The 18th KCI Sustainable Performance Awards Ceremony took place with the participation of Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB). The ceremony attracted strong interest and aimed to encourage companies while promoting a sustainability mindset across the industrial sector.
STRONG PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM
Hosted by Chairman of the Board of the Kocaeli Chamber of Industry (KCI) Ayhan Zeytinoğlu and Assembly Chairman Hasan Tahsin Tuğrul, the ceremony welcomed TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu along with Kocaeli Governor İlhami Aktaş, Chairman of the Credit Guarantee Fund Erdoğan Özegen, Mayor of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Tahir Büyükakın, Rector of Kocaeli University Prof. Dr. Nuh Zafer Cantürk, Rector of Gebze Technical University Prof. Dr. Hacı Ali Mantar, Rector of KOSTÜ Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Elmas, provincial directors, organized industrial zone presidents, many guests and representatives of award-winning companies. KCI presented awards to eight companies during the ceremony.
OUR GOAL IS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY
Opening the ceremony with an overview of Kocaeli’s economic indicators, KCI Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu said:
“Through our Sustainable Performance Awards, which we organized for the 18th time this year, we aim to support companies that integrate environmental, social and corporate governance elements into their business processes alongside financial results. Our goal is to help spread a culture of sustainability across our industrial sector.”
COMPANIES EVALUATED UNDER SEVEN MAIN CRITERIA
Companies operating in the Marmara region apply to the program on a voluntary basis. KCI evaluates applicants under seven main criteria and in two categories, SMEs and Large Enterprises. With the contributions of PwC Türkiye, the East Marmara ABIGEM prepares feedback reports for all participating companies. These reports allow companies to clearly identify areas for improvement and take concrete steps to address their shortcomings. KCI believes this work makes a meaningful contribution to companies in terms of the European Green Deal, the twin transition and sustainable competitiveness.
THANKING TO COMPANIES
“The companies we are honoring today are those most ready for change under these seven criteria,” Zeytinoğlu said. “Despite current challenges, I value the efforts our companies demonstrate in sustainability and efficiency. I thank all companies that participated in our program and express my appreciation to our jury members for their diligent work. I hope sustainability-focused efforts across our industry will continue to grow.”
HISARCIKLIOĞLU CONGRATULATES KCI
Following Chairman Zeytinoğlu, TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu took the floor and expressed his satisfaction at being in Kocaeli, Türkiye’s industrial capital.
“Kocaeli has become the driving force of Turkish industry thanks to the contributions of our industrialists. When Kocaeli succeeds, Türkiye succeeds,” he said. Hisarcıklıoğlu also praised KCI, noting that the chamber delivers five-star services in line with European standards and congratulated Chairman Zeytinoğlu on KCI’s successful work.
Mayor of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Tahir Büyükakın stated that Kocaeli recovers 45 million cubic meters of grey water annually and said this amount meets the needs of the local industry. He called on industrialists to increase their use of grey water. Governor İlhami Aktaş congratulated the award-winning companies and thanked them for their environmentally friendly production practices. Following the speeches, awards were presented to the companies.
SME CATEGORY AWARD WINNERS
In the SME Category, the Sustainability Third Prize went to SAMM Teknoloji İletişim San. Tic. A.Ş. Founder Partner and General Manager Murat Atilla received the award from Kocaeli Chamber of Commerce Chairman Necmi Bulut, Gebze Chamber of Commerce Chairman Abdurrahman Aslantaş and Körfez Chamber of Commerce Chairman Recep Öztürk.
The Sustainability Second Prize in the SME Category was awarded to OPTIMUM Süreç Tasarımı ve Uygulamaları A.Ş. Company Director Mehmet Doğan received the award from Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Ahmet Akgün Altuğ and Sakarya Commodity Exchange Chairman Mustafa Genç.
The Sustainability First Prize in the SME Category went to SMS Sanayi Malzemeleri Üretim ve Satışı A.Ş. General Manager Ömer Kaya received the award from Rector of Kocaeli University Prof. Dr. Nuh Zafer Cantürk, Rector of Gebze Technical University Prof. Dr. Hacı Ali Mantar and Rector of KOSTÜ Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Elmas.
LARGE ENTERPRISE CATEGORY AWARD WINNERS
In the Large Enterprise Category, the Sustainability Third Prize was awarded to Nuh Çimento A.Ş. General Manager Halim Tekkeşin and Board Member Mehmet Eskiyapan received the award from Yalova Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Cemil Demiryürek and Düzce Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Erdoğan Bıyık.
The Sustainability Second Prize went to Kordsa Teknik Tekstil A.Ş. Operations Director Suat Hayri Bekircan received the award from Chairman of the Credit Guarantee Fund Erdoğan Özegen and Ankara Chamber of Industry Chairman Seyit Ardıç.
The Sustainability First Prize in the Large Enterprise Category was awarded to Ford Otomotiv Sanayi A.Ş. Ford Otosan Leader and CEO Güven Özyurt received the award from Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of TOBB and the World Chambers Federation.
INCENTIVE AWARD
Hemac Makina Kalıp ve Yedek Parça İmalatı San. ve Tic. Ltd. Şti. received the Incentive Award. General Manager Canan Elif İcik Yegin accepted the award from Mayor of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tahir Büyükakın.
EXCELLENCE AWARD
The Excellence Award went to Türkiye Petrol Rafinerileri A.Ş. (TÜPRAŞ). General Manager İbrahim Yelmenoğlu received the award from Kocaeli Governor İlhami Aktaş, KCI Chairman of the Board Ayhan Zeytinoğlu and KCI Assembly Chairman Hasan Tahsin Tuğrul. The ceremony concluded with a group photo featuring award-winning companies, protocol members and jury members.
