Environmental Management System and Combating the Climate Crisis

Businesses and institutions play a vital role in reducing carbon emissions in order to protect our planet and leave future generations a more sustainable world. Considering its sphere of influence, the steps were taken by the financial sector in this field stand out as milestones in the global fight against climate crisis.

As Yapı Kredi, we effectively manage our environmental and social impacts arising from our operations and lending processes in full awareness of our responsibilities. We implement the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System at our Head Office and domestic subsidiaries, and we measure and report the greenhouse gas emissions arising from all our operations in accordance with the ISO 14064 standard on an annual basis.

As part of our commitment to reduce our emissions under the Science Based Targets Initiative, we play a key role in the fight against the climate crisis, and reduce our environmental impact in line with the targets of the Paris Agreement.

We have been reducing our carbon footprint on a daily basis since switching to remote work. We have made various contributions to our planet's sustainability with our efficient hybrid work model.

We also minimize our environmental impact by digitalizing various individual and corporate transactions with our pioneering efforts in digital banking. With the “Do Not Panic Button” service on Yapı Kredi Mobile, we avoid unnecessary issuance of cards by temporarily canceling our customers' cards in case they are lost or stolen, and we prevent additional carbon emissions by stopping hundreds of thousands of unnecessary card cancellation processes.

As a bank that leads the sector in remote customer acquisition, we offer our customers a comfortable experience with our Video Transaction Assistants service, and reduce paper waste at the same time. Additionally, 79 percent of all customer contracts and forms are approved digitally, which eliminates excessive paper consumption.

Thanks to our efforts under the Zero Waste project, we were granted Zero Waste Certificates for our Head Office and Banking Base. As part of the Zero Waste Project, in which we contribute to a sustainable world, we carry out efforts for efficient use of limited natural resources, prevention of waste, separation of waste at source, and waste reduction at all our facilities. In order to use natural resources more efficiently in our operations, we prioritize environmentally friendly technologies that reduce waste generation at the source. We strive to prevent waste at the source and reduce the amount of waste by following the General Principles of Waste Management, which we have established in order to ensure adherence and follow-up of waste. We dispose of wastes that cannot be recycled, reused or reduced at the source in a way that does not harm human health and the environment, and is in accordance with environmental legislation.

By supporting the Plastic Hunters Istanbul Project, which aims to provide a solution to Istanbul's plastic waste problem, we ensure that over 60 tonnes of paper, cardboard and metal, and over 65 tonnes of plastic packaging are recycled annually.