Company: Soma Cimento
Nomination Submitted by: Business Awards Consulting
Company Description: Soma Çimento Madencilik Beton Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. was established on January 01, 2017 in the Soma district of Manisa in order to produce cement and ready mixed concrete. Soma Cement Mining Concrete Industry and Trade Inc. carried out its first cement production on January 15, 2019.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Company of the Year - Materials & Construction - Medium-size
 Nomination Title: Soma Cimento
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the achievements of the nominated organization since 1 January 2020, OR written answers to the questions for this category? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Briefly describe the nominated organization: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 193 words used.
Soma Cement was established in 2017 with a Turkish-German partnership. Soma produces more than 2,000,000 tons cement yearly with the latest technological equipment. Having the vision of producing by adding value to society and nature, Soma Cement offers significant employment opportunities to the people of the Soma region. The cement industry in Turkey has a bad reputation of pollution and harming the ecosystem. Soma Cement, which aims to contribute to the environment, society and nature in its company strategies, designs projects that will contribute to nature in order to change this perception. The "Seed Ball" Project has been inspired by forest fires in 2021. Only in 2021, 1171 forest fires broke out in Turkey, 200,000 hectares of forest area were burned and 13 people died in these fires. In the fire of Antalya in July many residential areas were also affected, thousands of people lose their homes and thousands of animals lost their lives. Standing out with the value it places on nature in the Turkish cement industry the young cement company Soma Cement has designed the “Seed Ball” project to raise awareness on forest fires in the cement industry.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this second question: Outline the organization's achievements since the beginning of 2020 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Seed Ball project was implemented in September 2021 in cooperation with Ecording being the first in cement industry. (Ecording is a social enterprise developing sustainable and innovative environmental technologies against the global climate crisis.) The Project offers one seed ball thrown into the nature for each Soma Cement bag purchased. When customer scans QR code on the special cement bags produced with zero waste principle, 4 different tree species are offered to choose. Entire operation and development of the sapling can be followed by the same QR code. Seed balls are thrown to the steep areas determined by Turkish Ministry of Forestry, where humans cannot reach by eco-drones. The project, which started with the target of 50,000 seeds in 2021, is carried out in 4 different operations, each containing 12,500 seeds. In each operation, regions and tree species suitable for the ecosystem of that region are determined by the Ministry. The seeds of these tree species are handcrafted into seed balls by the women of the region. Seed balls are loaded onto eco-drones and drones deposit these seeds in areas where humans cannot reach. In the project, a total of 25,000 seeds have been brought to the soil in 2 operations so far. In Mersin, 5 hectare area was forested with 12,500 Cedar and Red Pine seeds, and another 5 hectares in Artvin with 12,500 Eastern Spruce and Wild Pomegranate seeds. Area covering 13 football fields with an average altitude of 1650 meters were seeded.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Seed Ball project is remarkable being the first in the sector in Turkey.
The project also stands out with:
Afforestation of Inaccessible Areas: Seeds left in areas inaccessible to people by means of eco-drones make it possible to afforestation in areas where access is difficult. Eco-drones, which release 2,500 seed balls in 10 minutes, can seed an area the size of 1.5 football fields in each flight.
Employment Opportunity for Women of Region: Seed balls used in planting works are produced by hand of women who live in rural areas in those regions and are directly affected by the climate crisis. Women living in these regions are given training on seed ball production and the seed balls they produce are purchased from them. Thus, by creating an alternative source of income for them.
Nature-Inspired Project: In nature, seeds come to life by mixing with the soil from trees they belong to and they succeed to become a green trace again. The Seed Ball project also imitates nature and ensures the germination of new seeds by delivering seed balls to hard-to-reach areas with ecoDrones.
16X More Durable Seed Balls: Seed balls are the result of covering the seeds with a mixture of clay, powder fertilizer, various minerals and forest soil and turning them into balls in order to increase the germination probability of the seeds under natural conditions.
Social Awareness: Customers are included in the process with the QR codes on the cement bags, thus contributing to social awareness.
- You have the option to answer this final question: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 189 words used.
Summarizing the Project when speaking at the project launch, Musa Keşaplı, General Manager of Soma Cement, stated that they provide employment and added value to the country's economy in Soma and its surroundings, and that they have responsibilities to nature, and said, "We should not forget that every business line is actually a part of nature and we need to look at it by adding the nature factor to all our business models in the coming years”
Appendix-1) Video: Project Trailer A short introduction of the Project
Appendix-2) Video: Seed Ball Operation Video Video showing the details of the operation in Artvin
Appendix-3) Video: Soma Cement Factory Garden Afforestation Soma Cement maintains its vision of responsibility towards nature not only in the Seed Ball project but also in all its activities. The arid areas around the facility in Soma were also transformed into a nursery with the contribution of the employees. The saplings planted by the employees themselves were labeled with their own names, and the employees were provided with the opportunity to care for their saplings. You can reach the video showing this project from the attached link.
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