Environmental Management System

VakıfBank is aware of the fact that climate change challenges our life and is an important problem requiring an urgent solution for entire society. Potential impacts of climate change are drastic enough to involve the environment, entire humanity and the global economy. VakıfBank, knowing that its activities, products and services have a negative influence on the climate, wants to minimize this influence. VakıfBank, as a key actor of the finance sector, shall play a crucial role in the fight against climate change by switching to low carbon economy.

Decreasing the effect of VakıfBank on climate change is of top priority. Targeting energy saving, besides decreasing the greenhouse gas inventory of VakıfBank, shall also contribute to decrease operating expenses and to decrease its risk against rising costs of energy. Because VakıfBank increasingly grows its service network, energy requirement is a weighty issue for us. At the same time, it is remarkable that VakıfBank’s energy suppliers use renewable energy resources. In 2014, VakıfBank has supplied 85% of the energy from the electricity generated by renewable energy resources.

VakıfBank has published first Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) report in 2015 and it aims to use that report to monitor carbon and greenhouse gas emissions and to establish a greenhouse emission strategy including reduction measures. VakıfBank Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Procedure has been prepared. However, more importantly, VakıfBank will use the greenhouse gas report as an instrument for increasing internal and external awareness and to increase the consciousness towards climate change.

In 2014, trainings on the Sustainable Banking and Fight Against Climate Change have been prepared and assigned to the bank personnel through e-learning portal. The trainings for creating awareness and consciousness raising about the environment and the nature in all Bank employees will continue throughout the following years. On the other hand, the specialization trainings for the bank personnel have reached 240,642 hours, which is about 30% of total training hours. It is aimed to improve training activities and increase training hours every year.

VakıfBank complies with the laws and regulations on environment and nature. Within the next reporting years, under coordination of Energy and Environment Management Service, VakıfBank will develop projects to change the habits of its employees with respect to recycling, waste and water management. With the understanding that you cannot manage what you cannot measure, firstly Energy and Environment Management Service has prepared a consumption sheet filling guide and supervision guide for the environment representatives working at the branches and departments, in order to obtain accurate and qualified information. Obtaining qualified and reliable information will enable VakıfBank to realize Productivity Increasing Projects during the following years. In a branch determined as the pilot branch, an Energy Monitoring and Management System has been established since 2013 that monitors the energy consumption breaking points of the branch, thus ensures savings and also thanks to the experiences gained, it is ensured to purchase high energy efficient devices for branches.

The efforts for establishing the Environmental Management System in the bank have been initiated. It is planned to integrate ISO 14001 Environmental Management System to General Directorate buildings and obtain certification by the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016. Besides that, works on the Environmental Policy have been initiated and it is planned to receive consultancy service.

While this process continues, waste bins have started to be installed at the Branch and General Directorate departments as of the end of 2014 and the installation works at all General Directorate and Regional Directorate organizations and at 280 branches have been completed. Thanks to regular data provision, it is possible to control and follow up the amount of waste recycled weekly and monthly. In the following years, waste installation will be completed for all branches. In the General Directorate buildings, waste pet units were placed within the context of solid waste which are disposed of by means of the company. In the dining halls at the General Directorate buildings, there are oil collectors and the amount of oil collected during 2014, of whichdata could be obtained, is 1,130 kg. Moreover, the leftovers of meals do not go to waste. Environmental Management Service matches the leftovers up with volunteers and municipalities and sends them to animal shelters. In the General Directorate buildings, consciousness raising posters and stickers are used.

In order to make paper saving and consume less resources VakıfBank has switched to an Electronic Follow Up System (ETS) in 2012. With 3.972.863 correspondences, it has prevented the use of 20 tons of paper thus prevented about 340 trees to be cut. Also as of the first day of 2014, it has made out 175,021 e-invoices thus prevented about 15 trees to be cut. VakıfBank currently employs e-statement implementation and delivers the credit card statements of its customers by e-mail.

VakıfBank increases the application area of central heating-cooling systems at its General Directorate buildings and branches. Also it considers energy efficiency using A-class inverter air conditions and hence prefers products with low carbon release. LED lighting systems are used for outer signboards of all branches and ATMs. VakıfBank closes centrally the computers and IP phones within determined hours thus achieve energy savings. In addition, high energy efficient blade server technology has been chosen for the server infrastructure which ensures higher operating capacity with lower energy consumption in a smaller area. With server virtualization, 1/20 physical/virtual consolidation ratio has been achieved and 1/3 saving has been ensured from current data center electricity consumption.

As Vakıflar Bankası, in the Data Center design planned within 2015;

Based on low energy consumption, high energy efficient lighting, electricity and mechanical infrastructure products have been preferred,

Transmission distances have been decreased and

efficient heat insulation has been applied,

Local cooling has been preferred,

In all its activities, VakıfBank aims to preserve the natural resources of our country and the world, utilize them most efficiently and be an exemplary organization in the eyes of its stakeholders.