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 2017, VakıfBank has supplied 88% of the energy from the electricity generated by renewable energy resources.
VakıfBank has published first Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) report in 2015 and it continues to publish it every year. 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.
Training programs on the topic of Sustainable Banking and Fight Against Climate Change have been prepared and assigned to the bank employees through e-learning portal. The training for creating awareness and consciousness raising about the environment and the nature in all Bank employees will continue throughout the following years. We aim to develop projects in the field of waste and water in order to increase training and awareness.
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.
As a result of the audits carried out at our headquarters units and 31 branches, we received the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.
Waste management is also an issue that VakıfBank cares. Many waste bins have started to be installed at the branches and thanks to regular data provision, it is possible to control and follow up the amount of waste recycled weekly and monthly.
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.
For further details regarding environmental performance you can check Sustainability Reports and CDP Reports.