IBAT Communiqué For The Metal Industry: Position In Turkish Environmental Law & Alignment With The EU IED

I. INTRODUCTION

The management of the environmental impacts of industrial activities has settled at the center of both national legal policies and international obligations in recent years. In particular, the metal production and processing sector, a crucial component of heavy industry, has become one of the areas most strictly regulated by environmental legislation due to its high energy consumption, intense greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions, and significant generation of wastewater and solid waste. Restructuring this sector under the headings of both combating climate change and green transition emerges not only as an environmental preference but also as a legal and economic necessity.

With the Regulation on the Management of Industrial Emissions (“Regulation”) dated January 14, 2025, a new regime based on the principle of integrated pollution prevention and control has been adopted in Türkiye, abandoning the classical approach that focused merely on specific pollutant types of industrial origin. In this new era, it is deemed insufficient for facilities to merely comply with singular emission limits; beyond this, they are expected to reach the level of “Best Available Techniques” (“BAT”) regarding their production processes as a whole and to meet the BAT-Associated Emission Levels (“BAT-AEL”), which express the performance and emission ranges required by these techniques.

This framework constitutes the main axis that harmonizes Turkish environmental law with the European Union's Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) and the Best Available Techniques / BAT-Associated Emission Level (“AEL”) system, which forms the backbone of said Directive. The technical and implementation-oriented dimension of this structure specific to the metal sector was prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change (“Ministry”), published in the Official Gazette dated November 30, 2025, and entered into force as of December 1, 2025, with the “Communiqué on Best Available Techniques in Metal Production and Processing” (“Communiqué”).

While the Communiqué sets forth which applications shall be accepted within the scope of BAT regarding the processes used in metal production and processing, it also determines the BAT-AEL ranges that facilities must reach in the event these techniques are applied, thereby becoming the technical reference document for the content of environmental permits, inspections, and the scoring of the Green Transformation in Industry (“GTI”) Certificate. Consequently, although the Communiqué may appear to be “merely a technical communiqué” at first glance, it possesses the potential to produce highly effective results regarding both the administrative sanction regime and green transition policies.

This article aims to position the Communiqué within the broader normative and political context surrounding it, rather than addressing it as a solitary text. In this context, the study will address: (i) the hierarchy of legislation upon which the Communiqué is based, (ii) the legal nature and purpose of the Communiqué, (iii) the Communiqué's structural compliance with the EU Industrial Emissions Directive and the BAT/BAT-AEL system, and (iv) finally, the concrete obligations, risks, and compliance strategies created by the Communiqué for facilities operating in the field of metal production and processing.

II. NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LAW, PRESIDENTIAL DECREE, REGULATION, AND COMMUNIQUÉ

To correctly evaluate the legal nature of the Communiqué, it is mandatory to comprehend the normative structure in which this Communiqué is situated. The following sub-headings reveal the consistent and systematic appearance of this hierarchical structure in which the Communiqué is located.

A. Environmental Law No. 2872: The Fundamental Legal Basis of the BAT System

The first fundamental regulation upon which the Communiqué is based is the Environmental Law No. 2872. Environmental Law No. 2872 grants the Ministry the authority to determine technical standards, monitor compliance with these standards, and impose administrative sanctions when necessary, for the purpose of protecting the environment and reducing industrial-sourced pollution. The legal basis for the BAT and BAT-AEL approach is constituted by this regulatory authority granted by Environmental Law No. 2872.

B. Presidential Decree No. 1: Institutional Authorization

Presidential Decree No. 1 (“Decree”) determines which administrative structure shall prepare and execute regulations in the field of the environment. The scope of duty of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change is defined by this Decree; the authority to prepare regulations regarding emission limits, technical criteria, and sectoral standards has been conferred upon the relevant units. The institutional status of the technical units that prepared and implement the Communiqué is also based on this Decree. Therefore, the implementation and inspection capacity of the Communiqué, as well as its legal validity, are made possible through this institutional structure established by the Decree.

C. Regulation on the Management of Industrial Emissions (OG dated 14/01/2025): Framework Regulation

The Regulation on the Management of Industrial Emissions (“Regulation”) is the fundamental regulation that defines the legal nature of the BAT and BAT-AEL concepts in Turkish law in a clear and binding manner for the first time and classifies them as the basic criteria for environmental permits. With the Regulation, the previous fragmented permit system has been abandoned; instead, under the adopted integrated emission-based model, it is envisaged that environmental permits will now be shaped directly through BAT and BAT-AEL compliance.

