Awards” found their owners at the ceremony held at the congress.

ÇEVKO Foundation; It also gave the "Green Dot Press Awards" to media organizations that are sensitive to the environment and give priority to news aimed at raising awareness and informing the public about the environment and recycling.

The Green Dot Press Awards, held for the 6th time, are among the press organizations that covered the most environmental news throughout the year; Show TV in the TV field, "Zahide Yetişle" program, Hürriyet Newspaper in the newspaper field, İhlas News Agency in the News Agency field, Kral Pop Radio in the Radio field, www.milliyet.com.tr in the website field, KSS Türkiye Magazine in the magazine field, and the special award goes to Güven İslamoğlu with the public spot "Don't remain a spectator" on CNN TÜRK. It happened.

What is “Circular Economy”?

For sustainable growth, resources need to be used smartly and sustainably. The linear (non-circular) economy "produce-use-dispose" model has begun to lose its validity. It is being replaced by a circular economy that follows the processes of "sustainable production - sustainable consumption - upcycling (recycling)". In the circular economy, the aim is to preserve the availability of products and materials for the longest possible time. Starting from the design stage and material selection, the aim is to ensure environmental awareness, sustainability, product reuse and recycling at the highest level. Waste and resource use are minimized. When the life of the product and material comes to an end, it is ensured that it is reused to create value through recycling.