Background There are no standards and guidelines on regulations for odour control in Air Quality Control Regulations (AQCR) in Turkey. Odour problems persist in residential and industrial areas, as well as in the tourist sites. As a condition of membership of the European Union, Turkey must fulfil the requirements of EU Directives and, as a result, it has to adapt and improve its environmental legislation in line with EU environmental requirements. In central and north European countries, regulations for odorous emissions and immissions are being applied alongside other air quality requirements. Methods for measuring odorous emissions and immissions have been introduced in Germany and some other countries of Europe. Guidelines define all the related terms and give all the necessary information. There are also standards that determine threshold levels for odorous emissions and immissions. Objectives The project’s overall objective was to develop an environmental policy and action programme for odorous emissions and immissions in Turkey. The project covered the preparation of guidelines and regulations, the improvement of the administrative structure of Turkey’s environmental sector, and capacity building in the Ministry of Environment to adapt the Turkish AQCR to EU environmental legislation. The project’s specific objectives were to: • Analyse the problem of odorous emissions and immissions in Turkey; • Introduce sampling techniques for odorous emissions and immissions measurements by experts from Germany; • Carry out measurements in two selected areas of the country; • Prepare guidelines and appropriate standards for AQCR; and • Give the Ministry of Environment the capacity and administrative structure to implement odour management in the country. Results Olfactometric measurement methods are not yet widespread in Europe. The Commission does not have a general policy on combating odour, but several initiatives have been taken at a national or regional level (for example, in Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland). This project has helped make Turkey a pioneering country in this area. Through knowledge-sharing initiatives on odorous emissions, Turkish provinces and local governments have been provided a new environmental monitoring tool. Implementation of odour control regulation is key to the long-term success of the project, and one of the project’s most important achievements was the drafting of such regulation. The environmental impact of the project is expected to be the long-term abatement of odorous emissions and immissions. There is also an ongoing positive social impact, given that odours affect the quality of citizens’ lives. According to the beneficiary, the most important socio-economic benefit is that the new technology provides local authorities with a means for responding to complaints from the public. The odour measurement technology is complementary to air quality monitoring and should be carried out in affected areas. Odour regulation provides clear limits for acceptable odour immissions. Measuring technology is a valuable addition to the control and limitation of industrial emissions as ruled by the Turkish Regulation on Air Quality Control.