The Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TURKONFED) and the German think tank Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Türkiye, with the support of Turkish private lender Akbank, implemented a project aimed at raising awareness of the green transition process at the regional level in seven provinces, and shared its findings at the summit.
Turkish SMEs See Green Transition as 'Opportunity'
Under the project, nearly 350 firms took the survey. Over half of them operate in the industrial sector, a third in the service sector, and 4.6% in the agricultural sector. The factors SMEs see as risks in the report include lack of knowledge and awareness, insufficient human capital, loss of competitiveness, financing, and problems in the institutional structure regarding incentives and supports. Nearly 40% of companies said they need consulting and advice on financing opportunities for this process. While 65% of the firms said they considered the green deal an opportunity, 21% said they were unsure whether it is a risk or an opportunity. "8% of the companies considered the deal a risk," the report said. Over three-fourths of the companies said they had not measured their carbon footprint. About half of the 63 companies that had measured it are large companies with 250 or more employees. Firms were also asked how much on average they have invested in the past two years in the efficient use of resources. While 19% of the firms said they had made no investments, nearly half of the 14 companies that had invested said this sum was less than 5% of their turnover, the report said.