For a sustainable world and clean seas, Garanti BBVA and TURMEPA have partnered on the Blue Breath Project...
Working to combat the climate crisis and for a sustainable world, Garanti BBVA, in cooperation with the DenizTemiz Derneği / TURMEPA, is launching the Blue Breath Project to prevent marine pollution by cleaning the surface of waste in the Marmara Sea and to organize awareness trainings on marine cleanliness in the provinces of the region.
TURMEPA, which is a member of the Marmara Sea Protection Action Plan Coordination Board established under the leadership of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to solve the mucilage problem in the Marmara Sea, will work with the support of Garanti BBVA to prevent general pollution in the seas and to combat mucilage if necessary. During the 3-year project, 2 sea sweepers will clean the Bosphorus Strait and will also go to other regions to clean mucilage and solid waste in case of emergency.
The second leg of the project will be awareness trainings. The trainings to be organized within the scope of the Blue Breath Project will aim to raise awareness about sea cleanliness among future generations. Regional awareness will be raised through trainings to be given to 60 thousand students and 4 thousand teachers in 7 provinces in the Marmara Region, namely Istanbul, Tekirdağ, Kocaeli, Yalova, Yalova, Bursa, Balıkesir and Çanakkale.
Providing information on the subject, Garanti BBVA General Manager Recep Baştuğ said, "As Garanti BBVA, we have been taking initiatives for sustainable development, climate crisis and combating inequalities for more than 15 years. In this context, we are pioneering the transformation of the business world by realizing many firsts both in our country and in the world. We demonstrate this approach on every occasion, both in our products and services and in the steps we take directly to protect the environment. With the products and services we offer to our customers, we have contributed more than 51 billion TL to sustainable development to date. Managing our impact on the environment is our red line within the scope of our sustainability policy and the fight against the climate crisis. We are experiencing the effects of the climate crisis in many different areas, and unfortunately, we have seen one of its reflections in our seas in recent months. Nature sounded the alarm in a different way this time and the mucilage problem, which affects thousands of species living in the marine ecosystem, manifested itself very strongly. For this reason, we are embarking on a journey with the valuable non-governmental organization TURMEPA to clean our seas, but more importantly, to educate future generations about sea cleanliness and to raise awareness, and we are launching the Blue Breath Project. We hope that with this project, with this valuable cooperation, we will contribute to the improvement of the ecosystem in the Marmara Sea and support leaving cleaner seas for future generations."
TURMEPA Chairman Şadan Kaptanoğlu said, "We will realize TURMEPA's 'Blue Breath Project', which is included in the Marmara Sea Action Plan Coordination Board, together with Garanti BBVA. We would like to thank Garanti BBVA for being a partner of this project that will give breath to our future. With this project, our struggle for a blue future and green tomorrows will continue both at sea and on land. In this project, which will cover three years, we will collect solid wastes caught in the Bosphorus with our two sea sweepers and contribute to the elimination of pollution on the sea surface. Education is always our priority. With the trainings we will realize with the 'Blue Breath Project', we aim to reach 7 provinces surrounding the Marmara Sea in three years. With this project, our Blue Breath Training Bus is on the road for the first time. We are happy and proud of this."