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As is well known, the world currently faces an intense agenda centered on “green” issues – the future of the planet, the protection of forests, water and soil.
Today, the welfare states of Europe, having largely secured their own prosperity, are asking whether the world can be made more livable and sustainable by paying attention to areas they themselves prioritize but which others across the globe may neglect. In other words, can the very concept of the global “green movement” extend the lifespan of humanity and life on Earth?
Yet it is striking that most green movements originate in major industrial nations – countries with significant industrial production, such as the European states or the United States. Even if this may seem like a significant contradiction in itself, and even if it was initiated merely to give the impression of acting righteously, any initiative that carries genuine benefit for people remains meaningful and valid on the global stage.
In Türkiye, two quiet but significant steps were taken – neither of which received much public attention. Hopefully, one day they will be more widely recognized and discussed.
During the 2014 local elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that public gardens would be built, citing an example in Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu district. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) later adopted the “public gardens” as a central project. Today, nearly 500 of these gardens can be found across Türkiye’s provinces and districts, most of which range from 50 to 250 acres, with a few smaller in scale. In fact, if one were to measure it over the past 10 years, Türkiye’s national parks and public gardens collectively constitute the largest green initiative in the world.
On the other hand, the zero waste movement led by first lady Emine Erdoğan began as an idea in Türkiye, was implemented step by step, and gradually revealed its sustainability benefits and practical impact.
As the originator of the concept, Erdoğan played a central role in establishing a foundation that carries out the initiative, encouraging public agencies to work on it, and in bringing the matter onto the public agenda in Türkiye.
Active in civil society movements since her youth, Erdoğan was among the founding members of the Idealist Women’s Association. In recent years, she has carried her environmental awareness to the international stage. Her zero waste movement gained international recognition through United Nations meetings, where the initiative was incorporated into the U.N. agenda, and ultimately, a global Zero Waste Day was declared.
Erdoğan, the founding honorary chair of the Zero Waste Foundation, which organized last week’s 2025 Global Zero Waste Forum, emphasized that climate change, poor water management and reckless consumption pose serious threats to our future, underscoring that genuine environmental awareness demands a comprehensive and holistic approach.
For nearly 200 years, we have grown accustomed to a familiar pattern: a story emerges in a European country – perhaps one of the Scandinavian states – is picked up by the global media, and soon becomes a matter of international debate.
Remarkably, two major narratives have gone global from Türkiye. The first is the president himself. Although Türkiye ranks as the world’s 17th-largest economy, wherever you go today, Erdoğan is widely regarded as one of the top four global leaders.
More interestingly, the zero waste initiative – which addresses everything from household and food waste to industrial waste, aiming to recycle, reduce wastefulness and contribute to extending the planet’s lifespan as a continuation of the broader green movement – has also become global. The zero waste project is, in fact, one of the rare global movements to emerge from outside the Western world.
