ZIRAAT BANK AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Ziraat Bank considers proactive management of risks that may cause environmental or social impacts in the projects it supports through lending activities as one of its main duties towards its stakeholders. In this regard, the Bank monitors natural resource consumption, takes necessary steps in terms of reducing it, and cooperates with suppliers, thanks to the effective environmental management it places at the center of all its operations.

2020 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS OF ZIRAAT BANK

The study into Ziraat Bank’s greenhouse gas inventory was completed by collecting 2020 energy data from the Head Office and domestic branches.

With respect to greenhouse gas emissions, the points set out in Scope 1 and Scope 2 in the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1: 2006 standard are referred to. The IPCC, TIER-1 Methodology was used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions within the specified limits, and TIER-2 Methodology for activity data with national data (electricity). The GWP (Global Warming Potential) coefficients used in the calculations are taken from the IPCC AR5 assessment report.

In a breakdown of Ziraat Bank’s greenhouse gas emissions by source, electricity-based emissions accounted for the highest share of total emissions with a 54.4% share (58.6% in 2019), followed by emissions from the company’s vehicles with a 19.6% share, and fuels used in the buildings with a 15.9% share. The upward trend in emissions from refrigerant gases (F-gases) seen in 2019 continued in 2020 (2017; 4%, 2018; 8%, 2019; 9.1%, 2020; 10.1%).

In 2020, the Bank’s scope-1 emissions decreased by 3.1% compared to 2019 (33,780 tCO₂e) to 32,729 tCO₂e.

Of these emissions, diesel consumption accounted for 43% of the total, with natural gas consumption and F-gases comprising 25% and 22% of the total respectively.

Ziraat Bank’s indirect greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 18.10% compared to 2019 with 11.79% of this decrease resulting from the decline in electricity consumption, while the remaining 6.31% was on the back of the electricity emission ratio.

The total greenhouse gas inventory for 2020 amounted to 71,839 tCO₂e, a decrease of 11.9% compared to the previous year (81,534 tCO₂e), remaining lower than the previous annual greenhouse gas emissions figures which have been calculated since 2014.

Ziraat Bank’s greenhouse gas intensity (tCO₂e/Million TL of turnover) continued to decrease (from 0.14 in 2018 and 0.13 in 2019 to 0.08 in 2020). It is planned that this trend will be supported by effective energy management practices.

*Change in Indirect Greenhouse Gas Emissions*
*2019*		*2020*		%
*Indirect Energy Consumption (KWh)*	*Indirect Greenhouse Gas Emissions (tCO₂e)*	*Indirect Energy Consumption (KWh)*	*Indirect Greenhouse Gas Emissions (tCO₂e)*	*Change (Scope 2)*
92,956,203	47,754	81,999.262	39,110	-18.1

In multilateral project finance transactions involving Ziraat Bank, commitments to compliance with IFC Performance Standards, EBRD Performance Standards and the Equator Principles are taken into consideration in the evaluation of loan agreements on a project specific basis.

Environmental protection activities within the scope of project finance
Ziraat Bank provides financing for infrastructure projects such as airports, highways and bridges which generate added value for the national economy and support employment, as well as renewable energy projects.

The Bank conducts risk assessments taking into account environmental and social risks while arranging private loan contracts within the scope of project financing.

In multilateral project finance transactions involving Ziraat Bank, commitments to compliance with IFC Performance Standards, EBRD Performance Standards and the Equator Principles are taken into consideration in the evaluation of loan agreements on a project specific basis. Among these, six projects require compliance with the Equator Principles.

Compliance with these criteria is followed through reports prepared by Technical and Environmental Consultants. There were no incidents where these criteria could not be met during 2020.

In project finance contracts prepared by Ziraat Bank, the Bank receives statements and commitments from customers regarding environmental and social issues in accordance with the laws and regulations to which the customers are bound, as well as issuing notes of default in instances of failure to comply with the declarations and commitments.

Customer commitments are regularly monitored through periodic reports prepared by environmental consultants or investors.
As of the end of 2020, a commitment remains in place to plant trees in four projects which the Bank provided financing to. The following commitments were made in different projects:

Within the framework of the Environmental and Social Action Plan, a commitment was put in place for the afforestation of 5,000 hectares of land. In the 2019-2020 season, a total of 879,000 saplings were planted on 1,000 hectares of land, and the commitments for the remaining 4,000 hectares are planned to be fulfilled by the end of 2023.
A minimum of 1,666,666 trees are planned to be planted around the facility’s impact area per year, with a total of 5 million by the end of 2020, and 10 million by the end of the 10-year period.
A commitment was provided for the afforestation of 2,940 hectares of land.
A total of 4,951,580 trees will be planted within the framework of the afforestation plan.

Within the framework of its responsible banking strategy, Ziraat Bank continued the work which it embarked upon in 2017 to establish an Environmental and Social Risk Management System for certain investment loans in 2020.

In this context, the Bank’s “Environmental and Social Impact Management Policy in Lending Operations” was established and was accepted by the Board of Directors as an integral part of the Sustainability Policy. The determination of procedures for the implementation of the policy and the efforts to integrate them into lending processes will continue in 2021.

Energy efficiency initiatives
Ziraat Bank has implemented a wide array of innovative practices in energy savings and efficient use of energy resources.

