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It is necessary to take action on the climate crisis without wasting time
09 Mar 2022ÇEVKO Foundation continues to discuss the climate crisis in all its aspects with the ÇEVKO Foundation Conversations, which it started last year in cooperation with the Economic Journalists Association (EGD). The first of the 2022 ÇEVKO Foundation Talks was held under the title of Climate Change and Sustainability Studies of Leading Industrial Organizations in Turkey. In the interview moderated by EGD Board Member Çetin Ünsalan and with the participation of ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer, the practices of Akçansa and GCA were discussed.
ÇEVKO Foundation, which has focused on "fighting the climate crisis" and "transition to a circular economy" especially for the last five years, addresses the issue of climate crisis in all its aspects with ÇEVKO Foundation Conversations.
ÇEVKO Foundation Conversations, which the ÇEVKO Foundation Climate Change and Sustainability Working Group, in cooperation with the EGD Global Warming Congress Committee, started in 2021 within the scope of the Foundation's 30th Anniversary, will continue throughout 2022. The first interview of this year was organized under the title "Combating Climate Change and Sustainability Activities of Leading Industrial Organizations in Turkey". In the conversation moderated by EGD Board Member Çetin Ünsalan and with the participation of ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer, Akçansa Sustainability Manager Burcu Otman Bektaş and GCA General Manager Dr. Abdullah Gayretgave information about the practices in their institutions.
EGD Board Member Çetin Ünsalan emphasized the importance of ÇEVKO Foundation Talks at the opening of the online meeting and underlined that they are trying to reflect the efforts of the Foundation and the real sector. ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer also thanked EGD, stating that the conversations that have been actively going on for two years have contributed to raising awareness.
Emphasizing the need to take precautions regarding the climate crisis without wasting time, Mete İmer said, "As the state, individuals, and industrial organizations, we all have responsibilities and things to do against the climate crisis; we will talk about these. The members of our foundation are among the leading organizations in studies on sustainability and climate change. While the goal of being carbon neutral in 2050 has been adopted by the world states after the Paris Climate Agreement, some of the industrial organizations want to achieve this goal in their own institutions and the ecosystem they affect before this date." "We really care about the responsibility of the industry in this field, leading the society and other industrial organizations and directing individuals to these studies," he said. Stating that the EU Green Deal primarily concerns the electrical energy, iron and steel, aluminum, cement and fertilizer industries in Turkey, Secretary General İmer said, "In this interview, we will listen to the work of two large companies from two energy-intensive sectors, the cement and glass sectors."
Burcu Otman Bektaş, Sustainability Manager of Akçansa, one of Türkiye's largest cement producers, a joint company of Sabancı Holding and HeidelbergCement, shared the company's 2030 sustainability road map with a comprehensive presentation. Stating that the emission rate resulting from the cement sector in Turkey is at the level of 11 percent, Bektaş said, "We have kept sustainability on our agenda for many years. We are the first company in our sector to receive a waste incineration license. We announced our 2020 Sustainability targets in 2009. We report to CDP 'climate change' and 'water security' programs. We aim to increase the use of alternative fuels to 35 percent. We aim to reduce the use of clinker in cement in 2030. On the other hand, concrete "We are carrying out R&D studies on the use of recycled products in production. We received an award for our project in which microalgae are used as carbon sequestrators, which we developed for carbon capture, which is of great importance for the cement industry. Within the scope of our 2030 Sustainability Goals, we focus on creating a positive impact in a wide and comprehensive framework, from environmental protection to providing social benefit, with the slogan 'Plus Life'," he said.
Having also emphasized the importance of the emission trading system, Bektaş said, "We must monitor carbon emissions and obtain accurate data. Structures for the management of sustainability should be created within companies. According to the EU Green Deal, the reporting obligation begins in 2023. There is a three-year process as a pilot. However, the system needs to be clarified and the details must be determined."
The General Manager of GCA, which started production within the Gurok Group in 2011, is Dr. Abdullah Gayret emphasized that sustainability has gained importance in the glass industry and stated that GCA, a member of the European Federation of Glass Packaging Manufacturers (FEVE), is actively involved in completing the glass cycle towards the circular economy, especially in the EU.
Stating that GCA is the only representative of FEVE in Turkey, Dr. Abdullah Gayret said, "We have become one of the supporters of FEVE's Furnace of the Future project, which we believe will serve as an important milestone in the decarbonization journey of the glass packaging industry in 2020. The aim of the project is that the furnace, which will replace existing fossil fuel energy sources, will reduce furnace emissions by 60 percent and the total CO₂ emissions of a glass packaging factory by approximately 50 percent. 20 glass packaging manufacturers, including GCA, will be the first to operate with 80 percent green energy, under the leadership of FEVE "As GCA, we expect the first furnace in the project we support to be completed in 2022 and the first results to be achieved in 2023. On the other hand, we use special furnaces that heat the combustion air in all our facilities and provide energy savings of up to 30 percent," he said.
GCA General Manager Dr. said that the use of glass packaging is increasing all over the world. Abdullah Gayret emphasized that great gains can be achieved for nature and economy through recycling in glass, which is a material that can be transformed into itself infinite times, and said, "60 percent of glass production in Europe is realized with raw materials obtained from recycling. Currently, in Turkey, this rate is below 10 percent. In previous years, with the support of ÇEVKO, it exceeded 13 percent, but now we are at this point. We recycle 90 percent of the glass packaging we put on the market after it becomes waste." "We cannot use it in recycling. We are trying to meet the need for broken glass raw materials from abroad, which is a sad situation. We attach importance to the deposit system initiated by the Ministry and we are working to contribute to a pilot project on the recycling of both glass and other materials, and we aim to contribute to this project," he said.
Emphasizing the importance of taking action on sustainability without depending on sanctions, Dr. Abdullah Gayret said, "Let's continue with sustainable processes and continue producing. Let's not harm our country and the world. We must put sustainability goals at the forefront. A sense of responsibility must be established. This should be given as much importance as the normal production process; without expecting additional sanctions or taxes. We will work as a glass manufacturer together with all organizations and NGOs."
You can also access the recording of the conversation on ÇEVKO Foundation's YouTube channel via the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tphQiSO0qd0&t=596s&ab_channel=CEVKOVakfi
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