DO NOT LET THE 60 BILLION DOLLARS GO UP IN SMOKE

02 OCTOBER 2013

Izmir University of Economics academicians will calculate the energy security of the companies in Turkey where foreign dependency in energy consumption is increasing each passing day. The study will include the first 500 industrial organizations operating in Turkey in order to identify their energy awareness, corporate strategies, and how well they conform to the energy policies stated by the government. The industry-university collaboration will look for solutions to decrease the foreign dependency of Turkey resulting in 60 billion dollars energy import every year with a study titled, “The Energy Security Perception of Turkish Industrial Organizations: Industry Strategy Document and Energy Policies Adaptation Research”.
The Project, funded by Izmir University of Economics Research Projects Directorate, involves one-on-one meetings and surveys with the companies in the first 500 index announced by Istanbul Chamber of Industry. The 7 member team of academicians and doctorate students at IUE will share the outcomes of the study with public.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Efe Biresselioğlu, Head of IUE Department of Sustainable Energy, and the coordinator of the project, stated that based on World Bank figures, Turkey’s dependency on foreign resources in energy consumption has reached up to 74 percent by the end of 2012. He said, “This dependency is a result of 60 billion dollars energy import by our country. In parallel to this, based on Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) figures, the industry experienced a 103 percent unit price increase in electricity, and 60 percent increase in natural gas between the years 2007-2012. For this very reason, maintaining energy security should become a priority for government and policy makers.”

‘We will raise awareness among the first 500 industrial companies’

Asst. Prof. Dr. Biresselioğlu pointed that the industrial sector was responsible for the 35 percent of the energy consumption, and the project aimed to bring out the operational and strategic implementations developed by the sector in regard to energy strategies and policies. He said they wanted to draw attention to the issue from an academic point of view and stress the importance within the framework of university-industry collaboration. Biresselioğlu stated the following:

“This project aims to identify the energy awareness and corporate strategies of the first 500 industrial organizations operating in Turkey, in other words, companies in the ISO 500, and how well the energy policies stated by the government conform with the policies and strategies stated by the companies, institutions, and organizations. Also, without a doubt, we will be supporting the development of energy studies conducted in social sciences.”