The Third of ÇEVKO Vakfı's 2022 Talks Held

Third ÇEVKO Foundation Talk Series of 2022 Held ÇEVKO Foundation, in cooperation with the Association of Economics Journalists (EGD), continues to address the climate crisis from all angles through the ÇEVKO Foundation Talk Series launched last year. The third session of the 2022 ÇEVKO Foundation Talk Series was held under the title "Climate Change and Sustainability Work of Leading Industrial Enterprises in Turkey." The talk, moderated by Celal Toprak, Chair of the EGD High Advisory Board, and attended by ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer, featured presentations from PINAR Water and Beverages, MEY DIAGEO and NESTLE WATERS-Erikli on their initiatives.   ÇEVKO Foundation, particularly over the last five years focused on "combating climate crisis" and "transitioning to a circular economy," addresses climate issues comprehensively through the ÇEVKO Foundation Talk Series. The "ÇEVKO Foundation Talk Series" is continuing at full pace this year as well. Prepared by the ÇEVKO Foundation Climate Change and Working Group in cooperation with the Association of Economics Journalists Global Warming Congress Committee, the third session of the talks was held under the title "Climate Change and Sustainability Work of Leading Industrial Enterprises in Turkey." The online session, moderated by Association of Economics Journalists (EGD) High Advisory Board Chair Celal Toprak and attended by ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer, featured presentations from PINAR Water and Beverages, MEY DIAGEO and NESTLE WATERS-Erikli on their initiatives. This month's guests included Burcu Günal Emir, R&D Director at PINAR Water and Beverages; Çinel İşlek Güncü, Health Safety and Environment Director at MEY DIAGEO; and Can Emci, Marketing Director at NESTLE WATERS-Erikli. At the opening of the online meeting, Celal Toprak, Chair of EGD's High Advisory Board, emphasized the importance of the leadership role that environmentally conscious industrial enterprises play in combating the climate crisis, and gave the floor to ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer. ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer noted that at ÇEVKO Foundation Talk Series, sustainability and climate change efforts of responsible industrial enterprises from different sectors are shared, while emphasizing the importance of these awareness-raising talks and stressing that action must be taken as soon as possible: "We have been organizing these conferences for over two years now together with EGD. Last month in Izmir, there was another climate conference organized by EGD, and all these talks and conferences are of great importance in terms of raising awareness. Taking action is as important as raising awareness. There is very little time left. Climate change has become a crisis. Industrial enterprises are not idle either; they are undertaking very successful projects on this issue. We are implementing this year's meetings both to motivate other stakeholders and to showcase the work industry is doing on this matter. Today we are here together with leading enterprises from the water and beverage sectors. Of course, we also speak of transitioning to a circular economy, and the importance of production without waste. Eco-design is very much on the agenda. All packaging being recyclable, being reintegrated into the process as recyclable material, are at the forefront of all efforts. Industrialists play an active role in the process of collecting waste and bringing it back into recycling. Extended Producer Responsibility is not a concept unfamiliar to us. In our country, we have actively implemented and carried out these efforts for 15 years (2005-2020). Now it has gained more importance; the EU has shifted to a circular economy. With the Green Deal, it is very important that both the Climate Crisis and Circular Economy be considered together, and that our companies exporting to Europe understand this and adapt accordingly. In this regard, I thank the industrial enterprises participating in our meeting and all participants."

"Care for the Environment"

