CDP Turkey 2014 Climate Change Report Disclosed
Implemented by the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum with the sponsorship of Akbank and reporting support of EY Turkey, CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) Turkey revealed its 2014 report on Monday, November 3, 2014.
The CDP Turkey Climate Leaders awards were also presented at the ceremony, and the “CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index" (CPLI) and "CDP Climate Disclosure Leadership Index" (CDLI) were announced for the first time this year. The only Turkish company to be included in the global CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index was Tofaş Otomotiv.
CDP Turkey Climate Leaders Awards were won by Garanti Bank, Coca-Cola İçecek, Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Üretim, Ekoten Tekstil Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. and Noor Fındık. The awards ceremony took place with the attendance of TÜSİAD High Advisory Council Chair Erkut Yücaoğlu.
CDP Turkey is being implemented since 2010 by the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum with the sponsorship of Akbank and reporting support of EY Turkey. The 2014 report of the project was revealed in an event at the Sabancı Museum – the Seed on Monday, November 3, 2014. As a platform for companies to disclose their climate change strategies to international corporate investors, CDP is considered the world’s most prestigious and comprehensive environmental initiative.
CDP Turkey 2014 Climate Change Report includes the responses of 41 companies reporting to the CDP in Turkey. The foreword to the report is written by CDP CEO Paul Simpson and Akbank President and Managing Director Suzan Sabancı Dinçer.
Akbank Investor Relations and Sustainability President Cenk Göksan delivered the introductory remarks to the CDP Turkey 2014 Report meeting. Speaking after Cenk Göksan was CDP Vice President Sue Howells, followed by a video message from European Commission’s Director-General for Climate Action Jos Delbeke. The results of the CDP Turkey 2014 Climate Change Report were revealed by Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum and CDP Turkey Director Melsa Ararat. Speeches were followed by a panel discussion on “CDP Climate Leaders” moderated by Dr. Artunç Kocabalkan, featuring speakers Tofaş Otomotiv CEO Kamil Başaran, Garanti Bank Project and Procurement Financing, Vice President of Sustainability Ebru Dildar Edin, and CDP Vice President Sue Howells. The event concluded with the awards ceremony introduced by TÜSİAD High Advisory Council Chair Dr. Erkut Yücaoğlu.
“Today, companies are expected to be profitable as well as consider the future of the society and environment for sustainable development.”
Akbank Investor Relations and Sustainability President Cenk Göksan said, “As one of the leading corporations in Turkey, we believe that taking an active part in building environmental awareness and reducing our impact on climate change is important for our country and our planet. Today, companies are expected to be profitable as well as consider the future of the society and environment for sustainable development. One of the efforts of Akbank towards this purpose is its sponsorship of the global Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in Turkey since 2010. The steps taken as the sponsor and participant of this project are indicative of Akbank’s sensitivity towards climate change.
“More than ever, we need data on the impact of companies on climate change, and their strategies towards reducing this impact.”
CDP Vice President Sue Howells said, "Greenhouse gas emissions keep increasing and if we are unable to curb this trend, we will be more exposed to the financial risks of climate change. More than ever, we need data on the impact of companies on climate change, and their strategies towards reducing this impact. This is why CDP congratulates the companies that made to the CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index and CDP Climate Disclosure Leadership Index lists compiled in Turkey for the first time. We hope that the response of these companies to the increasing demand for environmental accountability inspire others to do the same.”
“The private sector plays an important part in fighting climate change.”
European Commission’s Director-General for Climate Action Jos Delbeke sent a video message to the conference, saying: “Accounting for only ten percent of global emissions, EU cannot control climate change on its own. We encourage countries including Turkey who have not started efforts in this direction to do so. Turkey’s representation at the Climate Summit held in New York in September is a good development. Turkey stated that their contribution to the Global Climate Compact would be ready by mid-2015. There are ongoing climate actions in Turkey related to the EU accession process. The private sector plays an important part and I was delighted that a Turkish company is among the Global Climate Performance Leadership Index. I hope that Turkish companies continue this example and take action for the climate. And I hope that policymakers in Turkey are able to recognize the opportunities behind challenges.”
“Climate change will change the way companies do business and the way people live.”
Sabancı University Faculty Member and CDP Turkey Director Melsa Ararat made a presentation, saying: “Climate change will change the way companies do business and the way people live. Access to energy and water will be subject to restrictions. As academics working in Management, we need to study how companies can respond to these changes by restructuring their supply and value chains as well as their governance systems. Being resilient against such changes, the likes of which have never been lived before, will be more important for companies than short-term profitability or growth. As climate change threatens way of life, citizen activism will emerge as a prominent method of communication with companies.”
Zeynep Okuyan, Climate Change and Sustainability Services Partner of EY Turkey, which provides ratings for responses in accordance with CDP’s Global Rating Method, said, "More participation in this year’s CDP Turkey and the efforts of current participants to do even better year after year are obvious signs of how aware Turkish businesses are of the opportunities and risks associated with climate change. We also believe that further improvements can be made in the independent verification of processes and setting lower emission targets.”
CDP Turkey 2014 Climate Leaders received awards
The meeting concluded with the CDP Turkey 2014 Climate Leaders Awards Ceremony. Awards were given in the categories of CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index (CPLI) and CDP Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI).
