Circular Economy Regional Initiative (CERI) Program Event Held!

An event was held on October 26, bringing together approximately 60 participants, including top-level executives from the business world, to introduce the Circular Economy Regional Initiative (CERI) program initiated by the EBRD in 2020 and the new phase activities of the Turkey Circular Economy Platform implemented in collaboration with the EBRD.

The CERI program aims to support investments made by the public, private, and local governments in Turkey and the Western Balkans that adopt circular business models and implement circular processes. This was highlighted by Ebru Dildar Edin, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of SKD Turkey, in her opening remarks at the program's launch. She also emphasized that the program offers a great opportunity for collaboration with SKD Turkey and TDEP members.

The Most Essential Need in the Circular Economy: Sustainable Financing Source!

Speaking at the event organized for the presentation of CERI, Ebru Dildar Edin, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of SKD Turkey, highlighted that the most crucial need in the circular economy is a sustainable financing source. She stated: "At this urgent point in the climate crisis, it is of great importance to implement concrete actions with measurable outcomes, increase collaborations, and showcase good examples. SKD Turkey, under the umbrella of the Turkey Circular Economy Platform (TDEP), has created an economy equivalent to 3.8 million Euros, recycling 77,000 tons of waste and reducing nearly 18,000 tons of waste. We aim to increase our impact in order for Turkey to reach its true potential in the circular economy. I believe that the Circular Economy Regional Initiative initiated by the EBRD offers a great opportunity for collaboration to SKD Turkey and TDEP members."

In her speech, Şule Topçu Kılıç, Deputy President of EBRD Turkey, drew attention to the burden of waste on the economy and stated: "Waste management contributes to tackling climate change by eliminating the consequences of environmental waste and also provides opportunities for waste to be integrated into the economy. Unfortunately, Turkey is currently the largest importer of waste from Europe, and although these are recyclable waste, it places a burden of over 14 billion Euros on our economy. Our Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change is conducting significant work on waste management in our country. As EBRD, we also want to fulfill our responsibility here. CERI is an important financing program that will contribute to the development of the circular economy in the Balkan region, which includes our country, in partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF)."

At the end of the program, a panel titled "The Role of Finance in the Circular Economy Journey" was moderated by Konca Çalkıvik, Secretary-General of SKD Turkey. The panel featured speakers such as Sadiye Bilgiç Karabulut from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, İzlem Erdem, Deputy General Manager of Türkiye İş Bankası, and Neslihan Döngel Özlem, CFO of Brisa.

Providing information about Turkey's circular economy activities, Sadiye Bilgiç Karabulut from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change emphasized that they are working to increase circularity in the country with projects such as the Zero Waste Project and the Technical Support Project (DEEP) to Evaluate Turkey's Potential Transition to the Circular Economy.

İzlem Erdem, Deputy General Manager of Türkiye İş Bankası, provided information about the financing mechanisms they offer for circular economy projects and initiatives within the bank and shared the steps in the access process to these loans with the participants.

Neslihan Döngel Özlem, CFO of Brisa, shared best practices in integrating the circular economy into their business practices and discussed the credit opportunities they obtained from major financial institutions, including EBRD, during this process."

You can get information from our team about the new term activities of Turkey Circular Economy Platform.