Burcu Günal Emir, R&D Director at PINAR Water and Beverages, provided information on sustainability efforts at Pınar Water and Beverages, a Yaşar Holding company: "As Yaşar Holding, we have had a mission and vision since the 1960s to today. As Pınar Water and Beverages, we greatly value this mission and vision. First our consumers and customers, then our operational excellence, human resources, ethical stance, and environmental and social responsibility can be categorized as such. Within the scope of the 17 fundamental principles of sustainability, we strive to "Care" for our consumers, environment, producers, and employees. Our community, when we say "Care for the Environment," addresses water management, energy and climate change, and waste management as three fundamental principles. In each of our companies and facilities, we implement the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. In addressing Energy Consumption and Climate Change, the ISO 50001 Energy System is being implemented. Work continues at one of our facilities. The Yaşar Group carries out all sustainability efforts in line with Turkey's goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2053. Within the group, in our publicly traded companies, we also implement the Carbon Transparency project well, adopting measurement and evaluation methods, and preparing Climate Change and Water Reports annually for our stakeholders. We are signatories to the UN Global Compact. We are also among the first signatories of the Business Plastic Initiative established under the leadership of TÜSİAD, SKD and Global Compact Turkey.     Burcu Günal Emir, R&D Director at PINAR Water and Beverages, also described their efforts on water management and the use of renewable energy sources: "As Pınar Water and Beverages, we package less than 1 percent of freshwater because we value food safety and work to enable consumers to access healthy water. We reduce our water footprint throughout all processes. While we generated approximately 58 million liters of wastewater in 2018, this figure is now (2021) 19 million. Water efficiency at three of our facilities was 95 percent (2020); it is now 96 percent. Wastewater volume per unit of production decreased by 25 percent compared to the previous year. We are working to reduce the amount of wastewater in all our facilities. As a group, while moving toward carbon neutrality in 2050, we are also undertaking energy conservation and climate change efforts. We question how we can use energy most efficiently. We are fortunate because we have an energy producer like DESA Enerji. We receive support in the establishment of renewable energy sources and the utilization of these sources. Our greenhouse gas emission values have been stable since 2019… We also hold a Carbon Neutral certificate. We give special importance to waste management, particularly in PET. In 2021, through ongoing packaging optimization and simplification projects, polyethylene terephthalate use was reduced by 15.9 percent in certain product groups. For all product groups combined, polyethylene terephthalate use decreased by 8.47 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year. I should also note that polyethylene use was reduced by 11.8 percent compared to the previous year. Pınar Water and Beverages certifies its waste management activities at all production facilities with a Zero Waste Certificate. We are conducting serious efforts, including on hazardous waste. Total non-hazardous waste was 525.90 tons in 2019; this figure was 646.18 tons in 2021. The general total was 945.75 tons in 2019 and 1,162.64 tons in 2021." MEY DIAGEO's Mission: "Leading Sustainability from Seed to Glass" MEY DIAGEO Health Safety and Environment Director Çinel İşlek Güncü provided important information about Mey Diageo's sustainability approach: "Mey Diageo is a farming company. We are based in agriculture and also manufacturers. Our mission is to pass on the legacy of the past to the next generation. Therefore, sustainability in every aspect is indispensable for us. That is why we say 'Sustainability from Seed to Glass.' We have vineyards and production facilities, sales offices in many parts of Turkey. Our sustainability journey began in 2007. We started our first efforts to reduce our carbon footprint in 2007. In 2011, we began calculating product carbon footprint. In 2019, we became Global Compact signatories. In 2021, we published our first sustainability progress report. In 2022, we published another a month ago. Between 2017-2020 we undertook 320 projects; in 2021 we undertook 67 projects. The first five SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) to which we contribute can be listed as follows: Responsible Production and Consumption, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Climate Action, Life on Land, Sustainable Cities and Communities. Our understanding of 'Ecosystem 2030: The Spirit of Progress' encompasses many headings. Responsible Consumption, Inclusivity, Biodiversity, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and others… Until 2030, through carbon neutral efforts, we aim to reach net zero carbon in all our operations, reduce our share of our suppliers' carbon ratios by 50 percent through cooperation with suppliers, supply all our electricity needs during production from 100 percent renewable sources, and achieve our net zero carbon targets. Since 2007, we have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions. We use electricity produced from renewable energy. In Alaşehir, Nevşehir and Tarsus, we obtain part of the energy we need from biogas and biomass produced. Through our efforts, we use less fossil fuel."

MEY DIAGEO Health Safety and Environment Director Çinel İşlek Güncü explained how they implement projects on water use that extend across Turkey:

"Return more water than we use in every beverage we make in all our regions that suffered water shortages until 2016; use 40 percent less water for every beverage we make by 2030 compared to today; conduct social responsibility projects throughout the country, from improving water quality to improving access to sanitation and hygiene, are among our other targets… So far, we have ensured the reuse of water in production, and have undertaken important projects such as clean water treatment unit reuse of wash water and reuse of wastewater treatment facility outlet water in the treatment facility polymer unit. In 2021, regions with water stress were identified and projects to replace all water drawn from nature in these regions accelerated. We called this resource efficiency and named it water replacement. We worked with municipalities, government institutions and universities. Our recent water recovery projects include the Şahyar drip irrigation project in Manisa; university green space irrigation project in Nevşehir; perforator investment in Tarsus, Alaşehir and Acıpayam. Additionally, achieving zero waste at direct operations, making all our packaging 100 percent recyclable, increasing recyclable material content in our packaging to up to 60 percent, achieving a 10 percent reduction in total packaging weight, and supporting farmers trained in regenerative agriculture are among our targets. We are zero waste in all facilities. We obtain steam from aniseed pulp. While grape stalks are used as animal feed, grape stems are converted to energy through composting to produce fertilizer or through biomethanization/fuel. For the first time in Turkey, we achieved brick production from treatment sludge as raw material (a project conducted with the university at our Alaşehir facility) and received an award. Treatment sludge, together with domestic waste, is used in biomethanization units to obtain electrical energy. Sustainability is very important to us in design. We advocate environmentally friendly design. We use 99.9 percent recyclable packaging. Our resource use is from 20-30 percent recycled content (material content). Our design target for total weight ratio is 10 percent… Under sustainable agriculture, we want to double the number of farmers trained in regenerative education, support 150,000 small landholding farmers with innovative techniques to restore land and create biodiversity, and contribute to the circular economy. Among our Sustainable Agriculture projects, we can mention the Kayra OldvineSemillon Project, Aniseed Farmer Certificate, Aniseed Improvement Project, and New Generation Farming Project. We continue our sustainability efforts in the vineyards."

