How green is my industry? The case of Turkey

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to give a good overview of the relationship between industrial growth and industrial pollution in Turkey. The question is to what extent dirty industries have been affected by the regulations on the control of environmental degradation. Design/methodology/approach – The approach for this study uses all regulations which serve for protecting human and its environment from danger arising from dirty industries in Turkey. After presenting brief explanations on green industry, next sessions explain and compare the situations of the Turkish dirty industries and its relationship with related regulations in the European Union (EU). Findings – The authors offer three solutions. First, clean consumption should be stimulated in Turkish society. Second, Turkish Government should conduct more joint projects with the EU. Third, EU funds should be directed to cleaner production technologies to subsidize dirty industries during the negotiation process. Originality/value – Green industry can be assessed as a steep road to build a sustainable future. For a long time, the unsustainability of current forms of industrial production has been discussed in Turkey. As a solution some argue that if governments support, industries can finance their own transformation more rapidly. However, these arguments do not mean that industries voluntarily accept these changes.

Overcoming Barriers to the Implementation of Cleaner Production in Small Enterprises in the Mechanics Industry: Exploring Economic Gains and Contributions for Sustainable Development Goals

“…The economic factor emerges as the key obstacle for the SEs in the metal and mechanics sector when called for decision making and implementation of environmental practices. Former studies highlight the economic determinants as key obstacles that are hard to overcome [27,44]. The study supports that the achievement of an economic gain is a key requirement for the survival of SEs and that its investments are targeted to increase the production capabilities often disregarding the environmental factors.…”

“…As aforementioned, existing studies focus in addressing the economic and environmental gains mostly from a qualitative perspective. Existing work builds on: cost-benefit analysis [37]; the improvement in the use of resources and the efficiency in materials [38]; the recycling and the reuse of waste [39]; the reduction in the consumption of raw materials and inputs and the minimization of the volume of waste generated [40][41][42]; the improvements in the use of resources [43,44]; the reduction of emissions [45,46]; and the adoption of clean technologies [47,48]. This is the first study that addresses economic and environmental gains and the overcoming of barriers for the adoption of CP, while contributing to SDGs.…”