Our Sustainability Approach

Our sustainability approach is shaped by our obligations as a financial services provider, responsibilities toward the society and the environment, and duties as an employer.

• Ziraat Bank is a strong, leading, trust-inspiring bank. We aim to bolster our success in economic sustainability with a long-term environmentally and socially sustainable approach, and to project it towards the future.
• In our decision-making processes, resource and service infrastructure management, we take into consideration all social and ecological issues and related risks in a meticulous manner.
• We view environmental sustainability, including climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy, as a key agenda item for the Bank.
• As an employer, we believe in upholding people-centered working conditions. Our business model provides equal opportunities to all our employees. We consider the diversity within our workforce as a source of richness and opportunity for Ziraat Bank and therefore support it.
• As a service provider, we believe that customer focus and customer satisfaction form the foundation of all our operations. We aim to offer banking products and services to clients in practical, comprehensible and accessible formats and to widen the industry's horizons with new and exemplary practices.
• We are committed to developing solid relationships with our suppliers–whom we view as business partners–on the basis of mutual respect, responsibility and fair sharing. We support our suppliers' success with the projects that we complete as their business partner.
• With a view toward integrating the universally accepted principles of sustainability into our business model, we continuously develop and implement projects to achieve this goal.
• We are keen to assume active roles in international and domestic multilateral sustainability initiatives and collaborative platforms.

Based on these principles, Ziraat Bank strives to extend, enhance and support sustainability across its value chain.

Our Sustainability Organization

• Ziraat Bank's sustainability roadmap as outlined by the Board of Directors is implemented in the form of a lean, efficient organizational structure.
• Ziraat Bank's sustainability practices are performed under the leadership of the CEO.
• Ziraat Bank's Strategic Steering Committee is in charge of coordinating sustainability activities.
• Sustainability efforts are monitored by the Enterprise Architecture Group Department.

Our Dialogue with Stakeholders

Ziraat Bank's long-term success depends on the ongoing trust and preference of its stakeholders. The sustainability projects we plan to implement will further boost this trust and loyalty.

• Our employees rank among our most important stakeholder groups. We encourage our staff to embrace Ziraat Bank's sustainability approach and commitments, and take the initiative to this end.
• Employee training and development are key to our future progress in the field of sustainability. During our journey of change and transformation, we aim to continue investing in training programs for the continuous advancement of our workforce.
• Customers are our raison d'être. Our objective is to offer products and services with a strong value proposition via all Ziraat Bank service channels, under globally competitive conditions to further strengthen customer satisfaction and loyalty.

• We plan to continue coming together with our clients on platforms of collaboration and awareness. Our efforts to improve financial literacy and sustainability awareness are integral parts of our social responsibility.
• Another priority for Ziraat Bank is to establish mutually beneficial relations with our suppliers.
• We encourage our suppliers to embrace universally accepted principles and practices of sustainability.
• We believe in maintaining transparent communications based on mutual respect with our stakeholders. In stakeholder communications, we focus on sharing with them not only our economic performance, but also the Bank's environmental and social progress in a transparent manner.
• We believe that the success of these corporate sustainability efforts will boost the Bank's performance in sustainability indices.

The Environment and Ziraat Bank

As the owner of the largest physical service network and the employer of one of the largest workforces in the Turkish banking industry, Ziraat Bank aims to check its direct and indirect impact on the natural environment, and to manage and improve this impact with the right strategies and technologies. To this end:

• We will continue to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions arising from our service cycle.
• We undertake intensive efforts to restructure all the physical elements making up our service network, especially energy, in line with the principle of effectively using all natural resources.
• In addition to fully complying with the legally required environmental standards of Turkey, we also maintain a multilateral dialogue with its stakeholders to help expand global best practices and standards.
• We encourage our clients and suppliers to broaden their awareness on ecological matters and carry out activities to contribute to environmental sustainability.

Social Contribution and Ziraat Bank

We contribute to society in many different ways, such as providing employment to over 25 thousand individuals, helping tens of millions of customers make their dreams a reality, and serving over 400 Turkish districts and towns as the only financial services provider in the region.

We plan to continue contributing to society and supporting social development via a multi-dimensional approach with activities that have an extensive social impact.

Products and Services

Ziraat Bank takes environmental and social issues into consideration when meeting customer demands and expectations, making the right value proposition to the right customer at the right time, and performing an efficient assessment of new business opportunities presented by the market.

We continue to support the agricultural sector with modern financing instruments and methods, in line with its foundation mission of 1863. We shall also continue contributing to agribusiness, which we believe to be of vital importance for Turkey.

• During our banking service cycle, we deliver products and services with environmental and social impact, such as loans for renewable energy and energy efficiency, or finance packages for SMEs and entrepreneurs.
• As part of our sustainability vision, we expand our range of products and services with environmental and social impact, in cooperation with international financial institutions.

In Brief

During its more than 150 years in existence, Ziraat Bank has proven that it is "More Than a Bank," in line with sustainability principles and ambitious to add value to both the country and the world.

In light of its general sustainability policy framework, Ziraat Bank is keen to continue growing as a strong, highly competitive bank with high market value and well-integrated into the world, on the basis of sustainable profitability and productivity.

To this end, we continuously work to boost the Our Bank's sustainability performance in line with the principles of transparency, accountability, legal compliance, commitment to ethical principles and risk management. Our aim is to become "More Than a Bank" in the area of corporate sustainability as well.