GSK Turkey Draws Attention to Plastic Waste Use

GSK Turkey drew attention to rising environmental pollution and uncontrolled plastic waste usage through a plastic waste collection campaign as part of Turkey's Environment Week. A sculpture created from waste collected over one month within the company was displayed at GSK Fest, an event held with the participation of TOG volunteers.   GSK Turkey launched a plastic waste collection campaign to raise awareness among employees and the public against environmental pollution, in line with global ESG policies. Aimed at creating awareness of environmental pollution and drawing attention to the importance of waste separation, the campaign concluded with the creation of a sculpture from collected waste, which was displayed at an event called GSK Fest. Designed under the direction of Artist Barış Karayazgan, the sculpture was made from waste collected over one month within the company. Through this approximately 4-metre-tall sculpture created in collaboration between GSK and Community Volunteers Foundation (TOG) volunteers, the aim is to raise awareness on sustainability. GSK Turkey's 'GSK Atak' projects, carried out in partnership with a foundation that is a long-term stakeholder in corporate social responsibility, will continue in three different provinces on World Environment Day and World Animal Protection Day. Within the scope of projects aiming to address the low sustainability awareness frequently encountered in Turkey's major cities through practical methods, 250 foundation volunteer youth will be engaged on 5 June World Environment Day and 4 October World Animal Protection Day. The first of the events to be held in three major cities—Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir—will involve forest, coastal and environmental cleanup. In the second phase of the work, to which GSK volunteers and their families will also participate, animal shelters will be cleaned and repaired while raising awareness on the importance of animal rights. Sculpture Named Uni-GSK TOG General Director Ayşe Kırımlı, noting that the foundation has been working with young people to find solutions to social problems for 20 years, stated: "We have been working with GSK Turkey since 2013. We have signed many different projects together. The first of these was the 'Bağlanamam' project in 2013. Following that, we implemented the 'Healthy Youth Movement' project in 2017. In 2018, we launched the 'Stop at Red' project. This time, our focus is on environment and animal rights. Environmental pollution and animal rights are issues for the entire world. Through this project involving GSK Turkey and community volunteer youth, we aim to raise awareness against environmental pollution and animal rights through collective effort. We implemented the first phase of this project, which we plan to continue in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, last week. As part of the project, we created a giant giraffe sculpture from PET bottles. GSK volunteers named this sculpture Uni-GSK. As a foundation, we are always ready to support such projects," he said. Aim to Reduce Carbon Footprint GSK Turkey Communication and Patient Relations Leader Selcen Çökdü, noting that the concept of sustainability has been widely discussed recently, stated: "Environmental issues in the world are a matter that requires attention. Sustainability-related initiatives need to be evaluated on three axes as environmental, social and corporate governance. This approach is called ESG in the world. As GSK, in line with our ESG targets, we want to reduce our carbon footprint over the next 10 years to balance our impact on the environment and participate in projects that add value to society. For a long time, we have been implementing corporate social responsibility projects in this direction. Our Atak projects are also projects we will implement on the environmental side. Through these projects, following the sculpture work made from waste, we aim to draw attention to environmental cleanup on 5 June World Environment Day; and on 4 October animal protection day, to focus on animals' right to life," he said. Artist Barış Karayazgan Made Comments Artist Barış Karayazgan, emphasizing that art should exist in every aspect of life, stated: "PET bottles were the most convenient materials we could use to create this work. For this reason, we created a giant giraffe sculpture using PET bottles collected over one month with GSK employees and foundation volunteers. Within 2 hours, through collective work, we completed our approximately 4-metre-long sculpture."