Materials Marketplace

From waste to opportunity:  Elif is a member of the new project to scale up material reuse

The Materials Marketplace project is a key step towards the shift to a circular economy - one where waste becomes the new engine for creating value. Elif is committed to supporting the projects that will open up new business opportunities while creating economic, environmental, and societal benefits.

The Materials Marketplace is a new joint pilot project led by Turkey Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD Turkey) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Bringing together more than 20 major companies with operations in Turkey, the project will help participants identify ways to reuse or exchange undervalued materials via an online database, and establish new circular supply chains. The increasing pressure on our natural resources sends a clear message: we need to find value in discarded materials. Growing cross-industry collaboration for the efficient use of our resources is promising.

The potential benefits of matching material and by-product waste streams with opportunities for reuse are massive. In recent years US WBCSD has reported that, General Motors has generated nearly $1 billion in annual revenue through reusing and recycling its by-products. By finding reuse and recycling options for this material, GM avoided over 10 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions in 2014.

Material management should not be perceived only as a cost-reduction project but a business opportunity to increase revenue with circular economy.  By joining the Turkey part of the pilot project, Elif will benefit from:

 

• Lower operational costs due to cheaper feedstock and reduced waste disposal costs
• Reduced carbon footprint owing to major cuts in energy use and GHG emissions
• Reduced environmental footprint by avoiding waste disposal and raw material purchase
• Enhanced social and economic impact through new business opportunities and jobs
• Improved corporate reputation through the reporting of reuse activities and diversion of waste streams for productive purposes
• A collaborative and dynamic business network allowing for exploration of new pathways for materials with other like-minded colleagues.

Lessons learned from the pilot will be used to scale up materials reuse projects in Turkey and worldwide, notably through WBCSD Turkey and WBCSD’s Global Network of national business councils. Elif will continue to be at the forefront of initiatives opening new opportunities by means of sustainability and circular economy, and inspire the packaging industry with higher sustainability goals.