Enerjisa Üretim Brings Together Public Sector, Academia and Private Industry for Disaster Preparedness

Enerjisa Üretim, a leading private-sector power producer leading Turkey's renewable energy transition, organized a Disaster Management Conference to strengthen institutional and societal resilience against disasters. The conference provided a strong collaboration framework enabling public, academic, private and civil society sectors to develop joint solutions in disaster management.
 
Enerjisa Üretim hosted an inclusive gathering in the field of disaster management through the Disaster Management Conference organized at its General Headquarters Office in Istanbul Ataşehir. This conference strengthened the company's organizational preparedness while creating a foundation for developing collective intelligence and coordination against disasters in Turkey. The event brought together representatives of critical institutions and organizations including Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, AFAD, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality AKOM, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Bahçeşehir and Kocaeli University, AKUT and the Disaster Psychology Platform.

The conference, held with broad participation ranging from academics to public representatives, private sector leaders to civil society stakeholders, became a forum for multi-stakeholder dialogue to develop Turkey's disaster management capacity. The roadmap that will emerge following the conference will strengthen Enerjisa Üretim's institutional resilience against disasters while laying the foundation for long-term partnerships with stakeholders. With an approach rooted in belief in the power of collective intelligence, a sustainable disaster management ecosystem will be built through regular information sharing and comprehensive training programs.
 
Proactive steps against risks, fire and earthquake prevention
Within the scope of the conference, forest fires, one of Turkey's current disaster priorities, became one of the key topics. Enerjisa Üretim, taking an active role in fighting fires in areas within its operational scope, increases local response capacity by providing support to power plant sites and settlements in affected areas. It provides direct intervention against fire with heavy machinery and contributes to the region with volunteer teams. In addition to these field applications, the Fire Coordination Center to be implemented in Muğla in cooperation with the Forest Regional Directorate further strengthens the company's institutional partnerships in fighting fires.

Since 2020, Enerjisa Üretim has planted close to 1.5 million seedlings, taking active responsibility both in the field and in long-term prevention efforts against fires. Regarding earthquake risk, in response to the potential Istanbul earthquake, the company included Tufanbeyli and Bandırma power plants in its geographic redundancy plan, completing strategic preparations to ensure uninterrupted energy production activities. Furthermore, within the first 24-48 hours following the 6 February earthquakes, the company reached the affected region with volunteer teams implementing multi-faceted relief efforts including search and rescue, logistics support and hot meal distribution. During this period, it took an active role in many areas from meeting humanitarian needs to ensuring coordination.
 
"We must envision the future together and build it through solidarity"
Enerjisa Üretim CEO İhsan Erbil Bayçöl, stressing the importance of acting together in disaster management, said: "All the disasters we have experienced in the past and in recent times have shown that this struggle can only succeed through inter-institutional cooperation and joint action. Our greatest strength against disasters is our solidarity culture based on trust. With this understanding, we held a comprehensive gathering at our Istanbul Ataşehir Office. We brought together stakeholders from the public, academic, civil society and private sectors to evaluate the steps we have taken and to shape the roadmap for the future with collective intelligence. Taking proactive steps against all disaster risks is an integral part of our sustainability in energy production. We strengthen our effective field intervention with the partnerships we have developed, our volunteer teams and our long-term projects, building both institutional and societal resilience together. We believe that discussing disasters before they occur and taking necessary precautions is the most critical step. With this approach, we have led societal awareness efforts for the past three years; working together with academics and experts, we are implementing projects aimed at preventing forest fires. In addition to fighting fires to increase forest areas, we are also conducting work related to afforestation activities. Every year we plant seedlings equal to ten thousand times our age in the soil.

Our target this year is at least 290,000 seedlings; in 2026, in our 30th year, we plan to reach 300,000 seedlings. We carefully monitor the growth of each seedling and its transformation into forest; we are determined to increase this number, which currently exceeds 1.5 million, to 3 million and then to 10 million. Our preparations against disasters are not limited to forest fires; they also play a critical role in major-scale scenarios such as a possible Istanbul earthquake. In line with our goal of maintaining Turkey's independence in energy supply security, ensuring energy continuity against such disasters is always our priority. In this context, we evaluate all scenarios against a major earthquake that could occur in Istanbul; we maintain instant transfer capability to our Bandırma and Tufanbeyli Power Plants to ensure uninterrupted continuity of our energy production. We are systematizing the lessons learned from the 6 February earthquakes; we are jointly addressing how we can act more effectively before, during and after disasters. We will continue to work with all our stakeholders for a more resilient, more informed and better prepared future." he said.