An empirical evaluation of cleaner production practices in Turkey

The main purpose of this study is to investigate cleaner production practices in Turkey. This paper also examines the approaches to environmental management, environmental technologies and environmental performance of big firms in Turkey. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey was designed. According to this survey, it can be stated that the approaches of the firms to environmental management are closer to the proactive approach but the cost of the environmentally conscious business practices is still considered as an obstacle for being more proactive on environmental management. The fact that ISO 14001 EMS motivates the firms to use resources for pollution prevention and to apply cleaner production practices can be stated from the results of the survey. According to the results of the survey, it can be stated that ISO 14001 EMS enhances the environmental performance of the firms.