We Keep Sustainability at the Center of Our Business

Can Emci, Marketing Director at NESTLE WATERS-Erikli, stated that as NestleWaters they are the world's largest bottled water company while explaining with examples that they place sustainability at the center: "We have operations in over 80 countries, and in Turkey we have two facilities we are proud of. As Nestle, we promote hydration for a healthy life… Water has transformed us, and it is of great importance for our health. For our communities and our world. We all know that adequate water intake is very important for healthy hydration. But today, concerns about water sources and the impact of plastic are becoming an issue where people who prefer bottled water may feel conflicted. Everyone has the right to know that it is sourced sustainably and packaged. As NestleWaters, we strive to provide water in more sustainable ways. We have two major facilities in Turkey; the Uludağ Kestel Bottling Facility is the size of 19 football fields. Nestle's largest bottling facility in the world. Turkey is among the top five largest countries in the NestleWaters world. We have a distribution network reaching 11 million households directly (Home and Office Delivery). Our difference from many countries in the world is our demijohn business. I can say we are leaders in Turkey. In direct delivery to households and retail, we serve the fast-moving consumer goods sector. We have been providing the unique water of Uludağ, for over 60 years, in a delicious and safe manner to our consumers throughout the four corners of Turkey. We aim to instill healthy water drinking habits in all segments of society, especially children. We continue our investment in this land. With our Uludağ Kestel Bottling Facility and Uludağ İnegöl Facility, we continuously increase production and employment in the region. Sustainability is at the focus of our business. Electricity consumption per bottle was reduced by 38 percent. Water consumption 30 percent, plastic packaging use 24 percent, and carbon footprint 54 percent. By 2025, we will return all the water we use to our water basin. We will be carbon neutral. All our packaging will be reusable or recyclable. Our 1-liter waters are sold in bottles made from 50 percent recycled material. We are working to preserve the biodiversity of Uludağ and pass it on to future generations." NestleWaters Marketing Director Can Emci also highlighted the brand "Erikli" among their brands: "It comes from a single source, our source is Uludağ… We are careful to protect and preserve it; we endeavor to pass it on to future generations. Erikli, Turkey's most well-known brand. We are leaders in market share and sales volume. It has maintained this leadership for years. It exists in various package categories: PET, premium PET, glass and recycled PET materials. As Erikli, we are among the world's largest water brands. Voted Turkey's most loved water for the 6th time in a row (in Lovemark surveys). We want to receive it for the 7th time this year. I want to speak about our sustainability approach; the sustainability of this business is very important. As Nestle and NestleWaters, it is always at our center. Sustainability is positioned at the center of all our commercial and marketing plans. Providing healthy hydration for all individuals, improving quality of life and supporting communities for a healthy future, and striving for zero environmental impact (for our world) are three important priorities for us… What did we do? Between 2009-2020, electricity consumption per bottle was reduced by 38 percent. Water consumption per bottle achieved 30 percent savings. Carbon footprint per bottle was reduced by 54 percent. Plastic packaging use per bottle was reduced by 24 percent. All demijohns, which comprise at least 30 percent of our total production volume, have been made recyclable. We provided water conservation training to approximately 10,000 children. In 2020, we obtained our Zero Waste certificate (Uludağ Kestel Facility). We also have two innovative packages, 50 percent of which are from recyclable material… Let us list our commitments between 2025-2050: By 2025, we aim for all our packaging to be reusable or recyclable. In Turkey, in the water category, we are at 99.9 percent. We aim to use renewable energy. Making all our bottles from recyclable PET material, returning all the water we use to our water basin, and collecting from the market the same amount of PET bottles we put on the market are among our other targets. By 2025, carbon neutral (in the water category); our 2050 target is net zero emissions (in terms of carbon emissions)." ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer thanked the speakers and once again stressed the importance of companies sharing the work they do, as in this talk: "All companies are running quickly toward certain targets and it is very important that today they share the work they are doing here. There are certainly certain issues. Regarding plastic… First, we must adapt to the deposit system. We must separate our waste at source; we must be better than in the past. We have much work to do, but leading industrial enterprises are fulfilling their duties properly." The third session of the talks prepared by the ÇEVKO Foundation Climate Change and Working Group in cooperation with the Association of Economics Journalists Global Warming Congress Committee can also be viewed on ÇEVKO Foundation's YouTube channel