We are proud to be Turkey's first Bank to achieve a corporate governance grade and are conscious of our responsibilities. We keep track of our compliance with corporate governance principles at the board of directors level and aim to improve it. We work nonstop in line with our sustainability objectives, in compliance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, to deliver our children the best possible future.
What are we doing for Sustainable Banking?
Sustainability Developments in 2023
As a result of our lending activities within the scope of financial inclusion, a key component of our sustainable banking strategy, financing provided to female entrepreneurs has increased by 67% compared to the previous year.
Since its inception in 2014, our "Family Farming Banking" initiative has provided approximately 18.06 billion TL in financial support to nearly 150,000 farming families over the past 9 years.
With our pioneering EKOkredi product, Turkey's first energy efficiency financing solution, we have continued to add new customers from all segments and foster widespread awareness about energy efficiency. We have supported approximately 123,000 individuals in energy efficiency investments, providing financing exceeding 1.7 billion TL.
We utilize the analysis of the environmental and social impact resulting from our lending activities to assess the capacity of our customers to manage this impact. In 2023, the number of loans assessed for their environmental and social impact reached 34,745.
In 2023, we conducted our training programs both in-person (classroom) and remotely (virtual classroom), and we also assigned e-learning sessions to our employees through Şeker Academy on various topics. As of the end of 2023, we ensured that all of our employees participated in at least one training activity, whether in-person, virtual, seminar, simulation, or e-learning, and an average of 25.62 hours of training per person was completed.
We are taking significant steps towards gender equality by supporting women's leadership at all levels. As of the end of 2023, 53.8% of our bank's employees are women, which indicates a higher ratio than the industry average.
Our priority of providing transparent and sustainable services to our customers has been certified, making us the only bank in Turkey to hold the Gold Certificate on the Cerise+SPTF platform, a global network for the protection of customers in the financial services sector.
As of the end of 2023, our total Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions reduction, with our base year being 2021, has achieved 25% progress towards our target of reducing emissions by 43% by 2028.
In 2023, a portion of our electricity consumption was generated through solar panels located at our Edirne branch, while another portion was sourced from IREC-certified renewable energy sources, resulting in renewable sources accounting for approximately 34% of our electricity consumption.
In 2023, we achieved a 13% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions directly attributable to our operations compared to the previous year.
In 2023, as a result of improvements and actions taken to reduce water usage and manage our resources effectively, we achieved a 5% reduction in water consumption per employee compared to 2022.
As a result of paperless banking initiatives, we achieved a total paper savings of 351 tons in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, preventing the cutting of 7,020 trees.
Discussions were held with local authorities to properly manage approximately 4 tons of food waste generated in the headquarters cafeteria, resulting in a 63% reduction in our food waste rate compared to the previous year.
A total of 82.6 tons of paper generated from the headquarters units and branch operations were sent to recycling facilities.
A total of 5.3 tons of electronic devices that have reached the end of their useful lives were delivered to electronic waste recycling companies.
A total of 640 liters of waste oil generated in the General Directorate cafeteria were sent to a recycling facility to be converted into biodiesel, contributing to energy recovery. By sending the waste oil for recycling, efforts were made to keep water sources clean and preserve biodiversity in our seas.
Sustainability Goals in 2024
We have set our 75th-year vision with the strategy of becoming a regional leader in social and environmental banking, aiming to transform all our activities into an environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-focused structure.
With the support of our advanced credit decision systems at Şekerbank, by the end of 2023, we aim to gradually increase our market share above the industry average in SME loans, which constitute 54.5% of our total loans, in the coming period.
Embracing the goal of transforming our corporate and commercial loan portfolio into environmental and social loans, our growth strategy in this area focuses on key areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, exports, investment, and social development, prioritizing the development of earthquake-prone regions.
With the support of our developed digital channels, we aim to reach 2 million new customers over the next five years.
We aim to reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 total carbon emissions resulting from our activities by 5% compared to the previous year.
Our goal is to source 50% of our energy consumption from renewable sources, compared to 34% sourced from renewable energy sources in 2023.
We aim to continue our efforts to use resources efficiently by reducing our per capita water consumption by 3% compared to the previous year.
We aim to reduce the food waste rate in the headquarters cafeteria by 5% compared to the previous year.
We aim to manage the amount of waste sent for recycling, considering the waste hierarchy, and to reduce the amount of waste generated.
We aim to achieve a 100% participation rate in the "Zero Waste and Waste Management" training initiated in 2023 and to increase the presence of sustainability training on our training portal, Şeker Akademi.