Uğur GEDİK
General Manager
CPC Belgelendirme
With the continuation of the pandemic in 2021, risks in raw material supply and currency fluctuations in the last quarter had a significant impact on the construction industry. The continuing effect of the pandemic worldwide, negatively affected the producers. Continuation of production despite the difficulties in supply, can be evaluated positively. This situation pushed the manufacturer in the domestic market to seek different markets. While production amounts increased in 2021, the decrease in domestic demand and the differences in exchange rates led the producer to export.
Within the framework of the Green Deal, the “Carbon Border Tax-Carbon Border Adjustment (CBA)” was published by the European Commission on July 14, 2021. Carbon emission cost, strategy development and optimization studies have started to prepare for the European Green Deal.
The Paris Agreement was accepted unanimously in the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), and entered into force on 10 November 2021 after being published in the Official Gazette. Issues such as incentives for renewable energy and energy saving will gain importance in Turkey. Although no visible concrete steps have been observed after accepting the Paris Agreement, I can say that Turkey has already started green transformation in many areas.
The mixed audit method will continue in the upcoming period
Due to the slowdown in the domestic construction market and currency fluctuations, building materials manufacturers started to focus on exports in 2021. The ETA certificate for non-standard products and composite systems, paves the way for the producer in exports, especially in the European market, but also in the Middle East and Russian markets. Therefore, building materials manufacturers focused on ETA studies and there was a significant increase in the number of ETAs issued.
Due to the pandemic, audits were carried out remotely as much as possible to minimize the spread of Covid and in accordance with the accreditation rules. Even if the online audits were supplemented with site visits at appropriate times, it reduced efficiency for both manufacturers and certification bodies in terms of effective use of time. It is foreseen that the mixed audit method will continue in the upcoming period.
The increase in exchange rates and raw material supply problems had a negative impact on the producers. However, some additional responsibilities for producers have increased the financial load even more. As stated in the regulation on registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals, the amount of Chromium VI in bagged cement has been limited. The reducing agent to be used to keep the chromium VI below the determined amount and the installation of the feeding units of this agent meant additional costs to the manufacturer. This and various other reasons increase unit costs, which on the other hand affects the end user.
By expanding our scope, we have increased our service opportunities to the manufacturer
Despite negativities, we achieved our targets this year. CPC Certification Body offered our services in 2021 with a management policy based on continuous development to add value to the future of the businesses, of which we are solution partners. In addition, with our policy based on continuous development, we have increased our service opportunities for the manufacturer by expanding our scope in accordance with TS EN 197-5 and TS EN 206+A2 standards. We plan to meet the needs of the manufacturers and to always contribute to the development of the industry by continuing to expand the scope of needs in product certification, environment, and quality areas, and closely following the developments in the sector.