In the second week of August 2026, KOSGEB opened its “COP31 Focused Acceleration Support” call for TEKMER operating organizations and technopark management companies — up to 6.5 million TL to help green-technology and circular-economy ventures prepare for global markets. The same week, the implementation timeline of the National Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan (UDESEP), published in the Official Gazette last year, keeps moving forward. Read together, the two items raise one practical question: what does any of this actually mean for a manufacturing SME?
The answer is less about the startup-funding headlines and more about production planning. This piece pulls together the official framework, clarifies who can actually access which support, and outlines what a manufacturer can start doing today — with sources.
What circular economy means, and what it doesn’t
Circular economy replaces the linear “extract-produce-use-discard” model with a production logic that keeps materials in circulation as long as possible: cutting raw-material intake, turning waste into input, designing products to be repairable and recyclable. The concept itself isn’t new; what’s new is that it is no longer a voluntary sustainability narrative — it is now tied to a binding policy timeline.
One frequent confusion is worth clearing up: circular economy is not the same as carbon footprint accounting or CBAM compliance. Carbon work focuses on emissions; circularity focuses on material flow — how much virgin raw material enters production, how much waste comes out, and where the product ends up at end of life. The two agendas reinforce each other, but they are measured and reported separately.
UDESEP 2025-2028: seven sectors, six goals, 53 actions
The National Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan was coordinated by Turkey’s Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and entered into force on 20 October 2025, published via a Presidential Circular in the Official Gazette. The plan groups 53 actions under six strategic goals and targets seven priority sectors:
| Priority sector | Typical manufacturer angle |
|---|---|
| Packaging | Recyclable / reduced-material packaging design |
| Batteries and vehicles | End-of-life recovery, second-life use |
| Construction and buildings | Reuse of demolition waste |
| Electronics and ICT | E-waste, repairability |
| Food and biomass | Loss/waste reduction, by-product valorization |
| Plastics | Recycling rate, single-use reduction |
| Textiles | Fiber recovery, waste textile as input |
Not being listed here doesn’t mean a manufacturer is exempt from the agenda. A machinery producer that uses plastic or textile packaging, for instance, intersects with one of these seven sectors somewhere along its supply chain — through a packaging supplier, an electronic-components vendor, or a customer with its own recycling obligations. A parallel conversation is underway on the EU side too: the 2026 policy agenda includes new circular-economy-focused legislative work. For manufacturers exporting to the EU, the two tracks — Turkey’s UDESEP and the EU’s regulatory work — are likely to converge into overlapping reporting expectations over time, which is why preparing early tends to cost less than catching up late.
KOSGEB’s COP31 call: who it actually serves
This is where headlines can mislead. An SME cannot apply directly to KOSGEB’s COP31 Focused Acceleration Support. Eligibility is limited to TEKMER operating organizations and technopark management companies holding a GO certificate; these organizations design acceleration programs covering at least 10 businesses over 1-3 months, and the support reaches companies through that channel. The application window runs 8-30 August 2026, the ceiling is 6.5 million TL (100% repayable, with a 36-month grace period followed by installments), and eligible costs cover software, training, consulting, organization and promotion.
The practical takeaway for a manufacturing SME: this call isn’t a grant to apply for directly, but it’s worth asking your regional TEKMER or technopark whether they’re running such an acceleration program. The direct channel for manufacturing SMEs remains KOSGEB’s maturity-based digital and green transition support lines — a different topic we won’t repeat here; verify current terms at kosgeb.gov.tr.
Circularity claims fall apart without measurement
One of UDESEP’s six strategic goals is monitoring and reporting — the plan expects data from sectors, not just intent: how much raw material went in, how much waste came out, what the recovery rate is. In most SMEs, this data either isn’t collected at all, or it’s scattered across production, purchasing, and warehouse spreadsheets that don’t talk to each other.
In practice, the circularity path moves in three steps:
- Measure material flow — collect input, scrap, waste and recovery volumes from the production line; start with sensors/M2M or, at minimum, a consistent stock-and-scrap log.
- Move the data to one source — replace scattered spreadsheets with a raw-material/scrap/waste module inside the ERP; make sure the same report, with the same definitions, comes out every month.
- Feed it back into decisions — answer, with regular data, which raw material has the highest scrap rate and which waste stream could become a revenue source.
This sequence mirrors the logic behind carbon measurement in green transition work: measurement infrastructure first, then reporting, then improvement. Treating green transition and digital transition as two faces of the same data backbone, rather than separate projects, makes both grant applications and day-to-day production decisions easier — our twin transition page goes into more detail on this approach.
Sequencing matters, too. Starting a support application or certification process before you’ve measured and accumulated a few months of baseline data means committing to something you can’t yet prove. Many organizations reverse this order — opening a “circular transformation” project first and patching the data infrastructure later — which weakens the application file and delays the team’s discovery of the real bottleneck.
Where a manufacturer should start
If your sector falls under one of UDESEP’s seven priority areas, the first move isn’t launching a large transformation project — it’s finding out where your current scrap and waste data actually stands. That visibility both lays the groundwork for a future support application and cuts cost in the short term, because scrap is usually a recording problem before it’s a process problem.
İkiz Eksen runs this end to end: measuring production and material data on the shop floor, moving it into a single source on the ERP/automation side, and connecting it to green and circular reporting needs — drawing on Qera’s track record of 550+ clients and 100+ ERP integrations. If you’d like to work out where it makes sense to start for your organization, take a look at our solutions or reach out directly via contact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is circular economy the same as CBAM or carbon footprint work?
No. Carbon footprint and CBAM concern emissions measurement; circular economy concerns material and raw-material flow plus waste management. The two can share the same data infrastructure, but they are calculated and reported separately.
Which sectors does UDESEP cover?
Seven priority sectors: packaging, batteries and vehicles, construction and buildings, electronics and ICT, food and biomass, plastics, and textiles. The plan sets 53 actions under six strategic goals (Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, in force 20 October 2025).
Can my SME apply to KOSGEB’s COP31 call directly?
No. Eligibility belongs to TEKMER operating organizations and GO-certified technopark management companies; the support reaches at least 10 businesses through acceleration programs those organizations design. Asking your regional TEKMER or technopark whether such a program is planned is a reasonable first step.
Where do I start measuring scrap and waste efficiency?
First clarify your current recording method — paper/spreadsheet, or an existing ERP module. If there isn’t one, starting with the 2-3 line items with the highest scrap rate and building a consistent logging habit gets results faster than building a comprehensive system from day one.
Can I rely on these figures?
The amounts, dates and scope in this article are drawn from KOSGEB and Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change sources; support program terms are updated periodically. Verify current conditions at kosgeb.gov.tr and the relevant ministry source before applying.