Challenge

Metal and textile industries in Turkey are large contributors to the country’s exports. Both need to continuously increase their competitiveness by addressing challenges like carbon emissions reduction, resource efficiency optimization, or compliance with emerging European and international regulations. This requires companies to strengthen their knowledge in calculating carbon and water footprint and implementing high-impact decarbonization projects. 

Solution

To accelerate the decarbonization of these sectors, MESS Technology Center (MEXT) initiated, designed and led a transformation project. The project was in collaboration with the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TİSK), funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs via the Danish industry, and involved key public and industrial partners. The Danish industry brought funding and expertise for European sustainability models and regulatory frameworks; TİSK facilitated industry-wide access and engagement with Turkish industrial sectors; MEXT provided capability building programmes, technical assistance, and a digital platform as a technological backbone; and metal and textile industrials joined and benefited from the programme. The programme helps manufacturing companies kickstart their sustainability journey through: 

• Online training for increased awareness and knowledge
• Carbon calculation programmes and focused workshops to build the necessary internal competence for corporate carbon calculation programmes, and focused workshops for carbon accounting internal competence and industry experts’ ecosystem development
• Sustainability maturity assessments unlocking decarbonization strategies
• A digital platform development embedding industry-tailored carbon accounting tool in line with international regulations

Impact

By 2024, 100 metal companies (mostly automotive suppliers) and 70 textile companies joined the programme. It provided key benefits, including improved carbon accounting accuracy and faster compliance with international regulations, which boosted the competitiveness of Turkish industry. Over 350 companies gained practical knowledge from training sessions and aim to spread it to more suppliers for increased impact, while participants are providing incentive schemes through capital expenditure (CapEx) and operating expenses (OpEx) projects.