Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Policy
A. PURPOSE
Tackling global climate change and its impacts is one of the primary issues which needs to be addressed in the world and Turkey. Climate change poses significant risks for many sectors while also bringing strategic opportunities provided that they are well planned and managed. Having adopted sustainability and inclusion as its core business model for Turkey’s qualified development, Türkiye Sınai Kalkınma Bankası A.Ş. (TSKB), is acknowledged with the physical and transition risks arising from climate change and the steps to be taken to manage these risks and the opportunities to arise. Taking a consistently active role in the combat against climate change and contributing to Turkey's industrial transition to a low carbon economy are among TSKB’s priorities as part of its sustainable banking strategy. TSKB sets out the scope and principles of its strategy to mitigate and adapt to climate change with a policy framework.
B. SCOPE
This policy determines the responsibilities and principles of TSKB's practices and strategies in mitigating and adapting to climate change. It covers all employees and activities of TSKB as well as its subsidiaries.
C. PRINCIPLES
TSKB within the scope of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Policy;
1. Considers mitigation and adaptation to climate change in all its activities and internal operations, including its subsidiaries.
2. Addresses mitigating and adapting to climate change with the active participation of senior management, including the Board of Directors, and monitors from a collective perspective with working groups established under the Sustainability Committee, which consist of employees from separate disciplines.
3. Conducts its activities in cooperation with all its stakeholders in the management of risks and opportunities, while prioritizing risks arising from climate change in all work processes.
4. Becomes a solution partner for sustainable infrastructure, the protection of marine and water resources, transition to a circular economy, prevention and/or abatement of pollution, and improvement and protection of biodiversity and the ecosystem, within the scope of mitigating and adapting to climate change in all banking activities.
5. Integrates the physical and transition risks arising from climate change in the Bank's risk management system, including lending processes, targets to analyze risks and opportunities, and manage the results accurately.
6. Evaluates and manages the environmental and social impacts of all investment and working capital loans which it finances, in accordance with nationally and internationally accepted standards, and considers the potential risks and opportunities identified in its lending decision making, irrespective of the loan amount.
7. Within the scope of climate change mitigation, declares that it will not finance any green - field coal- fired thermal power plants and coal mining investments for electricity generation purposes.
8. Actively contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) focused on mitigating climate change.
9. Supports Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), and sets targets accordingly and implements necessary actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. The Bank calculates and verifies its annual GHG emissions in accordance with the ISO 14064 Greenhouse Gas Reporting and Verification Standard, and commits to continuously improve its GHG reduction performance.
10. Supports the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and aims to measure and report in line with TCFD recommendations.
11. Transparently discloses its objectives and impacts within the scope of mitigating and adapting to climate change in its Integrated Annual Report, the UNEP FI Principles for Responsible Banking Progress Report and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Report.
12. Aims to collaborate and realize partnerships through its Green Swan Initiative with private sector companies, academics and non-governmental organizations, especially public institutions and organizations, in order to play an active role in the combat against climate change, and knowledge sharing. In this respect, TSKB invites all its stakeholders to think together and be a party to the solution via the publicly available reports and papers which it periodically publishes.
13. Declares that this policy is the complementary and strengthening document of TSKB's Sustainability Policy, Environmental and Social Impact Policy, Statement on Climate Change and its other policies in the field of corporate governance.
D. EFFECTIVE DATE
This policy shall enter into force on the date it is approved by the Board of Directors.
