The 4th Official Meeting of the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Zero Waste was held under the chairmanship of Mrs. Emine Erdoğan, global champion of the Zero Waste in Action and Honorary President of the Zero Waste Foundation.
Under the leadership of the Zero Waste Foundation, the global pioneer of the Zero Waste Movement and under the patronage of Mrs. Emine Erdoğan, Honorary President of the Zero Waste Foundation, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the meeting held as part of the International Zero Waste Forum under the theme “Zero Waste in Action: People, Places, Progress” was attended by members of the Advisory Board, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı, President of the Zero Waste Foundation Samed Ağırbaş, and UN officials.
The meeting, with an opening speech by Mrs. Emine Erdoğan, was moderated by UN-Habitat Executive Director Anaclaudia Rossbach.
Erdoğan, who delivered the opening speech, began by greeting the UN Deputy Secretaries-General, Fatima Jabbe-Bio, wife of Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio, and the members of the Advisory Board, saying that they were experiencing many joys and excitements together today.
Emine Erdoğan emphasized that foremost among these was welcoming her colleagues to Türkiye once again, saying, "I want you to know that the spirit we have captured in our advisory board has a truly special place in my heart. The friendships we have built are just as meaningful as the work we have done. Today, I am also delighted to be hosting the International Zero Waste Forum, the world's largest zero waste organization."
Erdoğan recalled that at their third meeting on December 13 last year, they had said they were continuing preparations for the forum, and emphasized that she was delighted to see this beautiful dream come to life.
Emine Erdoğan emphasized that the Zero Waste Foundation had done a great job by working very meticulously, saying, "I know that you have all made meaningful contributions to our forum, both during the preparation process and during the forum itself as panelists, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you. We are holding the Zero Waste Forum in its first year with hundreds of participants from 108 different countries. We are hosting a special group of participants, including ministers, mayors, and representatives of international organizations. How fortunate that the heart of the environmental movement is beating in Istanbul today."
“The Zero Waste in Action is the Greatest Goodwill Movement of the 21st Century”
Erdoğan said, "The Zero Waste Movement is the greatest goodwill movement of the 21st century. Of course, as Türkiye, we take great pride in being the pioneer country of this movement and in taking ‘zero waste’ from the local to the global level. The zero waste resolution adopted at the 2022 United Nations General Assembly is now a United Nations policy. It is a key element of the sustainable development goals. Our Advisory Board, established on this occasion, has been determining the global direction of zero waste policies since 2023. We, as Türkiye, have fulfilled all our promises in this process. We immediately launched our Zero Waste Foundation. This Foundation has become a pioneering structure that works in coordination with United Nations agencies and provides field support for global zero waste practices."
Erdoğan said that the Foundation has implemented very comprehensive initiatives in a short time, one of which is the Zero Waste Institute, which they announced at previous meetings.
“We Will Make the Zero Waste Forum Permanent by Holding It Every Year”
Emine Erdoğan pointed out that this institute now operates as an international center for sharing knowledge, best practices, and policies, saying:
"Again, among our previous proposals, we launched the Zero Waste Awards this year on March 30, International Zero Waste Day. Another of these initiatives is the Zero Waste Fund. This financial mechanism, established to support zero waste projects in less developed countries, is a very important step in ensuring climate justice. We really attach great importance to this issue. Because the disproportionate impact of climate change on countries that account for only 4% of global carbon emissions undermines the concept of global justice. This cycle, in which they struggle to bear the cost of environmental problems alone, must be broken. We intend to take these initiatives even further in the coming period. First, we will make the Zero Waste Forum permanent by holding it every year."
Erdoğan stated that they aim for the Zero Waste Forum to become the most important platform for global knowledge sharing and to take on the operational leadership of the global zero waste movement. He also emphasized that they aspire for Istanbul to become the global center of zero waste.
“Istanbul Will Become the Capital of Zero Waste, hopefully”
Emine Erdoğan stated that Istanbul is an ancient homeland that has served as the capital of three universal empires, and continues to be one of the most important capitals of culture, tourism, art, finance, and trade in the world today.
