ITOSAM Established

İTOSAM Established Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) has established the İTO Strategic Research Centre (İTOSAM) to prepare data-driven strategic reports for the real sector. According to an announcement from İTO, the centre began operations in the historic Liman Han building, which was restored in Eminönü. İTOSAM released its first research report titled 'Green Transformation of Istanbul's Real Sector: Current Status and Expectations'. İTO Chairman Şekib Avdagiç said that the centre will conduct studies on the dynamics of Istanbul's economic and commercial life. Avdagiç stated: "At the İTO Strategic Research Centre, we will conduct research that takes the pulse of the real sector. We will continue our work with data that reflects the current situation and expectations of SMEs in particular." Avdagiç expressed that İTOSAM aims to present the guiding findings obtained from these studies for the benefit of the real sector and policymakers. Avdagiç said: "One aspect of the work to be carried out within the scope of İTOSAM will focus on scientific methods, while the other aspect will focus on the practical operation of the real sector. In this way, theory and practical realities will be brought together in a way that serves the economic development of Istanbul and Turkey." In the İTO announcement, it was noted that İTOSAM will also conduct field work such as surveys, workshops, focus group meetings and interviews. The centre will blend the data and expert opinions it obtains with publicly accessible data and sources, producing analyses on different subjects. In this way, a large data repository will be created within İTOSAM that can be used for studies on Istanbul's economic and commercial life. This data repository will also be made available to students and academics who wish to conduct academic research on Istanbul's economy. In the research report titled 'Green Transformation of Istanbul's Real Sector: Current Status and Expectations', the steps companies have taken regarding green transformation to date, the motivations behind environment-friendly actions, the challenges they face in this process and what they expect from policymakers to accelerate the green transformation process are discussed. [caption id="attachment_77785" align="aligncenter"] Şekib Avdagiç[/caption]

İTO Chairman Avdagiç made the following comments regarding the report:

"We saw in the research that although many companies tend to conduct environment-friendly activities, there is still considerable ground to cover in institutionalizing and making this sustainable. For this reason, current deficiencies in the legal framework regarding green transformation need to be addressed. There is a need for increased communication and interaction between the public sector, the real sector and civil society organizations. Changes in consumption patterns and preferences are of vital importance. And of course, information activities and incentives are the fundamental factors that will shape the destiny of green transformation in our country."