First Steering Committee Meeting Held for the RESMAR Project 29 August 2025
The 1st Steering Committee Meeting of the “Making Industrial Organizations Resilient to Disasters with a Business Continuity Management Approach: Marmara Region Application (RESMAR: Resilient Marmara)” Project, which aims to increase the resilience of Organized Industrial Zones in the Marmara Region against disasters and crises and is co-financed by the European Union (EU) and AFAD, was held on August 20, 2025. Managers and representatives from the AFAD Presidency, Ministry of Industry and Technology, Organized Industrial Zones Supreme Organization (OSBÜK), and Turkish Accreditation Agency (TÜRKAK), along with the project team, participated in the meeting.
The meeting began with the opening speech by AFAD General Director of Earthquake Risk Reduction, Prof. Dr. Orhan Tatar. Prof. Tatar thanked those who contributed to the project and stated that "he places great importance on the RESMAR Project and is following it closely; that the most important thing is the application of academic studies to the field; that the outputs produced in the project must be implemented in the field; and that this work, initiated for Marmara, should be expanded to all of Türkiye."
Following the opening speech, Project Team Leader Prof. Dr. İbrahim Akgün provided information on the project's purpose, objectives, and components, the approach used in the project, the processes conducted on an OIZ basis, and the completed, ongoing, and planned activities for each component. Prof. Akgün emphasized that within the project's scope, not only would business continuity plans be prepared for OIZs, but it is also aimed to establish a business continuity management system in OIZs. He stated that all work is being conducted in accordance with the ISO 22301:2019 Business Continuity Management System standard; that drills will be conducted after the processes are completed; and that the developed business continuity plans will be integrated with emergency response, crisis management, information technology recovery, and other plans.
Project experts Prof. Dr. İhsan Çiçek and Dr. Kadir Tomas shared the studies conducted on climate change and technological accidents, respectively. Prof. Çiçek touched upon the impacts of climate change risks on industry, while Dr. Tomas pointed out that technological disasters can create cascading risks.
Murat Açıkgöz, Head of the Investment and Management Services Department at the Ministry of Industry and Technology's General Directorate of Industrial Zones, who attended the meeting, touched upon the regulations in the legislation and reiterated the Ministry's support role in implementing business continuity plans. Açıkgöz also stated that OSBÜK could take a leading role in information sharing and coordination processes.
Tekin Altuğ, TÜRKAK Head of Certification Accreditation, who spoke at the meeting, emphasized that business continuity management is still associated only with information security in many businesses, whereas it actually increases the resilience of enterprises against all disasters and crises. Altuğ stated that as a result of the cooperation with AFAD, TÜRKAK has started providing ISO 22301 standard accreditation services.
Muhammet Kemal Baltepe, Manager of Istanbul Tuzla Chemical Industrialists OIZ, where pilot studies are being conducted under RESMAR, expressed their great pleasure in being a stakeholder of the project, stating that they have supported the process from the beginning and will continue to do so. Baltepe noted that the work carried out within the project is continuing intensively and that the achievements so far are significant. He also emphasized the need to disseminate this work throughout the country, saying, "This process will be one of the biggest investments not just for Tuzla, but for the country."