Erdoğan said, “Istanbul has such a dynamic spirit that I call it ‘the city of new beginnings’. We will combine this spirit with zero waste, and from now on, Istanbul will be the capital of zero waste, the center of humanity's vision for a sustainable future, and the starting point for nature-friendly initiatives, hopefully.”
“Women and Children Should Be Our Main Target Audience”
Emine Erdoğan emphasized that there are only five years left to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and said:
"Unfortunately, only 18 percent of the goals have been achieved so far. I believe that we need to focus on awareness-raising efforts to accelerate this process. Women and children should be our primary target audience. We must effectively channel their power to shape generations and the future into the Zero Waste Movement. On that note, I would like to congratulate my dear sister Fatima, the wife of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, who has become a pioneer of zero waste in Africa through the projects she has carried out as the chair of the Organization of African First Ladies. I thank her for her great contributions to the human family. Another important topic we must include in zero waste efforts is environmentally friendly practices in local cultures.“
”I Suggest Researching Examples and Creating an Inventory"
Erdoğan stated that globalization has eroded local cultures and that ecological culture has been erased from social memory in this process, sharing the following examples:
"The distinction between summer and winter floors in traditional Turkish houses is a beautiful and historical example of energy efficiency. Likewise, natural storage facilities such as ice caves and cellars used for food preservation are practices born out of human-nature harmony and thousands of years of experience. Traditional kitchen appliances that do not require electricity are also sources of inspiration for ecological design and a culture of conservation. Every culture has many horizon-broadening practices shaped by its own geography. In solving the global problems we face today, we must definitely benefit from this traditional knowledge and methods, along with modern science. Therefore, I recommend researching these examples and compiling an inventory. In this way, we can both protect the ecological culture and provide an important source of motivation for implementing the zero-waste lifestyle model."
Emine Erdoğan noted that user accounts on social media platforms with a sustainable living theme are gaining increasing attention, and she finds it very encouraging that most of these accounts belong to young people.
Erdoğan stated that he believes this is precisely where the Zero Waste Movement will make a new breakthrough, adding that if they make good use of this opportunity, they can achieve gains on two fronts.
Emine Erdoğan said, “We can both make local wisdom a part of everyday life again and pass it on to the future, and we can give social media a new identity that serves the Zero Waste Movement rather than feeding the culture of consumption.”
“A United Nations Zero Waste Mechanism Must Be Established”
Emphasizing that they had spent two years under the umbrella of the Advisory Board and achieved many successes, Erdoğan noted:
"Looking at what we have accomplished in this time, we see that the work of our board has played a major role in the institutionalization of zero waste on a global scale. We will complete our three-year term in 2026. However, I know very well that this strong unity we have built around the zero waste concept will continue. A permanent United Nations Zero Waste Mechanism should be established under the coordination of the United Nations Habitat and the United Nations Environment Programme, with the support of our Zero Waste Foundation. The Zero Waste Forum should also be the universal face and knowledge center of this platform. 2026 will not be an end for us, but rather the beginning of a new journey. We have a busy agenda, and I eagerly await your ideas and suggestions."
Zero Waste in Action
The Zero Waste Movement began on September 27, 2017, under the patronage of Mrs. Emine Erdoğan.
On December 14, 2022, at the UN General Assembly, the “Zero Waste” resolution was adopted by vote, with Türkiye as the main sponsor and 105 countries as co-sponsors, and March 30 was declared “International Zero Waste Day”.
Mrs. Emine Erdoğan was the keynote speaker at the first International Zero Waste Day event held in the UN General Assembly Hall on March 30, 2023.
At this event, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the establishment of the “UN High-Level Advisory Council on Zero Waste” and offered the chairmanship to Mrs. Emine Erdoğan. Mrs. Emine Erdoğan accepted this offer and assumed the chairmanship of the council, which was officially established on April 12, 2023.
As part of the 78th UN General Assembly, an event titled “Towards a Global Zero Waste Movement” was organized at Türkevi in New York under the leadership of Mrs. Emine Erdoğan. At the event, President Erdoğan signed the “Global Zero Waste Goodwill Declaration” as the first signatory.
