Combating Climate Change and Environmental Compliance

TRANSITION TO A ZERO CARBON ECONOMY

Trainings on Sustainability

2,937 Hours

Ziraat Bank shapes its basic environmental sustainability approach on the axis of its obligations to the environment, customers, society, and its responsibilities to its employees. The Bank sets and implements its economic sustainability goals from corporate, environmental, and social sustainability perspectives. The Bank manages its resources and service infrastructure by taking into account environmental and social factors, as well as potential risks and opportunities. Within the scope of environmental sustainability, the Bank prioritizes combating the climate crisis and transition to a zero-carbon economy.
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Ziraat Bank

Offers banking products and services in digital and practical formats by developing its service processes with a focus on sustainability.
Contributes to investments that will mitigate the negative impacts of combating the climate crisis and transition to a zero-carbon economy, and provides resources for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and circular economy developments.
Supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals by integrating sustainability principles into its business model.
Aims to mainstream and improve sustainability in the value chain by taking part in national and international sustainability initiatives.

T.C. Ziraat Bankası A.Ş. Sustainability Policy is available at T.C. ZİRAAT BANKASI A.Ş. SUSTAINABILITY POLICY1 (ziraatbank.com.tr).

Ziraat Bank continued its endeavors to support combating global warming and climate change in 2024. In this context, the Bank;

Continues to work on the integration of climate risks into the Bank’s processes with the participation of the Bank’s Senior Management.
Reinforced its pioneering position in the sector by supporting compliance with legal regulations and the reduction of environmental damages by launching the Carbon Reduction Support Package in investment financing.
Aims to reduce carbon emissions by recycling micro wastes (coffee beans, etc.).
Carries out sustainability reporting activities in compliance with national and international standards (GRI, SASB, TCFD, TSRS).
Manages lending processes by taking ESG criteria into account.

Ziraat Bank aims to contribute to the environment, economy, and society in line with its Sustainability Policy, updated in line with Türkiye’s 2053 Net Zero Goal, and responsible banking principles. With its roadmap focused on the management of climate risks, the Bank focuses on growth through economic, environmental, social, and managerial practices to achieve sustainable development goals by contributing to Türkiye’s Net Zero Emission Target and the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5°C within the framework of the Paris Climate Agreement.
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Climate Crisis E-Training Kit, Sustainability E-Training, in-class trainings on Sustainability, and a webinar on Climate Change were organized for bank employees to raise environmental awareness. In addition, our newly recruited colleagues are provided with Sustainability trainings as well as environmental and climate change training within the scope of the Orientation Program. As of year-end 2024, employees spent a total of 2,937 hours in in-class and online trainings on environment, climate change, and sustainability.

Key Elements of Ziraat Bank’s Environmental Approach

Ziraat Bank aims to control its environmental impact, manage the risks created by the climate crisis with appropriate strategies and technologies, and achieve continuous improvement.
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The Bank measures and reduces greenhouse gas emissions in its service cycle and contributes to the goal of keeping the global temperature rise below 2°C by ensuring efficient use of energy and other natural resources.
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It aims to increase the share of renewable energy, by prioritizing the use of domestic and renewable resources to meet its energy requirements through its investments. For the efficient use of clean water resources, which is one of the key components of the environmental approach, it assesses risks for water-dependent sectors and respects the sustainable management and accessibility of water.
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Ziraat Bank manages its operations in full compliance with environmental standards in Türkiye and endeavors to promote the adoption of global best practices in the other countries in which it operates. It collaborates with stakeholders to raise environmental awareness and assesses climate and water risks in line with international standards.
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The Bank develops its banking products and services with an understanding of sustainable development in addition to its endeavors to minimize the environmental impact of its own operations, and supports investments in sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and environmental protection through the financing it extends.
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Developing projects to integrate the universal principles of sustainability into its business model, Ziraat Bank evaluates the environmental and social impacts of its lending activities together with credit risks through its Environmental and Social Impact Management System. Taking care to maximize the environmental and social contributions of the projects it lends to, Ziraat Bank excludes activities prohibited or restricted by international conventions from financial, technical, environmental, and social impact assessment and does not finance them by including them in the List of Unfinanced Activities under the Environmental and Social Impact Management Policy.
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The Bank assesses the projects and loan applications not included in the List of Unfinanced Activities and exceeding a certain threshold using the Environmental and Social Risk Assessment Model. Risks are categorized, and an action plan is developed and monitored. Ziraat Bank Environmental and Social Impact Management Policy is available at https://www.ziraatbank.com.tr/en/our-bank/sustainability/our-policies/environmental-and-social-impact-management-policy-in-lending-activities (www.ziraatbank.com.tr/en).

Activities Not Financed by Ziraat Bank

Activities for the production of weapons of mass destruction and landmines
Activities involving conduct violating human rights, including harmful and exploitative forms of forced labor/child labor
Activities in wetlands designated as RAMSAR (Wetlands of International Importance) areas
Persons and organizations engaged in products and activities within the scope of the CITES (“Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora”)
The production or trade of products containing PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) - the group of highly toxic chemicals - regardless of sector
Drift net fishing activities practiced with nets longer than 2.5 km
Production or trade of ozone-depleting products
Production and trade of internationally prohibited drugs, pesticides, herbicides, and other harmful substances
Production or trade of friable asbestos

Ziraat Towers - the first and only green building to receive the LEED Certificate within the Istanbul Finance Center campus

Throughout the design and construction process, the requirements of the LEED Platinum Certification were meticulously prioritized in the IFC Ziraat Towers Project. All materials, equipment, machinery groups and electro-mechanical systems were designed and implemented with consideration for energy efficiency and environmental impacts.
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Ziraat Towers are designed based on LEED criteria, taking into account the need for fresh air, user comfort, and energy efficiency. The fresh air capacity ratios are controlled by observing energy efficiency, and fresh air calculations are made according to the ASHRAE 62.1-2007 standard. The installation of a gray water treatment system recovers 155 m3 of water per day, which is used for urinals, toilets, and garden irrigation. In variable-speed air handling units, flow rate measurement is performed to ensure that the measured flow does not fall below the value corresponding to the minimum designated operating speed. All mechanical fresh air inlets of the building have filters with minimum F7 efficiency. The ASHRAE 90.1-2007 standard maximum power density values are followed in the calculation of interior and exterior lighting power density.

The power density was calculated according to ASHRAE 90.1-2007 standard based on the power of the lamps used. Building lighting controls can automatically turn off lighting fixtures in the common areas, either completely or partially, after a certain time. The infrastructure of the lighting controls also allows tenants to set automatic shut-offs in their own leasable areas. Central automation enables monitoring and intervention for all mechanical and electrical systems in the complex. The performance values of the system are continuously monitored and recorded.
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The main energy consumption items of the building, such as heating, cooling, lighting, hot water, etc., will be measured separately in accordance with both the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulation in force and LEED certification criteria. In order to ensure water efficiency in the building, water fixtures complying with the criteria set out in the specifications have been used.
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Ziraat Towers became the first and only green building within the Istanbul Finance Center campus to receive the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum Certificate, a green building rating system used worldwide. The LEED Platinum Certification, considered the highest level in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program, is awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a nonprofit organization, to projects achieving the highest level of success in evaluation criteria such as energy efficiency, water savings, environmental impact reduction and health standards.
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The importance which Ziraat REIT placed on sustainable construction practices was once again confirmed on an international scale with the LEED Platinum Certification.
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Ziraat Bank aims to obtain LEED Gold Certification in İzmir Bayraklı Mixed Project.