Fatih Yücelik, the Chairman of the Board of TÜRKÇİMENTO, made a statement regarding the “Regulation on the Widespread Use of Green Cement.” Yücelik said, “As a sector, we are very pleased to contribute to any project that aligns with our President’s ‘2053 Net Zero Emissions’ goal. We believe that the target of reducing clinker use in cement production is an important step that will benefit the public interest.”
Yücelik, expressing his gratitude to the High Technical Council of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change for their efforts on the “Regulation on the Widespread Use of Green Cement,” which is expected to be published in the Official Gazette on March 16, 2024, stated that the regulation foresees setting the clinker/cement ratio in public construction projects and cement-containing material tenders to 0.80 for the period 2025-2029 and to 0.75 starting from 2030.
Fatih Yücelik shared his views on this matter as follows:
“Thanks to this regulation, approximately 11 million tons of CO2 emissions will be reduced over the next 10 years, and 1.3 million tons of imported petroleum coke will be saved, leading to environmental benefits equivalent to about 500 million trees. However, we believe that special attention must be given to certain critical aspects to ensure the success of the project. Firstly, the effective implementation of the restrictions in the regulation and the full realization of the intended environmental benefits will depend on the importance of the supervision mechanism. Raising awareness of the application principles of the regulation and establishing transparent supervision mechanisms will be key factors in the successful implementation of the project. Furthermore, the environmental benefits gained from the use of green cement types must continue to provide equivalent technical performance to traditional Portland cement. In this regard, increasing access to alternative raw materials such as fly ash and granulated blast furnace slag will be an important strategy to achieve the targets.”
Yücelik pointed out that India stands out with its clinker/cement ratio of 0.64. He explained that India’s success in rapidly achieving a low clinker/cement ratio was made possible by promoting the use of fly ash in the cement sector and implementing legal regulations for the reuse of thermal power plant waste.
Yücelik continued his statement:
“Another important factor in achieving success is the need to update the cement and concrete standards, which have been used in our country for many years, in line with this new approach, and to conduct field inspections based on these updated standards. As a result, while the regulation aims to promote the use of green cement in the public sector, we believe that to fully realize the environmental benefits, it is necessary to urgently establish supervision mechanisms, introduce incentives to facilitate access to alternative raw materials, and update the relevant standards.”
Fatih Yücelik also emphasized the importance of the private sector’s adherence to this regulation and the need for cement producers to inform consumers about the widespread use of green cement. “By fulfilling our responsibility in this regard, we will continue to contribute to increasing the targeted CO2 reduction,” he said.
Fatih Yücelik also expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change for playing a leading role in preparing the “Regulation on the Widespread Use of Green Cement,” which entered into force on January 1, 2025. He expressed his pleasure in supporting the sector’s emission-reducing projects and added that he hoped these legal efforts would continue to expand and that public-private sector cooperation would be successfully maintained.
