Green Deal in the Natural Stone Sector

Green Deal in the Natural Stone Sector One-third of global emissions come from the construction sector. With the European Union, Turkey's largest export market, set to implement the Green Deal through taxation of high-carbon products to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, sectors such as cement, iron-steel and aluminium—heavily used in construction in the initial phase—require comprehensive changes in the natural stone sector as well. The Turkish natural stone sector has begun work towards compliance with the Green Deal and targets for "Transition to a Carbon-Free Economy." Alper Demir, Director of Eletra Trade, providing information on Australia, which holds the position of the world's 16th largest importer in the natural stone sector, said: "Australia is a wealthy market. One of the world's ten richest countries. Turkey and Australia are friendly nations. The construction sector is growing day by day. An advantageous market. A country in the top 10 by world purchasing power parity. They place great importance on workers' rights. Equality, social compliance, environmentally friendly production and sustainability are priorities."

Sustainability can be the engine of growth in next-generation natural stone industry

World Natural Stone Union (Wonasa) Director Anil Taneja said: "Sustainability means meeting today's needs without causing harm from generation to generation. We live in an age that must always be agile and extremely flexible. In some countries, particularly in Northern and Western Europe and the USA, EPD certificates—that is, sustainability criteria—have begun to become decisive in projects. New applications can be the engine of growth for the next-generation natural stone industry."

Regulations will come for natural stone too; we can hear the footsteps

Egean Mining Exporters Association Chairman İbrahim Alimoğlu said: "One-third of global emissions come from the construction sector. Serious work is underway to reduce the carbon footprints of many products and materials such as cement and iron-steel used in the construction sector. This has begun to become mandatory with the Green Deal. Regulations started with major items such as cement, iron-steel and aluminium. Regulations will come for natural stone, which is heavily used in construction; we can hear the footsteps. For a building to obtain a silver or gold certificate, Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) will be required for every material used. This will become mandatory in the coming years. The more prepared we are as the Turkish natural stone sector beforehand, the more we will stay ahead of the curve. Thicker stones have higher carbon emissions. Sending thinner stones could be advantageous for us. The energy source you use to produce the stone is also one of the most important points. If our renewable energy sources increase, it will be much better. When Turkey reduces fossil fuels, we will encounter positive developments. In the coming period, a carbon footprint market will be established worldwide. With the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, there will be threshold values for each product. European importers will look at the carbon footprint in every product; if our exporters exceed the threshold value, they will pay a fee. Therefore, a carbon market and trade gateway will be created."

Carbon footprint and water usage in natural stone are relatively low

Efe Nalbantoğlu, Board Member of the Egean Mining Exporters Association, said: "In recent years, trade worldwide is being reshaped around sustainability. Green transformation and sustainability principles are positioned at the core of company strategies. The natural stone sector could not help but be affected by these changes and transformations. Although carbon footprint and water usage are relatively low when natural stone production processes are examined, it is important to enrich products and production processes with environmentally friendly practices. To guide the sector, we recently translated the Sustainability Guide for Natural Stone."

Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certificate will become mandatory

Erdoğan Akbulak, Chairman of Silkar Mining, said the following, noting that the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) certificate, which is valid worldwide and has become standard in Europe, has begun to become mandatory in many industries: "EPD is an independently verified and registered certificate that presents environmental impacts arising throughout the product lifecycles, carbon emission data in a transparent and comparable manner. The types of energy used in all stages of the supply chain, the content of chemical substances, emissions and similar processes are examined. EPD provides information on environmental performance, lifecycle assessment, resource usage, energy consumption and various emission sources. It not only measures the production process but also, during subsequent use—for example, if a building has a 50-year lifespan, it measures the carbon emissions that the product will generate when removed from that building. Data is collected according to the product lifecycle and an inventory is created. All information related to materials consumed for 1 square metre of final product, how much packaging, how much water was used, factory production quantities, weight, waste, annual energy consumption in kilns, how much in the factory, transport-related movements within the quarry, transport of the product to the factory and handling processes within the factory, the supply chain before export, what percentage of total production waste is recycled, materials and energy used in product installation and assembly, emissions, transport of the product after its lifecycle is complete to another location and consumption—in short, all factors from A to Z related to every process are calculated. The product certification is completed."

Turkey ranks third in Europe among countries with EPD certificates

Hüdai Kara, Founder and Manager of Metsims Sustainability Consulting, said: "We need to know the environmental performance of building materials. We are moving towards a system where EPD will soon begin to be used in all building materials and other products as well. We need to take action to implement a circular economy. Most emissions come from the building sector. Data of this kind is needed in the assessment of buildings. When assessing buildings in compliance with the Green Deal, we need to know the carbon emissions per square metre of the building, and answers must be sought to questions about what types of materials are used, whether they have high or low emissions. At this point, the only certificate that will answer this question is the EPD certificate. Very widespread in Europe, it is opening globally. A digital product passport system is important for us so that users in the supply chain can reuse products or products can be properly handled in waste management facilities, with the most accurate information about each product structure being shared. ISO 14025 Standard, 14040/44 Standard are standards in which we evaluate a product's environmental performance in environmental performance from raw material to final product to disposal. In EPD Certificates globally, Europe leads; there is enormous growth. Among countries with the most EPD certificates, Turkey ranks third in Europe after Italy and Sweden. Just as in building materials, the textile sector, chemical and food sectors, major companies are conducting green procurement processes; most are obtaining EPD certificates. The EPD Certificate process is a 3-4 month process; as the number of products increases, the process lengthens. It transparently presents the environmental performance of the product. Now corporate carbon footprint is important, not just product carbon footprint. You are taking an X-ray of your own production. Architects have also focused on sustainability."