TÜSİAD’s 2050 vision

Recently, it has been the business world that is taking steps one after the other to mold Turkey’s future.

I will start with the Turkish Informatics Foundation, or TBV, headed by Faruk Ezcazıbaşı, deputy CEO of Eczacıbaşı Holding.

The majority of the members of the executive board of the foundation are owners of those leading companies operating in Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies, or ICT, sector.

The foundation has rolled up its sleeves for Istanbul, the city where the heart of the country’s economy beats and the second biggest metropolis in Europe after Moscow. This is because, despite its entire dynamism, Istanbul unfortunately ranks lowest on the list of competitive and innovative cities. Istanbul is not mentioned among global financial centers.

TBV has formed an “Istanbul Information Society Watchdog Group” to enable Istanbul to jump onto the “Information Society” train, the new trend of our times. The group aims for a model that would define whether the information and communication sector in Istanbul is adequate, what kind of a value it adds to the city and how to calculate ways to expand. Eczacıbaşı believes that if the model succeeds, they could spread it to other provinces in Turkey.

Actual burden on the shoulders of the business world

Today, transforming into an information society is as important as the “sustainable development” concept.

The Turkish Industry and Business Association, or TÜSİAD’s, “Vision 2050 Turkey” report that was introduced at Sabancı Center on Tuesday morning explains this concept that is not very well-understood in our country.

Simply, I can define “sustainable development” as obtaining the equilibrium between the needs of the business world and also the needs of human beings and natural resources. The actual burden of sustainable development lies on the shoulders of the business world because it requires a transformation from the conventional production models to innovative, and more importantly, more environmentally friendly and transparent production models.

TÜSİAD head Ümit Boyner’s speech on Monday is full of significance. “We do not have an aim of saving the world with our Vision 2050 Turkey report,” Boyner said. “It is only for preparing the business world for the new realities of the coming 40 years and to draw a road map for the business world to make use of the opportunities likely to emerge.”

 What kind of a Turkey do we want to live in in 40 years? How will our cities be? Which energy resources are we going to consume? The report searches for answers to these and similar questions.

TÜSİAD sets example on carbon emissions

One of the facts that the “Vision 2050 Turkey” report, which is penned by prominent academics, reveals is about carbon emissions.

Carbon emission from Turkey’s road transportation has increased 80 percent between the years 1990 and 2009. Turkey is a country focused on reinforcing its infrastructure. But an exponential continuation of this 80 percent increase contrasts with the concept of “sustainable development.”

What do we do in such a situation? As Boyner said, there is no answer in the report to this question because it does not prescribe solutions. The report is only aimed at creating a discussion environment for what needs to be done to make development sustainable while moving toward the year 2050. However, TÜSİAD is determined to refer to “sustainable development.” Boyner says that in order to set an example in carbon emission, the institution will conduct all its activities, eventually, with zero emissions