The GTI Certificate system created within the same scope envisages the classification of facilities between A–F according to their BAT compliance level, and this evaluation is based directly on the technical criteria contained in the Communiqué. Finally, the Regulation establishes the necessary normative ground for the transposition of the BAT and BAT-AEL approach, which forms the backbone of the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (“IED”), into Turkish law; thus, ensuring that the national BAT system operates in both structural and functional harmony with the EU acquis.

D. Metal BAT Communiqué: Sectoral Technical Implementation of the Framework

Although the Communiqué is positioned as a subordinate regulatory act in the hierarchy of legal norms, it constitutes one of the most decisive elements of the system in practice. The Communiqué transforms the general provisions of the Regulation into technical and applicable rules for the metal sector, defining in detail which methods and equipment are accepted as BAT in this field.

Furthermore, the Communiqué ensures that the environmental performance of facilities is evaluated in an objective and measurable manner by setting forth the BAT-AELs targeted by the BAT application. These technical values bear the quality of a directly binding reference in determining the content of environmental permits, in establishing compliance during administrative inspections, and in the scoring within the scope of the GTI Certificate. Therefore, even though the Communiqué is located at a lower rung of the normative hierarchy, it has practically become the most effective regulatory tool at the center of both environmental compliance and sectoral inspection.

III. THE LEGAL NATURE AND PURPOSE OF THE COMMUNIQUÉ

First, the Communiqué puts the BAT concept into practice for the metal sector. Although the Regulation defines BAT as a principle, the Communiqué clarifies which process constitutes this technical level through its technical annexes. For this reason, details regarding processes, equipment, abatement technologies, and efficiency applications used in the metal sector are rendered legally binding by the Communiqué.

The second fundamental function of the Communiqué is the establishment of the BAT-AEL ranges that determine the performance levels associated with the BAT application. Since BAT-AEL defines the range in which a facility's environmental performance must fall with numerical values, it does not merely serve as a technical indicator; on the contrary, it becomes a mandatory normative criterion used in the granting of environmental permits, the determination of compliance in inspections, and the GTI Certificate classification.

Moreover, the Communiqué develops a detailed approach specific to the production structure of the metal sector. Since processes such as smelting, casting, rolling, surface treatments, heat treatments, or coating differ significantly from one another in terms of their environmental impacts, determining the appropriate BATs for each process is not only a technical but also a legal necessity. In this context, the Communiqué clearly distinguishes the technical regulations to which all facilities operating in the sector will be subject regarding the relevant sub-processes.

Finally, the basic technical data to be used in granting environmental permits, the basis for inspections, the criteria for GTI Certificate scoring, and the reference points facilities will use when preparing their internal compliance plans are established by the Communiqué. Therefore, the Communiqué is positioned as an implementation tool that ensures administrative processes rest on a predictable and measurable foundation.

IV. COMPLIANCE WITH THE EU INDUSTRIAL EMISSIONS DIRECTIVE

Beyond being a list of technical standards prepared in line with national needs, the Communiqué also constitutes a significant part of Türkiye's alignment process with the European Union's IED framework. The IED constitutes the basic reference valid throughout Europe in the control of industrial-sourced environmental pollution and imposes an obligation on member states to apply BAT and BAT-AEL principles in the granting of environmental permits. The concepts of BAT and BAT-AEL in Turkish law are the direct equivalents of this approach. Therefore, although the Communiqué is a national regulation, it shows parallelism with the EU Directive in terms of content, method, and technical detail.

Compliance is not only at the conceptual dimension; the preparation method of the Communiqué has also proceeded in parallel with the “BAT Conclusions” format in the EU. Addressing processes specific to the metal sector individually, defining the technologies used in detail, and determining performance ranges signify the adoption of the method the EU has applied for years at the national level. This situation indicates that the Communiqué proceeds on the same technical line as the IED in terms of both content and approach.

Indeed, the GTI Certificate system developed in Türkiye follows the same direction as the EU's green transformation policies in industry while classifying the environmental performance of facilities according to BAT values. Since the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”) takes into account the environmental performance of production, it is essential for facilities compliant with BAT-AEL levels to limit potential additional tax costs in foreign trade.

