Atatürk University was also included in the UI GreenMetric E-Waste Ranking published by Green Metric, which evaluates and compares sustainability efforts on university campuses worldwide, and succeeded in being included in the list of only 57 universities in the research in which 1183 universities were evaluated.

World universities, which have been leading the society as role models in their geography since 2010, are listed in the categories of Building and Infrastructure, Energy and Climate Change, Sustainable Waste Management, Sustainable Water Management, Sustainable Transportation, Education and Research. In UI GreenMetric WUR System, which ranks companies according to their environmental, social and economic sustainability, universities worldwide were ranked for the first time according to their Sustainable E-Waste Management on October 14, International E-Waste Day.

Joint Work of Units Brought Success

Sustainable E-Waste management efforts continued in cooperation with the Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Coordinatorship, which was established within the scope of the New Generation University Design and Transformation Project initiated by Atatürk University to determine the road map, and the Electronic Device Repair Coordination, which was established in 2023 in line with this vision, and the waste management activities continued. The Electronic Device Repair Coordination Office, which procures the necessary equipment from the E-Waste inventory, carried out device maintenance and repair operations. Thus, the "Repair" step began to be implemented in the Waste Management hierarchy, which consists of 10 R and is implemented within the university.

Ranked 5th among Turkish Universities…

As a result of these steps taken, studies carried out and important projects implemented, Atatürk University succeeded in ranking 27th among 57 universities selected among 1183 universities participating in the GreenMetric E-Waste Campaign, and ranked 5th among 8 universities from Turkey that participated in the campaign and consistently maintained Sustainable E-Waste Management.

Rector Çomaklı: “Ensuring Sustainability is Our Basic Philosophy”

Atatürk University Rector Prof.Dr. Ömer Çomaklı pointed out that the damage caused by rapidly developing technology to the environment and the increasing world population's consumption of natural resources have made it a necessity to prioritize issues related to the environment and sustainability. In his statement regarding the success achieved in waste management, Çomaklı noted that Atatürk University has spent a lot of efforts on both E-Waste management and sustainability studies in line with the basic philosophy of ensuring sustainability and improving quality.

Rector Çomaklı stated that the systematic and harmonious work of the Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Coordination Unit and the Environmental Problems Application and Research Center Directorate has an important place in documenting these studies carried out within Atatürk University and increasing the awareness of the university worldwide, expressing his gratitude to Prof.Dr. Zeynep Ceylan in charge of the two units, for her intense effort and superior work and her team and everyone who contributed to this process and wished them continued success.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION DIRECTORATE – 12.12.2023