In order to reduce the cost of heating and increase energy efficiency, the Bank realized the installation of 470 air conditioning systems equipped with high-efficiency inverter technology using ozone-friendly R410A coolant gas in 2020. A total of 118 of these air conditioning systems were procured in accordance with the next generation VRF system standard which maximizes both energy savings and comfort. A total of 3.76 tons of R410A coolant gas was used in the installed systems.

Ziraat Bank aims to optimize the energy consumption of its computers with Green IT applications. Accordingly, warning messages are sent to users at specified times to ensure that computers which are still switched on outside working hours in the Bank’s offices are switched off, and that computers are automatically switched off if they are not actively in operation.

Generators are monitored remotely and centrally to check if they have been activated in the event of a power outage. The fuel status of the generators is also monitored remotely and an uninterrupted power supply is provided in the event of potential power outages.

Thanks to the use of biometric systems placed at ATM cubicle entrance points, data on ATM cubicle temperature and energy consumption is monitored centrally and usage adjustments are performed in light of this data in an effort to reduce energy expenditures.

LED lighting systems have been installed in the Bank’s branches, illuminated billboards and ATMs.

Zero Waste Management
Ziraat Bank carries out work on the establishment and implementation of the Zero Waste Management System in the Bank in accordance with the Zero Waste Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated July 12, 2019.

In this context, all service buildings of the Bank throughout the country were defined as separate “Facilities” in the Integrated Environmental Information System (EÇBS) put in place by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and “Facility Supervisors” were determined among the unit/branch personnel.

The Bank ensured that the training presentation on “Zero Waste” prepared by the Ministry was completed by all personnel through the Bank’s training portal.

Uniform waste boxes required within the scope of the practices were provided and sent to all units and branches in accordance with the number of floors and usage areas.

All units and branches of Ziraat Bank which have completed the transition to the Zero Waste Management System are audited by the relevant Environment and Urbanization Provincial Directorates.

Efforts on waste management
At Ziraat Bank, there is a practice of disposing of empty toner cartridges and expired drum units in the branches under the manufacturer’s responsibility. In 2020, the volume of waste products accredited and disposed of by the recycling company totaled 10,660 kg (2,870 units).

Within the scope of the practices undertaken to reduce the use of toner in the Bank, the number of dots used for each character and the optimal number of points are adjusted and dots which cannot be discerned by the user are not printed, thus resulting in a 20% saving in toner use. The savings achieved prevented carbon dioxide emissions totaling 601,750 kg.

Defective IT equipment in the Ziraat Bank units and branches is collected in Bank service centers and returned to use by carrying out repairs and renewals.

Waste IT materials, sheet metal materials such as system cabinets and air conditioning units, battery and scrap ATM devices are sold on to companies which hold transportation and processing licenses issued by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. Thus, waste is treated as a raw material through recycling, preventing such waste from harming the environment. In this framework, approximately 67 tons of waste material was sent to recycling units in 2020.

In the process of replacing chemicals from expired fire tubes, Ziraat Bank works with companies authorized to collect and dispose of the chemicals.

In addition, waste such as glass, plastics and paper generated from the bank service buildings is collected in cooperation with the municipalities.

Recycling Documents and waste paper which no longer legally needs to be retained at Ziraat Bank is sold to contracted authorized companies for recycling. In this context, approximately 955 tons of waste paper was recycled in 2020.

Significant achievements in saving paper
Documents and waste paper which no longer legally needs to be retained at Ziraat Bank is sold to contracted authorized companies for recycling. In this context, approximately 955 tons of waste paper was recycled in 2020.

Requests for A4 photocopy paper at all units and branches in Ziraat Bank are met from the warehouses within the Bank. Overall, savings of 28% were achieved in A4 paper consumption within the Bank compared to the previous year.

A substantial amount of paper can be saved by double-sided printing using the multi-functional printers which are in use within the Bank’s branches and units.

Within the scope of the audit model being implemented at Ziraat Bank, the practice of submitting physical documents and reports was discontinued, with branch reports instead being generated through the system. In addition to branch audits, audit reports for all head office units have been prepared and monitored through the system.

In addition, with the e-signature and virtual archive application in use throughout the Bank, all audit and review/investigation reports are archived digitally on the main banking software without the need for a physical document archive.

Virtual archiving, transferring the inspection and audit reports to the system and other similar preventive digital practices have saved paper amounting to approximately 782,000 sheets of A4 paper per year.

Work to obtain information and documents provided by other institutions and organizations continued in accordance with the legislation in electronic media from the related institutions in 2020. It is calculated that approximately 5 million pages of paper was saved in 2020 within the scope of the work aimed at producing all documentation obtained or prepared in the stages of corporate credit evaluation, proposal and utilization through the system.

Other environmental practices
Ziraat Bank aims to obtain LEED Certification by designing the Ziraat Towers to be built at the Istanbul International Finance Center campus, which is under construction in Ataşehir, İstanbul, in accordance with international environmental standards.

In the course of the continuous improvement work undertaken in physical service points, the materials used in construction projects such as installations, electrical components, equipment, furniture and furnishings are examined by Ziraat Bank within the scope of R&D work, and the functionality and recycling properties of the materials are taken into consideration with concepts which will minimize damage during the selection, with consideration given to the environmental impact. In line with the Bank’s sustainability approach, 104 service buildings were renovated in 2020.