OSBUK Supports Vodafone’s "Waste to Code" Project

Vodafone's "Waste to Code" project, launched to raise awareness about electronic waste and promote electronic waste recycling, keeps growing with the support of its business partners. After the recent inclusion of the Supreme Board Of Organized Industrial Zones (OSBÜK), the number of institutions supporting the project has increased to 41. In this regard, Organized Industrial Zones in 14 provinces, in collaboration with OSBÜK, will join the process of collecting e-waste.

Vodafone aims to halve the environmental impact of its operations worldwide by 2025, resuming its efforts to decrease its ecological footprint in Turkey as well. With the support and contributions of its corporate stakeholders, Vodafone continues to expand the scope of the "Waste to Code" project, implemented to promote the recycling of electronic waste and raise awareness on this issue. After the recent inclusion of the Supreme Board Of Organized Industrial Zones (OSBÜK), the number of institutions supporting the project has increased to 41. In cooperation with OSBÜK, "Waste to Code" has become a pilot project in Organized Industrial Zones (OSB) located in 14 provinces, namely Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Istanbul, İzmir, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Samsun, and Tekirdağ.

Mr. Hasan Süel, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Turkey , stated:

"Based on our goal of being a purpose-driven company, we aim to reduce Vodafone Turkey's total greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2025 and recycle 100% of e-waste. We have launched our 'Waste to Code' project to ensure the accurate recycling of electronic wastes and raise awareness about this issue. We are opening coding classes in schools using the economic income generated from the recycling of electronic waste collected. Until today, we have opened classes in 7 provinces. We are happy to receive OSBÜK's support for our project. With OSBÜK's support, we will continue to expand our project in our ecosystem and open new coding classes in various provinces of Turkey. We would like to thank the OSBÜK management for contributing to our project. Aiming for a better future for everyone, we will continue our sustainability efforts that create value."

Mr. Memiş Kütükcü, the Chair of OSBÜK, also stated:

"The project is now being implemented as a pilot project in 14 OIZ (Organized Industrial Zone), namely Adana Hacı Sabanci OIZ, Antalya OIZ, ASO 2 and 3 OIZ, Bursa Nilüfer OIZ, Denizli OIZ, Diyarbakir OIZ, Gaziantep OIZ, İstanbul Beylikdüzü OIZ, İzmir Menemen Plastic Specialized OIZ, Kayseri OIZ, Kocaeli Gebze Dilovası OIZ, Konya OIZ, Samsun Central OIZ, and Tekirdağ Ergene-2 ​​OIZ. Within the project's scope, end-of-life electrical or electronic equipment will be collected from these OIZs and brought back into the economy by recycling. We will open coding classes in schools thanks to the economic income gained from this recycling process. I hope we will initiate a new process both for protecting our environment and bringing electronic waste back into the economy by implementing this project in all our OIZs in the future. I would like to thank Vodafone and all its managers, our project partners."

Mr. Uğur Işık, the Chair of the Akademi Cevre , stated:

"As part of the Waste to Code project, which we continue to support as Vodafone's solution partner since May 2019, we have transformed the collected e-waste into a social, environmental, and economic value. Thanks to this project, we have created an extensive ecosystem by partnering with many of Turkey's leading companies. In line with our mission on issues such as climate change, circular economy, and waste management, we value contributing to the children, the representatives of the future, and our society. To date, we have opened 7 coding classes in 7 provinces with the e-waste collected. In the future, I hope we will be able to open coding classes in different provinces of our country by recycling more e-waste."

Coding classes have been opened in 7 provinces

Combining its goals of supporting education and reducing ecological impact with the "Waste to Code" project, Vodafone collects electronic waste received from the homes of employees and business partners and ensures that these wastes are recycled by Akademi Cevre, a certified recycling company. Within the "Coding Tomorrow" project launched in partnership with Vodafone Turkey Foundation and Habitat Association, coding classes are established in schools thanks to the economic income gained from recycling.

With this project launched in May 2019, coding classes have been opened in Mardin, Samsun, Adana, Gaziantep, Usak, Bingol, and Canakkale until today. Travelling around Turkey to promote Vodafone's corporate solutions, Vodafone Business Digitalization Truck has also contributed to the project by collecting electronic waste in the cities it visited. Since 2020, Vodafone's corporate business partners, Artıtel, Deloitte Turkey, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Karel Elektronik, KPMG Turkey, Mikrolink, Ostim Organized Industrial Zone, Balkantürksiad, Uludağ İçecek, İnoksan, Özhan Marketler Zinciri, Penguen Gıda, Artofis Mobilya, Elyafteks, Matlı Yem, Elektroteks, HTS Metal Kalıp Otomotiv, Menejer Bilgisayar, Ballı Metal, Numeko Safety, Mavi Yeşil Danışmanlık, Deniz Tekstil, Yeşim Tekstil, OSBÜK (Supreme Board Of Organized Industrial Zones), Üniteks Tekstil, Yavuzçehre Tekstil, and Barga Bayramoğlu Rüzgar Enerjisi Ürünleri have also joined the project. As part of the recent collaboration with OSBÜK, the project has been started to be implemented in 14 Organized Industrial Zones. These institutions collect e-waste with the support of over 28,000 employees in offices and plants in İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Adana, Antalya, Bursa, Denizli, Ordu, Kütahya, Batman, Tokat, Sakarya, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Samsun, Tekirdağ, and Giresun.

Those who want to become a corporate supporter of the "Waste to Code" project can contact Vodafone at surdurulebilirlik@vodafone.com .