Faces of the Eurovent Commission: Melek Unal Tavukcuoglu

Melek Unal Tavukcuoglu is the Director of ISKID, the Turkish Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Manufacturer’s Association. She has been with ISKID since 2014. In our ‘Faces of the Eurovent Commission series’ she shares with us the activities of ISKID and provides brief information about ISKID’s Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) awareness project.

Melek graduated with a master’s degree in business administration and has since gained experience in various sectors including health institutions, government agencies, textile industry and petrochemical industry. She eventually came across ISKID and the HVACR industry while working on a project in 2014 which then drew her to the multifaceted nature of the industry. Over time, she has been involved in various projects in the association and now oversees regular operations and creating new projects that align with the emerging technologies and trends in the sector. The Eurovent Team managed to interview Melek to ask about ISKID’s main focus points and to obtain information about its IAQ awareness project.

What is ISKID and what are the association’s main focus points?

Since its establishment in 1992, ISKID has been a steadfast organisation committed to advancing the air conditioning industry. By bringing member companies together under one roof, the association plays a crucial role in ensuring that the industry develops in accordance with global trends and regulations. Today, ISKID remains at the forefront of industry development and is essential to the continued growth and success of the air conditioning sector. It so far has played a critical role in transitioning the sector to the BIM process, and we are actively promoting IAQ awareness, guiding mechanical engineering students, and organising market creation and development of initiatives for heat pumps.

Our mission is to develop strategic plans for advancing the air conditioning industry and to work collaboratively with stakeholders and the sector to implement these plans. Our goals at ISKID include developing the sector’s research and development infrastructure and promoting university-industry cooperation. We also strive to encourage the use of renewable energy resources, high-yield products, innovative technologies, and applications that advance the industry. In addition, we track and update regulations and standards, create specifications as needed, and conduct effective market monitoring to prevent unfair competition and maintain a trustworthy image for the sector.

We prioritise strengthening the relationship between the industry and the government. By bringing together a major portion of the ventilation, refrigeration, and air conditioning sector under a single umbrella, we have created a powerful platform for advancing the industry goals. Since 1994, we have been compiling annual statistics to track our progress and identify areas for improvement.

Our association also collaborates with other non-governmental organisations to maximise the efficiency of air conditioning specialty fairs for both consumers and companies. Through successful partnerships, we have established ISK-SODEX, the only fair in this sector currently supported by four organisations and foundations. This fair is held in Istanbul every two years, and it has achieved global renown and represents a significant achievement for our collaborative efforts.

The association takes and monitors precautions in the sector to prevent unfair competition, actions that violate ethics rules and conduct that could mislead consumers. Lastly, it has been organising seminars, setting meetings with government officials, publishing booklets, and creating a website in order to increase awareness of heat pumps in Türkiye with its work.

Could you tell us about ISKID’s IAQ awareness project and what to expect from it?

For a while now, ISKID has been engaged in a comprehensive project to increase awareness of the importance of IAQ for health and performance. As a result, we created a project called Ichavakalitesi, which primarily provides relevant information on IAQ. The website contains information about IAQ, methods to test and improve IAQ, articles about air conditioning use during the pandemic, and answers to frequently asked questions. Again, within the framework of the project, we compiled the ‘IAQ in Schools’ brochure, which covers the essential ventilation and IAQ principles for school administration, teachers, and students, and distributed it at some schools as well as at events and fairs. We plan a series of presentations for the upcoming period to increase awareness of IAQ for teachers, students, and parents at schools.

At ISKID, we have frequently hosted webinars on IAQ on Zoom to take advantage of the digital world, which has become increasingly widespread in our lives throughout the pandemic. The goal of these webinars was to reach a wider audience. We have contacted influencers with higher social media followings who are fit for the project goal to spread the webinar events to a larger audience. These influencers posted and shared on their own accounts to promote these webinars to a wider audience.

Press releases with insights were sent to the national and trade press as part of the project’s media relations. We have sponsored ‘Dünya İçin Bir Şey Yap’ (Do Something for the World), which aired as eight episodes on the national broadcasting company Bloomberg HT channel. With the support of ISKID member companies, ‘Dünya İçin Bir Şey Yap’ which airs on Bloomberg HT every Saturday at 14:30h, informs the public and increases awareness about IAQ and its importance and the impacts of IAQ on our health accompanied by expert guests. You can view the program’s contents on the ISKID YouTube channel.

ISKID keeps in touch with the associations to spread the word about the project abroad. For further information on the ISKID IAQ Project and its procedures you can visit the website www.ichavakalitesi.org and email us at iskid@iskid.org.tr.

About ISKID

ISKID (İklimlendirme Soğutma Klima İmalatçıları Derneği) was established in 1993 as a result of cooperation among Turkey’s leading air-conditioning and cooling manufacturers. This non-profit organisation, working under the name of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Manufacturers’ Association – ISKID, is based in Istanbul and a member of ISIB, Turkey’s national trade association. ISKID’s main objectives are to promote cooperation amongst its more than 100 members on the one hand and to form the bridge between the industry and the state on the other hand. Next to this, ISKID aims to provide information on legislative and standard developments, increase the visibility and market reach of the sector, create a level-playing field, and to promote and stimulate environmental protection. Over the years, ISKID has developed into one of Eurovent’s largest member associations.

About the Eurovent Commission

Eurovent’s Member Associations are represented in the Eurovent Commission, which is Eurovent’s steering committee. The Eurovent Commission does not only define the general political guidelines of the association, but also monitors and mediates the activities of its subordinated Product Groups. It also serves as a forum for exchange of information and cooperation between the Member Associations. The Eurovent Commission ensures that Eurovent positions are always broadly representative of wider European interests across all sizes of enterprises. The Eurovent Commission elects a Chairperson for a three-year term and appoints a Vice-Chairperson for a one-year term according to a rotating schedule. Both are automatically members of the Eurovent Board.