A sustainability movement that began as a domestic initiative in Türkiye in 2017 has now stretched from the frozen expanses of Antarctica to the policy corridors of London, in a pair of announcements this August that show how far grassroots environmental thinking can travel when it is paired with science and international diplomacy.
The Zero Waste Foundation unveiled a new book on 7 August examining how zero waste principles can be applied to some of the planet’s most remote and fragile environments: the Arctic and Antarctic. Ten days later, on 17 August, the Foundation signed a cooperation protocol with London Climate Action Week (LCAW), formally linking Türkiye’s zero waste and circular economy work to one of the world’s most prominent climate networks. Both moves come as Türkiye prepares to host COP31, giving the developments added diplomatic weight.
For a movement that started as a national campaign, the through-line is consistency: waste reduction and resource efficiency are being applied not just in cities and homes, but in scientific fieldwork thousands of kilometres from any recycling bin, and now in international forums where climate policy is shaped.
Applying Zero Waste Where It’s Hardest to Apply
The book, titled “Zero Waste in the Polar Regions”, was prepared in partnership with the Polar Research Institute of TÜBİTAK, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye. It draws together 18 articles written by scientists who have taken part in polar expeditions, covering the scientific, technical, administrative and communication challenges of reducing waste in some of the harshest research conditions on Earth.
Rather than focusing narrowly on waste collection, the publication examines how scientific expeditions are planned from the outset: how materials and resources are sourced and used, and how energy, water and logistics are managed throughout a mission. The underlying philosophy is to prevent waste before it is created, rather than simply managing it after the fact, and to keep the environmental footprint of research activity as small as possible.
The book also frames the polar regions as early warning systems for the planet as a whole, arguing that environmental changes observed in the Arctic and Antarctic carry consequences that extend well beyond those regions. That framing gives the research a relevance that reaches far past the scientists and institutions directly involved.
Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology of Türkiye, described the book as the convergence of two national efforts that both began in the same year. “The Zero Waste initiative launched under the leadership of H.E. Emine Erdoğan has grown step by step from a national initiative into a global one,” he said, adding: “At the same time, we began organising scientific expeditions to Antarctica and the Arctic under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Türkiye, enabling Turkish scientists to strengthen the country’s presence in polar research. Through this book, these two initiatives have come together.”
The publication is also framed as an extension of the wider zero waste vision advanced by H.E. Emine Erdoğan, who founded the Zero Waste Movement and now chairs the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Zero Waste, alongside serving as Honorary President of the Zero Waste Foundation.
A Formal Bridge to London’s Climate Network
The second development extends this work into a new institutional partnership. The protocol signed with London Climate Action Week establishes a formal relationship between the Foundation and LCAW aimed at strengthening knowledge exchange, joint initiatives and international dialogue on zero waste and the circular economy.
It was signed by Samed Ağırbaş, President of the Zero Waste Foundation and COP31 High-Level Climate Champion, and by Nick Henry, Climate Action Founder and CEO. “After this cooperation protocol, I hope we will carry out strong work and organize joint events at COP31 and London Climate Action Week,” Ağırbaş said.
For organisations working in the social good space, the significance lies partly in who LCAW brings to the table. London Climate Action Week convenes representatives from government, cities, business, finance, academia, civil society and local communities, meaning the agreement gives Türkiye’s zero waste and circular economy experience a direct channel into a broad, London-centred international climate ecosystem rather than a narrower government-to-government arrangement.
Why the Backdrop of COP31 Matters
Both announcements land in the run-up to COP31, which Türkiye is set to host, and that summit provides a wider diplomatic context for the cooperation. But those involved have been careful to frame the immediate focus as practical: exchange of knowledge and joint activity between the Foundation and the LCAW network, rather than a symbolic gesture tied only to the conference itself.
Taken together, the polar research book and the London partnership illustrate an approach that treats zero waste as something broader than recycling or waste management. By linking scientific fieldwork in the Arctic and Antarctic with an international network spanning government, business and civil society, the initiative positions resource efficiency and circular economy thinking as tools that can be applied anywhere, from a research station on the ice to a climate summit in a global capital.
For a movement that started eight years ago as a domestic campaign, the scope of these two developments, one scientific, one diplomatic, signals an effort to keep expanding zero waste thinking into new settings and new international partnerships, with COP31 offering the next major stage on which that work will be tested.
