The Turkish natural stone industry has started to work in line with the Green Agreement compliance and the “Transition to a Carbon-Free Economy” targets. One-third of the world's emissions come from the construction industry. The Green Reconciliation, which Turkey's largest export market, the European Union (EU) will put into practice by taxing products with high carbon emissions with the aim of becoming carbon neutral in 2050, has affected sectors such as cement, iron-steel and aluminum, which are widely used in the construction sector in the first stage. It also requires a comprehensive change in the natural stone industry.
One of the world's largest fairs in the natural stone industry, Izmir Marble Natural Stone and Technologies Fair, moderated by Aegean Mineral Exporters' Association Board Member Efe Nalbantoğlu, with the participation of İbrahim Alimoğlu, President of Aegean Mineral Exporters' Association, Director of the World Natural Stone Association (Wonasa), Anil Taneja, Silkar “Sustainability Environmental Product Disclosure in the Natural Stone Industry” seminar with the participation of Erdoğan Akbulak, the Chairman of the Board of Mining, and Hüdai Kara, Founder and Manager of Metsims Sustainability Consultancy, and the “Opportunities in Australia, Business Culture and in the Natural Stone Sector” with the participation of Eletra Trade Director Alper Demir Important Legal and Commercial Developments” seminar was held. At the end of the program, plaques were presented to the participants.
At the same time, within the framework of the European Union (EU) project carried out by the Aegean Mine Exporters Association, OHS Training Simulation with VR Glasses, TIM Mining Sector Board President and Istanbul Mineral Exporters Association President Rüstem Çetinkaya, Aegean Mine Exporters Association President İbrahim Alimoğlu, MAPEG Expert Mustafa Sever was introduced to sector representatives and fair participant companies.
Alper Demir, Eletra Trade Director, gave information about Australia, which is the 16th largest importer in the world in the natural stone sector, and said, “Australia is a rich market. It is one of the 10 richest countries in the world. Türkiye and Australia are two friendly countries. The construction industry is growing day by day. It's an advantageous market. Considering the purchasing power parity of the world, it is a country in the top 10. They care very much about workers' rights. Equality, social compliance, environmentally friendly production and sustainability priorities.” said.
Sustainability could be the engine of growth in the next generation natural stone industry
Anil Taneja, Director of the World Natural Stone Association (Wonasa): “Sustainability is meeting the needs of today without harming the generations. We live in an age that must always be agile and highly flexible. In some countries, especially in Northern and Western Europe, and in the USA, EPD documents, in other words sustainability criteria, have started to become decisive in projects. New applications could be the engine of growth for the next generation natural stone industry.” said.
Regulations will also come to natural stone, we hear footsteps
İbrahim Alimoğlu, President of the Aegean Mineral Exporters' Association, said, “One third of the emissions in the world come from the construction sector. Serious work is being done to reduce the carbon footprints of many products/materials used in the construction industry, such as cement, iron and steel. This started to become mandatory with the Green Deal. Regulations started with big items such as cement, iron steel, aluminum. Regulations will come to natural stone, which is widely used in construction, and we hear footsteps. Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) will be sought for each material used for a building to obtain a silver gold certificate. It will become mandatory in the coming years. As the Turkish natural stone industry, the more we prepare, the more we move forward. Carbon emissions are higher in thick stones. It may be advantageous for us to send fine stones. The energy source you produce the stone is one of the most important points. It will be much better if our renewable energy sources increase. We will see positive developments when Türkiye reduces fossil fuels. In the coming period, a carbon footprint market will be established in the world. There will be threshold values for each product with the Carbon Tax Mechanism at the Border. European importers will look at the carbon footprint of each product, and if you are above the threshold, our exporters will pay the price. Therefore, a carbon market and trade gateway will be created.” said.
Relatively low carbon footprint and water use in natural stone
Efe Nalbantoğlu, Member of the Board of the Aegean Mine Exporters Association, said, “In recent years, trade in the world has been reshaped on the axis of sustainability. Green transformation and sustainability principles are at the center of companies' strategies. Of course, it was unthinkable that the natural stone industry would not be affected by the said change and transformation. Although the carbon footprint and water use are relatively low when examined in terms of natural stone production processes, it is important to enrich the products and production processes with environmentally friendly practices. We have recently translated the Natural Stone Sustainability Guide to guide the industry.” he said.
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) document will become mandatory
Stating that the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) document, which is valid all over the world and has become a standard in Europe, has started to become mandatory in many industries, Silkar Madencilik Chairman of the Board Erdoğan Akbulak said:
“EPD; It is an independently verified and registered document that reveals in a transparent and comparable way the environmental impacts and carbon emission data of products throughout their life cycles. It examines processes such as the type of energy used at all stages of the supply chain, the content of chemicals, and emissions. EPD provides information on environmental performance information, life cycle valuation, resource use, energy use, various emission sources. Not only during the production process, but later during use, for example; If a building has a 50-year lifespan, it also measures the carbon emission it will make when the product is removed from that building. Data is collected and inventory is created according to the life cycle of the products. Information about all materials consumed for 1 square meter of final product, how much packaging, how much water is used, factory production quantities, weight, waste, annual energy consumption in quarries, how much is used in the factory, transportation movements within the relevant quarry, transportation of the product to the factory and Factors related to the whole process from A to Z, such as handling within the factory, transportation process, the chain on the way to export, how much of the total amount of production waste can be recycled, the materials used in the assembly of the product and the energy spent in the assembly, the consumption of transporting the product to another point after the end of its life. being calculated. Certification of the product is completed.”
Türkiye ranks third in Europe among the countries with EPD certificate
Hüdai Kara, Founder and Manager of Metsims Sustainability Consultancy, said, “We need to know the environmental performance of building materials. We are heading towards an order where EPD will be used in all building materials and other products very soon. We need to take action to realize the circular economy. Most of the emissions come from the construction industry. This type of data is needed in the evaluation of buildings. While evaluating the buildings in compliance with the Green Agreement, we need to know the carbon emission per square meter in the building, and answers to the questions of what kind of materials are high or low emissions need to be sought. At this point, the only documents to answer this question are the EPD documents. It is very common in Europe, it is opening towards the global. The digital product passport system, where the most accurate information about each product structure is shared, is important for us so that the users in the supply chain can reuse the products or the products can be processed correctly in the waste management facilities. ISO 14025 Standard, 14040/44 Standard are the standards by which we evaluate the environmental performance of the product from the cradle to the grave, from the raw material to the disposal of the final product. Europe is leading the way in the EPD Document, and there is tremendous growth. Among the countries with the highest number of EPD certificates, Turkey ranks third in Europe after Italy and Sweden. As in construction materials, large companies in the textile, chemistry and food sectors carry out green purchasing processes, and most of them obtain EPD certificates. The EPD Certificate process takes 3-4 months, as the number of products increases, the process gets longer. It transparently reveals the environmental performance of the product. Now, not only the product carbon footprint, but also the corporate carbon footprint is important. You take an X-ray of your own production. The architects also focused on sustainability.” said.