Environmental Policy

As a model corparation, we, using contemporary scientific, efficient and effective working methods; putting environmental management, labor safety and quality at the heart of our priorities; constantly improving environmental quality, adopt following principles in order to serve only to our employees but also to local people for a healthy and clean environment:

• In order to protect environment and prevent pollution, we shall develop projects and cause them to be executed and shall determine and use the most suitable technologies in accordance with the conditions of the country. 
• In determining waste management policy, we shall increase our environmental perfonmance and take necessary precautions to dispose of effluents generated by our activities without causing damage to the environment. 
• In light of environmentalstandarts and ecological criterion, any kind of measurement, analysis and control shall be contucted. 
• We shall apply ISO 14001 environmental management system and be a pioneer in the applications of environmental management system related to steel, energy, shipbuilding and transportation sectors. 
• We shall meet all the requirements under national acts, regulations and international treaties. 
• We shall collectievely evaluate our economic and ecological decisions to achieve sustainable and well-balanced improvement in our position in the sector.
• In light of the sustainable development and in the processof our production, we shall use natural resources taking into account the balance between their existenceand usage limits.
• On the issue of environment, we shall develop management policies considering the demands of non-governmental organisations, entities as well as that of public.
• With the aim of raising environmental awareness and ensuring environmental applications to run effectively, we shall provide training programmes to our employees.

We, hereby, undertake and declare to public that we shall show every effort in the direction of this environmental policy for a livable world and sustainable development. 

İÇDAŞ, in terms of environmental activities, is in the leading position in its sector…
İÇDAŞ is the leader in steel sector with its activities when it comes to environmental issues and its contributions to social life.

Believing in sustainable development since its foundation, İÇDAŞ has always been unsparing in this direction. One of the most important elements in all our activities is showing continual respect to environment and nature. 

 

 

This sensitivity shown to the environment has yielded its first fruit in the form of ISO 

 

14001 Environmental Management System Certificate. İÇDAŞ is now enjoying the rightful pride of being the first and only company in Turkey and one of the few companies in Europe, for having earned the right to bear the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Certificate amongst the steelworks with electrical arc furnaces, at the end of audits carried out by BVQI in 2004. Our company has received a couple of the most esteemed Environment Awards of Turkey, namely the Environmental Award of Istanbul Chamber of Industry in 2005 and Şahabettin Bilgisu Environmental Incentive Award of Kocaeli Chamber of Industry in 2006. In addition to this, İÇDAŞ has received European Business Awards for the Environment - Turkey Programme Category of Management Award in 2008.

İÇDAŞ shall not spare any means for the environment today and in the future and continue to be an exemplary and leading company in our country and in our sector, in terms of environmental activities as in the case of industrialization. 

ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
What is ISO 14001 Environment Management System?
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System is an international standard, prepared by the Technical Committee of International

Standards Organisation ISO, targeting to minimise the negative effects of the enterprises on environment. Serious danger presented by environmental pollution, to be faced by the next generations, has necessitated the publication of a standard to minimise the negative environmental effects. The most fundamental objective of ISO 14001 is to prevent the environmental pollution during production. Even though the enterprises do not have any legal obligations to obtain this certificate; the companies which are sensitive towards environment, and believing in sustainable development and fulfilling all the requirements of these, obtain this certificate to document their environmental related activities in the international arena.

ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) Implementations at İÇDAŞ
ISO 14001 EMS efforts in our factory was initiated at the end of 2003. As the first step of these efforts; all the activities at the factory are listed without making any discrimination between the activities, whether being trivial or important. Afterwards, the inputs and outputs of all the activities are examined. “Environmental Impact Assessment Table” is prepared by determining the wastes originating from the activities or the environmental impact arising out of the activities. In this table, the environmental impacts are listed in accordance with the magnitude of their affect on the environment. Afterwards, each environmental impact is examined one-by-one and, the most appropriate procedure controls are then determined to prevent those giving harm to the environment. At the end of the audits carried out by

BVQI in our facilities in December 2004; our company became the first Iron & Steel Work in private sector in Turkey to receive the ISO 14001 Environment Management System Certificate.

 

During the ISO 14001 certification process studies; hundreds of environmental dimensions were examined; from used gloves to used motor oils, from live ecosystem in the sea to consumed electrical energy, from gases harmful to the ozone layer to the exhaust gas inspections of the vehicles transporting raw materials to our factory; and the procedural controls are determined to reduce these to the minimum levels or completely eliminating their detrimental effects to the environment. Our factory has not contended with evaluating only the impact of its own activities but has began to evaluate the environmental impacts of the companies providing products and rendering services to our factory and to encourage these companies to take their environmental impacts under a control.

