Tüpraş releases 2021 Sustainability Report
Tüpraş Sustainability Report 2021 is providing a roadmap for the company’s pioneering activities in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the company’s investments for transition to a low carbon economy, in line with its Strategic Transformation Journey. The report includes Scope 1 and 2 emissions arising from production processes for the first time as well as several new data, such as TCFD risk and opportunity assessments.
Tüpraş revised its materiality assessment engaging both internal and external stakeholders and included it in the sustainability roadmap, which is integrated into the Company’s Strategic Transformation Plan. The company’s 2021 Sustainability Report is prepared in accordance with Global Reporting Standards.
“Our Strategic Transformation Plan supports our sustainability approach,” stated İbrahim Yelmenoğlu, General Manager of Tüpraş. He continued, “We are working to improve the environmental and social impact of our value chain with the responsibility we have assumed for future generations by saying ‘Energy to the Future’. While transforming for a sustainable world, we are also aiming to increase the competitiveness and profitability of our current assets, and we prioritize investing in new areas of business that will strengthen our sustainability approach. Our goal is to be a key player utilizing alternative energy production methods while also reducing carbon emissions from refinery operations in the upcoming period.”
Highlighting that the Strategic Transformation Plan was prepared with the awareness of the leading role of Tüpraş in contributing to Turkey’s net zero carbon emission target by 2053, Yelmenoğlu continued, “As the first phase of our Strategic Transformation Plan, we undertake to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions originating from our production processes by 27 percent in 2030 and by 35 percent in 2035, compared to 2017. We also aim to offer a more versatile product portfolio and be carbon-free in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and maintain our leading industrial corporation position in Turkey as of 2050. We are acting with the approach to decarbonize not only Tüpraş but also our subsidiaries and our entire value chain. We are closely monitoring national and international policies and practices while managing climate change risks in our business processes. We have recently joined the global companies supporting Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).”
“The share of our sustainability investments has reached 55 percent, and we have improved our ESG performance by 22 percent,” Yelmenoğlu added. He stated that they have used resources efficiently in all their processes and made a contribution to the cyclical economy. Yelmenoğlu said that the share of sustainability investments in the total amount of investments reached 55 percent in 2021, and they invested 150 million TRY more in the environment compared to 2020, with total investments amounting to 388 million TRY. He also added: “We have improved our scores by 22 percent on average in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) assessment indices. We continue with our efforts to improve our performance in this area in line with our new roadmap and aim to achieve a 20 percent improvement on average in assessment indices for 2022.”
Yelmenoğlu emphasized, “We have focused on inclusiveness while transforming for the energy of the future.” He said that they consider their employees as their most valuable asset and act with a human-oriented approach while transforming for the energy of the future. Yelmenoğlu continued: “An equal, inclusive, fair, respectful, and safe work environment is at the center of all our processes. We raise a workforce that has the competence and skills compatible with the future of work. As a signatory of the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles (UN WEPs), we act with the objective to be an inclusive workplace and support equal representation of women on-site. Tüpraş was also included in Bloomberg's 2022 Global Equality Index (GEI), thanks to its equality, diversity, and inclusion efforts in the energy industry”.