The Turkish plastics sector, rapidly adopting green and digital transformation, will both increase its export power and rise to a leading position in global competition with low-carbon production technologies.
Kenan BENLİLER
Plastics Industrialists Association (PAGDER)
Chairman of the Board
Industry worldwide is experiencing the greatest transformation in its history. In the fight against the climate crisis, decarbonization is no longer an option; it is an unavoidable necessity. Especially the European Green Deal, cross-border carbon regulations, and sustainability standards directly affect all branches of industry. Developed countries are now looking not only at product quality but also at the carbon footprint of production processes. Many countries, particularly the European Union, aim to halve carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve "net zero" by 2050. In this process, carbon-intensive sectors are at high risk. The plastics sector is at the very center of these risks.
In Turkey, the plastics industry represents a giant ecosystem with over 7,000 companies and nearly 300,000 employees. The export-oriented sector has an export volume of approximately 11 billion dollars as of 2024. However, the sustainability of this volume is becoming dependent on the environmental impacts of production. Now, not only price and delivery time, but also carbon intensity is a competition criterion.
The plastics sector still largely produces with fossil fuel-based energy. Although recycling rates have increased, circular economy practices are not yet widespread enough. There has been progress in areas such as energy efficiency, waste management, and green energy use; however, this progress remains limited compared to global developments. Nevertheless, practices such as carbon footprint measurement, sustainability reporting, and environmental impact analyses have started to become common, especially among large-scale producers. However, these good examples do not yet signify a systematic transformation across the sector.
The decarbonization process carries the risk of significant export loss and increased costs for those who do not comply. Applications such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) specifically target companies exporting to Europe. Non-compliant companies will be subject to additional taxes, which will directly weaken their competitive power. On the other hand, this transformation process also brings great opportunities. Companies transitioning to low-carbon production technologies gain both cost advantages and access to green financing resources. EU funds, in particular, offer significant support for SMEs investing in sustainable production technologies. To keep up with this transformation, it is important for companies to measure their carbon footprints, invest in energy efficiency, increase the use of secondary raw materials, turn to renewable energy sources, and create sustainability reports.
Global industry is decarbonizing, and this transformation will not stop. The faster and more effectively the Turkish plastics sector adapts to this change, the more it will solidify its future position. It is in our hands to be a pioneering sector, not one that resists change. We must not forget that carbon-free production is no longer just an environmental responsibility; it is also an economic necessity, and if we don't take action today, we might be too late tomorrow.
As PAGDER, as a reflection of our principle of a proactive approach to sector problems that we have undertaken since our establishment, we are also deepening our efforts to facilitate the adaptation of companies operating in our sector to digital and green transformation. In this context, we wish success to our “Plastics Sector Twin Transformation Office” project, which we will implement in the coming days with the support of the Istanbul Development Agency and believe will make a significant contribution to the transformation of our sector.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.