11th Istanbul Carbon Summit Honors Low-Carbon Champions
The 11th Istanbul Carbon Summit, organized by the Sustainable Production and Consumption Association (SÜT-D), was held this year at Istanbul Technical University under the theme "Decarbonization, Carbon Market and Climate Technologies." At the carbon-neutral summit, institutions and projects contributing to the low-carbon transition were honored with "Low Carbon Hero" awards.
The 11th Istanbul Carbon Summit, organised by the Association for Sustainable Production and Consumption (SÜDT), took place at Istanbul Technical University this year under the theme "Decarbonisation, Carbon Markets and Climate Technologies". At the carbon-neutral summit, institutions and projects contributing to low-carbon transition were honoured with "Low Carbon Hero" awards.
Held with main support from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change and Istanbul Technical University, the summit was conducted on 4-5 May 2026 with high stakeholder participation. The event, which stood out with sessions, exhibitions and sector meetings, addressed sustainability, carbon management, climate technologies and green transition.
Emphasis on "Carbon Handprint"
Prof. Dr. Filiz Karaosmanoğlu, ITU Faculty Member and SÜDT Chair, drew attention in her summit remarks to the importance of the concept of "carbon handprint" as much as carbon footprint.
Karaosmanoğlu noted that greenhouse gas emissions arising from daily life and production processes trigger climate change, and stated that the power to reverse this process lies in raising the carbon handprint.
Prof. Dr. Karaosmanoğlu made the following assessment:
"Carbon Handprint refers to practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create positive impact in production, consumption and service processes. We organised our summit as carbon-neutral in compliance with the requirements of our country's first and only 'ISO 20121 Sustainable Event Management System' certification."
The summit was opened by ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal and General Director of Environmental Management Fatih Turan. Representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources also made contributions to the event.
Young Carbon Heroes Recognised
Within the scope of work conducted by SÜDT towards developing a sustainable lifestyle culture among children, this year the Beşiktaş Science and Art Centre (BİLSEM) was included as a partner school in the project.
BEŞIKTAŞ BİLSEM "Ipless Carbon Team" was deemed worthy of the "SÜDT 2026 Young Carbon Hero" award for their work drawing attention to the climate crisis through puppets they designed from recyclable waste.
The award was presented by ITU Vice Rector Prof. Dr. İpek Akın Karadayı, General Director of Environmental Management Fatih Turan and Chairman of the Public Oversight Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority Dr. Hasan Özçelik.
19 Institutions and Projects Selected as "Low Carbon Heroes"
This year, SÜDT awarded 19 institutions and projects standing out with sustainability, carbon management, energy efficiency and climate-friendly practices as "2026 Low Carbon Heroes".
Prof. Dr. Filiz Karaosmanoğlu, in her assessment regarding the awards, stated that they aim to support work contributing to greenhouse gas reduction in environmental, social and governance areas.
The institutions and projects deemed worthy of awards this year are as follows:
AKSA Natural Gas – "Power Partnership of Natural Gas and Biomethane"
AKSA Generator – "Our Energy Solutions with GreenTech are Climate-Friendly"
DANONE Turkey – "Sustainable Farm"
ENDA Energy – "Managing Our Water, Reducing Our Carbon"
ETİ Copper – "Integrated Sustainability Model"
HALKBANK – "Investing in the Future with Energy Efficiency"
İMMİB – "SEE BRIDGE Project"
İNCİ Battery – "Every Battery a Seed"
İSTAÇ – "Stronger with the Sun"
KADOOĞLU Oil – "Sun Hidden in Sunflower Seed, Brother to Our Climate"
Kartal Municipality – "Trees Open Books"
Kocaeli Chamber of Industry – "Industry's Sustainable Performance Leaders"
Neşe Yenice – "SÜDT Selection"
Shell & Turcas Petroleum – "Touching the Future, Not the Soil"
SOCAR Turkey R&D and Innovation – "TRACE: From Analysis to Process-Less Energy, Lower Carbon"
TKYB – "On the Path to Sustainable Finance: Nature-Positive, Low-Carbon"
TSKB – "Turkey Green Fund for Green Transition"
VakıfBank – "Data-Validation-Efficiency-Carbon Reduction"
Vakıf Katılım – "The Power of Energy Dedicated to the Future in Our Values and the Sun"
SÜDT announced that the summit final report and presentation e-book will be shared with the public in the coming period.
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