In conclusion, the Communiqué is a regulation forming the technical basis of compliance with the EU Industrial Emissions Directive. The fact that it is based on BAT and BAT-AEL, which are the national equivalents of the BAT and BAT-AEL system; that it details sector-based technical requirements, establishes measurable criteria in permit processes, and constructs an evaluation structure linked to green transformation policies, makes the Communiqué the concrete and functional implementation of the EU approach in Türkiye.

V. OBLIGATIONS ARISING WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE COMMUNIQUÉ FOR FACILITIES IN THE METAL SECTOR AND THE COMPLIANCE PROCESS

For facilities operating in the metal sector, the Communiqué does not merely bear the quality of a technical guide; it contains directly binding provisions regarding the obtaining of environmental permits, the continuation of existing permits, and the assurance of compliance in inspection processes. Therefore, the entry into force of the Communiqué necessitates facilities to re-evaluate both their existing processes and their environmental performances. The compliance process is not limited to the review of technical tools; it encompasses administrative, technical, and planning obligations spreading across the entire operation of the enterprise.

For facilities located in the Metal Sector, the first step is the comparison of the processes they conduct with the BAT levels defined in the Communiqué. This evaluation is not solely regarding the equipment or abatement technology used; raw material preferences, energy consumption, efficiency applications in the process flow, and methods aimed at reducing waste generation are addressed together within the scope of BAT. If there is a discrepancy between the BAT and the current status of the facility, the enterprise must improve its technical capacity or adapt its processes to approach the BAT level.

The complementary element of this technical compliance passes through the provision of BAT-AEL values regulated in the Communiqué. BAT-AEL numerically indicates the range in which the facility's environmental performance must be situated and is taken as the basis for the determination of compliance in permit processes. Consequently, it is not sufficient for facilities to merely declare that they apply BAT; the results of the applied techniques must correspond to the BAT-AEL ranges. In cases where BAT-AEL cannot be met, for instance, the facility must strengthen its abatement systems, make process changes, or plan additional emission-reducing measures.

The entry into force of the Communiqué also directly affects the environmental permit processes of the facilities. Just as demonstrating compliance with BAT and BAT-AEL is mandatory in new permit applications, proving that these values are met is also required in the renewal or maintenance of existing permits. This requirement obliges enterprises to sustain their compliance with the Communiqué not only at the initial stage but throughout the entire duration of the permit.

Another dimension of the compliance process is the monitoring and reporting obligations introduced by the Communiqué. Monitoring and notifying emissions, wastewater parameters, and other environmental indicators in accordance with the methods defined in the Communiqué are mandatory for the healthy operation of both the permit processes and the inspection mechanism. This necessity compels facilities to strengthen their internal monitoring capacities and to transition to a structure that generates regular data.

The Communiqué is also critical in terms of creating an impact on investment and planning for facilities. Process improvements, additional abatement systems, the development of measurement infrastructure, or the realization of energy efficiency applications to be made to comply with the BAT level require significant financial resources. Therefore, compliance with the Communiqué will not only be an environmental necessity but an element affecting the long-term investment strategy and budget planning of the enterprise.

When this holistic framework is considered, it will be seen and understood that the Communiqué creates a multi-layered compliance process producing technical, administrative, and strategic results for facilities in the metal sector. Ensuring compliance is important not only in terms of conformity with environmental legislation but also regarding the enterprise preserving its competitive power, developing its sustainable production capacity, and transitioning to a production structure compatible with international standards.

VI. CONCLUSION

The Communiqué is one of the fundamental regulations clarifying the technical and administrative framework aimed at improving environmental performance in the metal sector. This regulation envisages a transformation regarding the entirety of production processes, going beyond the traditional environmental approach that merely targets the limitation of pollutant releases. Said regulation creates a concrete, measurable, and applicable model aimed at managing the environmental impacts of facilities at the source.

With the entry into force of the Communiqué, it is mandatory for facilities to re-evaluate their technical infrastructures, process preferences, and monitoring-reporting systems. This process is not only a legal obligation but also a step that strengthens the environmental risk management of the enterprise and supports the sustainability of long-term production capacity.

In line with Türkiye's 2053 Net Zero Emission target, the dissemination of clean production technologies and circular economy practices in industry has become a strategic element in terms of preserving international competitive power, in addition to environmental requirements. The Communiqué ensures that environmental performance in the metal production and processing sector sits on a measurable and comparable ground by creating the technical infrastructure of this transformation. In this aspect, the regulation can be evaluated as a significant threshold regarding access to green finance, environmental compliance in exports, and integration into sustainable supply chains.

The full text of the Communiqué is available  here.

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