 

In our factory, recyclable or recoverable wastes such as papers, plastics, metals, waste oils, woods, glasses are collected separately. These wastes are sent to the recycling facilities or to the facilities where they can be reused. Recovery of these waste materials, both reduces the amount of energy consumed during production and prevents the consumption of the valuable natural resources and also prevents the dumping grounds being piled up with these waste materials.

Whereas, the wastes carrying the attributes of being harmful to the nature, such as batteries, chemical substance containers, waste oils or the chemical substance contaminated wastes, are collected separately from the other wastes and are stored. As is known, these wastes getting mixed with water or soil may lead to serious contamination in these areas and come back to the people through food chains. These wastes, collected and stored in our factory separately from the other wastes, are sent to the competent facilities licensed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and are disposed there.

In our factory; environmental measurements are carried out periodically, such as waste water analyses, noise measurements, vehicles’ exhaust gas measurements and, whereas the emission measurements are followed up with the constant flue gas measurement devices. Thus, a detrimental effect is determined in a timely manner and the necessary preventive measures are taken.

Emergency case teams are formed in our factory and our employees are subjected to a series of trainings on how to react in the event of an emergency case, such as fire, earthquake, etc. and on first aid matters. These trainings and drills are repeated periodically to achieve the objective of keeping this information as usable at all times. Our factory will continue to be one of the pioneering enterprises of Turkey in Iron and Steel Sector by constantly following the latest developments in the environmental technologies. We would like to especially accentuate that we shall not spare any means in this respect and believe that each investment made for the environmental protection will constitute to be an investment made for the future of Turkey.



Waste Water Management
Waste water generated in our facility is divided into two groups, as domestic and industrial wastes. Our industry originated waste water is the sea water, used by us for cooling the process waters. The process cooling waters running in a closed circuit system are cooled with the use of sea water through heat exchangers. While the process water which looses its heat is re-circulated to the facility

once again, and the sea water which cooled the process water is discharged to the sea. During this process, the heat exchange is actualised through heat exchangers with titanium panels. The sea water taken into the facility, is discharged back to the sea, without getting in contact with any chemicals or physical substances thereof.

Another waste water source in our facility, is the domestic waste water collected from the kitchens, bathrooms and toilets. Domestic waste water is treated in 9 biologic compact treatment facilities, dispersed in various locations in the factory area and are discharged as being treated.



Emission Management
Our facility is the first Iron and Steel Works with arc furnace in Turkey to receive the Emission License for being in conformity with the provisions of the Regulations for the Air Pollution Control in Industrial Facilities. All emission measurements in our facility are performed periodically by the competent institutions licensed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Furthermore, the emission values are measured instantaneously with the emission measurement device located in our facility flue. This value may be monitored 24 hours, both at our liaison office in Biga and also from our web site.



Solid Waste Management
Our main principle in the management of process waste and other wastes generated at our facilities is to ensure that these wastes are put into good use once again. As a result of the R&D works carried out with this objective in mind and the investments made in this respect; it is determined that the process wastes generated at our facilities may be used as raw material in many other industries, and as a result of the works carried out in this direction, 99.7% of these wastes are recycled into reusable or recoverable products. 



Noise Management
Noise measurements are carried on the noise generated in our facilities for examining their impact on the surrounding areas and as a result of this, a noise map is prepared. On the nearby residential areas, any impact caused by the noise generated at our facilities, could be determined.



Afforestation Activities
Over 60.000 various kinds of young trees and shrubs are planted into the surroundings and inside the facility area for afforestation.



Our Contribution to the Social Life
One of the most important responsibilities of our company is to enrich the social life of the regional people, amongst whom its own employees take place. For this purpose, many organisations, trainings, competitions are arranged and support and awards are given. Some of these are as follows:

In order to bring back to life the needle lace, which is a disappearing traditional art of the region, lace competition was organised and awards were given to successful competitors and all the works were exhibited.

Vocational and personal development trainings oriented towards the youth of the region and occupational and occupational safety trainings are given continually.

A sailing school oriented towards the youth of the region is opened and free trainings are provided.

Archaeological excavation works are carried out in the region with the sponsorship of our company, in order to unearth the archaeological works and bring them into light. 



Monitoring Water Quality of the Kemer Creek 

Kemer Creek is a local running surface water body starting within the boundaries of Lapseki County, crosscutting Biga County and discharging into the Marmara Sea. This creek is neither a water supply source nor a discharge point for our facility. Within the context of our Environmental and Corporate Social Responsibility, a pilot research project was initiated by ICDAS Environmental Unit to monitor the water quality of this creek. The objective of this pilot project is to assess the seasonal water quality while providing an opportunity to gain experience in field work for our environmental staff.

The changes in the water quality along the creek is monitored with 6-month sampling intervals. The preliminary results of the monitoring efforts reveal that the creek water quality is impacted by the upgradient local agricultural and small industrial activities. 2007 Report of this project can be reached at link.

 2007 Report of Kemer Creek 
 2008 Report of Kemer Creek