KAĞAN YEŞİL
Bursa Plastics and Packaging Industrialists Association (BURPAS)
Chairman of the Board
In the Green Deal process, Bursa industry, with its investments in energy efficiency, clean production, and digital transformation, is not only fulfilling its environmental obligations; it is also strengthening its competitive advantage in the EU market.
The European Union's goal of becoming a climate-neutral continent by 2050 is rewriting the standards of global trade with new rules such as the Green Deal and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). For Bursa industry, which exports a significant portion of its products to the EU, this transformation is not only an environmental imperative but also key to maintaining competitiveness. In this context, the Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTSO), under the leadership of Chairman İbrahim Burkay, has brought green transformation topics to the center of the city's agenda in recent years, establishing a multi-stakeholder structure that serves as a roadmap for the business world.
The EU Harmonization and Green Deal Council, established within BTSO, works to provide systematic support to companies for their sustainable production and export goals. The Council undertakes a coordination role focusing on legislative tracking, capacity building, and project generation.
One of the most visible outcomes of this framework is the Uludağ Environment Forum. The first forum, held on June 5–6, 2024, and the second on May 13–14, 2025, at Bursa Business School, brought together public sector, academia, and the business world to discuss green transformation strategies for various sectors.
BTSO also matures its corporate sustainability strategy through thematic meetings such as the Sustainability Workshop; different actors of the ecosystem are involved in these studies organized for the determination of environmental-social-governance (ESG) performance indicators and the identification of stakeholder priorities.
APPLICATION AREAS: MODEL FACTORY, EVM AND GREEN & DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
The transformation is strengthening not only in discourse but also in the field. Bursa Model Factory offers applied training and consultancy for capacity development to SMEs on their journey towards lean manufacturing, digitalization, and especially energy efficiency. The institution's mission is to prepare companies for the Green Deal through waste-reducing process design, Industry 4.0 integration, and energy efficiency transformation.
This structure complements the BTSO Energy Efficiency Center (EVM). EVM focuses on industrial energy efficiency studies, opportunity analyses, and field applications; thus, tangible progress is being made in one of the fastest and most cost-effective channels for carbon emission reduction.
The BTSO Green and Digital Transformation Center, also part of the ecosystem, provides companies with a data-driven transformation opportunity by offering technical support ranging from corporate carbon footprint calculation to measurement and monitoring infrastructure (thermal camera, ultrasonic flow, steam trap tests, etc.).
SECTORAL FOCUS: CLEAN PRODUCTION AND INNOVATION IN TEXTILES
Textile and technical textiles, one of Bursa's locomotive industries, are a priority area for transformation due to their water-energy intensive processes and chemical usage. BUTEKOM encourages companies to develop innovation and green transformation-based products and processes through clean production days, symposiums, and clustering projects. These efforts progress with concrete solutions such as reducing wastewater and chemical usage, heat recovery in processes, low-temperature dyeing technologies, and reducing chimney emissions.
CONCLUSION: THE BALANCE OF COMPETITION, RISK, AND OPPORTUNITY FOR BURSA
Bursa industry, with its strong supply chains, export capabilities, and production culture, is not at a disadvantage in the Green Deal process; on the contrary, it is in a position to establish a competitive advantage through rapid adaptation. The institutional framework established by BTSO (Council–Forum–Centers), the on-site impact of the Model Factory and EVM, and BUTEKOM's sectoral R&D and clean production accumulation enhance this advantage. In the short term, energy efficiency and measurement/monitoring; in the medium term, electrification–renewable integration; and in the long term, circular business models and supply chain transparency will enable Bursa to reduce its emissions while steadily progressing towards strengthening its position as a preferred production partner in the EU market.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.