Eczacıbaşı Profesyonel shares sustainability vision

Eczacıbaşı Profesyonel hosted its traditional Season Greetings meeting once again this year. The event opened with remarks from Halide Sancar, Business Unit Manager at Eczacıbaşı Profesyonel, and Olgu Savaş Özden, Sales Director and Digital Growth Leader at Eczacıbaşı Consumer Products, both addressing the company's sustainability targets. Halide Sancar, Business Unit Manager at Eczacıbaşı Profesyonel, noted that they have taken an additional step to protect nature and leave a clean environment for future generations. "As of March, we will launch the Selpak Professional recyclable product family created by collecting and converting waste paper. With our holistic approach, we will also transition to biodegradable packaging that contributes to sustainability in our packaging," she explained.

Olgu Savaş Özden, Sales Director and Digital Growth Leader at Eczacıbaşı Consumer Products, made the following remarks on the subject:

"Energy and water resource efficiency tops our priorities. We achieved 5% water savings in 2023 and aim to increase this to 40% by 2026. We adopt a long-term vision of a factory with zero freshwater use. Last year we achieved 2% energy savings across all our production facilities and aim to increase the share of renewable energy. At our Gebze plant, 70% of the energy we consume comes from solar panels on the factory roof." A panel titled "Sustainability in Tourism" was held at the event. Participating in the panel were Ceyda Kaytmaz, Sustainability Manager at Eczacıbaşı Consumer Products, Egemen Belet, Sustainability Manager at Bureau Veritas, a global oversight and inspection organization, nature activist Güven İslamoğlu, and Adviye Bergemann, Founder of Aida Turizm, who discussed sustainability in the tourism industry together.

"We address sustainability across 3 focus areas."

Speaking at the panel, Ceyda Kaytmaz, Sustainability Manager at Eczacıbaşı Consumer Products, said: "We address sustainability across 3 focus areas: Process, Product, and People. Under the Process heading, our key improvement points are: increasing waste recovery rates, developing energy and water efficiency projects, and increasing the share of renewable energy sources we use. On the product side, we aim to reduce the environmental impact of our products throughout their life cycle and offer customers more sustainable options. Under the People heading, we prioritize creating an inclusive culture that supports diversity and inclusion within the company and incorporates different perspectives, providing safe and healthy working environments, fulfilling social responsibilities, and generating social benefit." she said.

Sustainable products are very important

Eczacıbaşı Consumer Products, emphasizing that they obtain all electricity from renewable energy sources, Kaytmaz stated: "Additionally, we closely monitor advancing technology in our factories and develop projects for energy efficiency. It is very valuable for industrial organizations like us to conduct such work. While working for clean and healthy living, we care about being prepared against the climate crisis and reducing our environmental impact. We aim to spread our commitments to sustainability, our concrete steps, and our entire green transformation process throughout our value chain. As a supplier of hygiene products to hotels, sustainable products are very important in the Eczacıbaşı Profesyonel family approach. For approximately 25 years, we have sourced raw materials for all our paper products from FSC-certified sustainable forests. Plastic packaging contains biodegradable materials. On the other hand, we are expanding our sustainable product portfolio. We will launch our product line made from recycled paper in March." she said. Ceyda Kaytmaz, who also moderated the panel, posed questions to the panelists and collected their comments on the subject. In the second part of the event, social gastronomy chef Ebru Baybara Demir met guests with an inspirational talk titled "Sustainability in Life." She shared her projects that touch life, people, and nature, and shape the future with solidarity and hope, filled with successes. In the final session of the day, popular radio host Geveze held an enjoyable conversation with listeners under the title "Sustainable Happiness."