Tofaş Otomotiv was rated among the 187 companies in the CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index of participants that were rated at A globally according to their CDP Climate Performance ratings, becoming the Climate Performance Leader of Turkey. Furthermore, the automotive company was the first and only Turkish business to be included in CDP’s Global A List Report. Tofaş Otomotiv CEO Kamil Başaran said, “As a global company that continuously reinvents itself, we were early to realize that R&D and renewal were what would give us the sustainable competitive edge on the national and international levels. We are fortunate because this is what we build our sustainable future on. Our journey started with our world-class plant qualifying for “Gold Level” production, and we continue with particularly important criteria we receive from various platforms. Of course, we are proud to be the first and only Turkish company in the CDP A List Report as a result of our activities. While we may boast about having raised the bar and entered the A list, we would rather not be the only one. We expect the same sensitivity and performance from everyone.”
Among the five companies included in the local CDP Climate Disclosure Leadership Index, which consists of the top 10% of companies responding to CDP Turkey, the highest score was achieved by Garanti Bank. Garanti Bank Project and Procurement Financing, Vice President of Sustainability Ebru Dildar Edin said, “We have been reporting our greenhouse gas inventory in an effort to fight climate change since 2010, and we find it very encouraging that we received the 2012 CDP Turkey Carbon Performance Leadership Award and this year’s CDP Turkey Carbon Disclosure Leadership. We are determined to improve our efforts, which includes financing wind energy projects, where we have a 35% market share, and the reduction of energy used in our branch offices.”
The ceremony began with an introductory speech by TÜSİAD High Advisory Council Chair Erkut Yücaoğlu, who then presented the awards. Tofaş Otomotiv CEO Kamil Başaran received the CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index Award.
CDP Climate Disclosure Leadership Index Award was received on behalf of Garanti Bank by Vice President of Sustainability Ebru Dildar Edin; second prize was received on behalf of Coca Cola İçecek by Director of Corporate Relations Atilla Yerlikaya; and third prizes were received on behalf of Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Üretim by Vice-President of the Board of Directors Selen Zorlu Melik, on behalf of Ekoten Tekstil by Human Resources Manager Deniz Köksal, and by Noor Fındık.
About the CDP Turkey 2014 Climate Change Report Results
In 2014, CDP requested climate change-related information from companies listed on the BIST-100 exchange, and encouraged other companies to respond to CDP. CDP Turkey 2014 Climate Change Report shows the distance covered by Turkish businesses in reducing emissions and in risks and opportunities associated with climate change. The report indicates that leading companies, despite their increasing interest and commitments, have to make more effort towards emission reductions without endangering their growth strategies. Companies that take leadership in this matter are expected to be more successful compared to their competitors in utilizing climate change opportunities and transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
Some highlights of the report:
• 41 companies responded to CDP this year. Among the respondents, 20 received scores of 70 or greater. In performance ratings, one company was placed in the A-List and 9 companies in the B-List.
• Since 2011, the number of respondents doubled and reached the highest level to date.
• 90% of the companies that initially responded in 2011 continued to respond every year.
• 80% of the companies that initially responded in 2013 responded this year as well.
• 10% of the respondents in 2014 were first-time respondents.
• The number of companies that integrate climate management in their business strategies increased: 85% of companies integrated climate change in their business strategies. 53% of companies set targets to reduce their emissions, while almost half of the respondents do not have reduction targets yet.
• Advanced emission reporting: In 2014, 39 companies (94%) disclosed their Direct (Scope 1) and Indirect (Scope 2) emission data. 38% of companies achieved reduction in their direct and indirect emission data.
• Inadequate verification: companies that have their data verified by independent parties account for 29% of the respondents. Going forward, increasing stakeholder and investor demand for independent verification and governmental regulations based on the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system are expected to encourage companies to seek independent third-party verification.
• More companies put climate change on the agenda of their top management. This year, climate change-related issues were discussed at the board of directors and executive management levels of 91% of the respondents.
• All of the top 50% respondents achieved improvements in their disclosure scores, and an increase of 71% in their performance ratings.
About CDP
CDP is an international, independent not-for-profit organization that reports on how climate change risks are managed by companies on a global scale, and has the world’s largest database of climate change data. In 2014, the organization acted on behalf of 877 corporate investors managing total assets of 93 trillion dollars. More than 5000 companies in 60 countries measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, water resource management and strategies for climate change through CDP to set reduction targets and improve environmental performance. CDP harmonizes this data and seeks to improve international reporting standards. In Turkey, CDP is being implemented by the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum since 2010 with the sponsorship of Akbank and reporting support and rating partnership of EY Turkey. Since 2011, companies on the Istanbul Stock Exchange 100 (BIST-100) index are called upon by CDP to disclose their strategies for climate change and emissions data.
About the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum
Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum is an interdisciplinary academic research center and think-tank focusing on corporate governance and sustainability. Hosted by the Sabancı University School of Management, the Corporate Governance Forum is a frequent contributor to international platforms and working groups in its capacity as a center of excellence that deals with the empowerment of women in emerging markets, sustainability and climate change within the framework of corporate governance.