TSKB crowned Low Carbon Hero of the Year
The 6th Istanbul Carbon Summit, organized by the Sustainable Production and Consumption Association, was held on 9 April. As in previous years, “Low Carbon Heroes” were awarded as part of the Summit. Turkey's first carbon-neutral bank, TSKB, became one of the year's Low Carbon Heroes. The Engineering and Technical Consultancy Manager at TSKB, Mr. Kadir Sancar, said that the Bank had contributed to reducing carbon emissions by 13 million tonnes per year through the 290 renewable energy and 141 resource and energy efficiency projects which TSKB had financed, adding: “We have contributed to reducing CO2 emissions by 13 million tonnes per year through the projects we have supported in the field of tackling climate change. TSKB will continue support Turkey's transition to a low-carbon economy in the coming period.”
Organized by the Sustainable Production and Consumption Association (SÜT-D) for the sixth time this year with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, the Istanbul Carbon Summit was held on 9 April at the registered green campus of Istanbul Technical University. The theme at this year's summit was the carbon trade and the efforts to tackle climate change, where the Low Carbon Heroes were also awarded. Providing financial support and technical consultancy for more efficient, low-carbon production, TSKB’s work in this area was recognised with the Low Carbon Hero of the Year award. TSKB began to measure and manage all internal environmental impacts through the environmental management system which it established in 2005. TSKB has implemented a number of projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions within the scope of the Carbon-Neutral Banking Project since 2008.
The first session of the 6th Istanbul Carbon Summit, which TSKB has been supporting since the beginning, was conducted with the topic of “The Green Economy: Climate Finance and the Carbon Market” under the moderation of the TSKB Sustainability Consultancy and TSKB Escarus General Manager Mr. Kubilay Kavak. The TSKB Engineering and Technical Consultancy Manager, Mr. Kadir Sancar was among the speakers in the session. He stated that TSKB stood by those producers who produce without consuming the future, and reiterated that the Carbon-Neutral Banking Project meant investing in the future for TSKB. Mr. Sancar continued with the following: “today, approximately 73% of our Bank's loan portfolio consists of directly financing sustainability investments. With the close cooperation that we have established with our global fund providers and experience sharing, we are playing an active role in Turkey’s sustainable development.”
Mr. Sancar pointed to the level of greenhouse gas emissions arising from the energy sector in the world and stated that emissions had increased by 1.7% in 2018 compared to 2017, and that renewable energy had reached a 10% share among sources of energy in the last 15 years.
Mr. Sancar also talked about the effects of climate change and its cost burden on the global economy. Mr. Sancar added: “Renewable energy projects constitute the most important item of our climate investments portfolio. The bank has so far financed 290 renewable energy projects. With these projects, with an installed capacity of 6,066 MW, we have been involved in the financing of 14% of Turkey’s total renewable energy installed capacity. In the field of energy efficiency, we have provided financing to 84 projects to date. In addition, we aim to reduce costs by protecting natural resources, generating less waste, reusing wastes and lowering carbon emissions through our support for 57 resource efficiency projects. We can gladly claim that with these projects, we have contributed to the reduction of 13 million tonnes in annual CO2 emissions. TSKB will continue to support Turkey's transition to a low-carbon economy in the coming period.
