Sustainability

SUSTAINABILITY POLICY

Our sustainability vision

Providing value and benefit for the economy, the environment and the community by utilizing the extensive experience and know-how accumulated by Ziraat Finance Group, creating enduring value for our stakeholders; becoming a competitive bank through the principles of sustainable profitability and efficiency.

Our sustainability goal

Improving both the bank’s strong position and its competitive strength through corporate sustainability practices to be implemented under this Sustainability Policy.

Our sustainability approach

Our sustainability approach is shaped in accordance with our responsibilities as a financial services provider, our obligations to the environment and the community, and our duties as an employer.

  • Ziraat Bank International AG is a strong, respected and trusted bank. Our desire is to extend our achievements in terms of commercial sustainability into the future by getting support from the long-term environmental and social sustainability perspectives.
  • In our decision-making processes, we emphasize a careful and considerate approach when dealing with environmental and social issues and the potential risks associated with them in the management of our resources and our service infrastructure.
  • We consider environmental sustainability, including topics such as climate change and low-carbon economy as an important item on our agenda.
  • As an employer, we believe in the importance of decent, humane working conditions. Ziraat Bank International Ag is an equal opportunity employer; we regard diversity in our workforce as a component of our Bank’s prosperity.
  • As a financial services provider, we place customer focused approach and customer satisfaction at the foundation of our operations. Our goal is to offer banking products and services to all of our customers in formats that are practical, intelligible, and accessible and also enriching the banking industry through innovative and exemplary practices.
  • As a business partner, we are committed to build and develop our relationships with suppliers atop the principles of mutual respect, responsibility, and fairness. We support our suppliers’ success through cooperative projects that we carry out together.
  • We are committed to integrate universally-accepted sustainability principles into our business model.
  • We put emphasis to active participation in multilateral sustainability initiatives and collaboration platforms.

Based on these fundamental principles, we are focused on promoting, developing, and maintaining sustainability throughout our value chain.

Our sustainability structure

Our sustainability plan is determined and initiated by Ziraat Bank International AG Supervisory Board. The implementations of the plan is Management Board’s responsibility and it is communicated through a straightforward and effective organizational structure.

  • Sustainability activities are monitored by the Organization Department.

Our dialogue with stakeholders

Ziraat Bank’s long-term success depends on its stakeholders’ trust and continued goodwill. The sustainability projects we undertake play a role in further strengthening stakeholder confidence and loyalty.

  • Employees make up one of our most crucial stakeholder groups. We support our employees in their efforts to proactively identify with Ziraat Bank International AG’s sustainability approach and commitment.
  • We consider training and professional development of our employees as an important element of the progress that we seek to achieve for sustainability. Constantly changing and transforming ourselves as we move forward, we continue to invest in training that will contribute to the steady advancement of our human resources.
  • Our customers are the reason for our existence. Our goal is to achieve customer satisfaction and loyalty by providing value added products through the Bank’s distribution channels.
  • We will continue to convene with our customers at collaboration and awareness platforms. We consider supporting the initiatives to increase financial literacy and sustainability awareness as an important part of our social responsibility.
  • Developing mutually beneficial relationships with our counterparts and suppliers is also among our priorities. We believe in importance of emphasizing a decent sustainability understanding and/or awareness and encourage our counterparts to do so.
  • We believe in mutually reliable and respectful communication with our stakeholders. In stakeholder communication, we will focus on the transparent disclosure of our progress on environmental and social matters as well as of our economic performance.
  • We believe that the success of corporate sustainability practices will enhance the bank’s sustainability index performance.

Ziraat Bank International AG and the environment

In order to control and manage our direct and indirect footprints on environment with appropriate strategies and technologies, we will;

  • Keep on planning road maps to measure and reduce our direct and indirect environmental impact and constantly improving our performance in this direction.
  • Continue to emphasize a conservative approach on efficient use of energy and natural resources.
  • Continue to keep being in full compliance with all mandatory environmental standards in Germany on the top of our principles. We will also encourage the proliferation of globally-recognized best practices and benchmarks pertaining to such matters by engaging in an ongoing, multidimensional dialogue with our stakeholders.

Ziraat Bank International AG and the community…

As a trusted partner for over businessmen representing Turkey in Germany and resident Turkish clients, we emphasize utmost importance in contributing to the community.

We will continue to put our best efforts to create value for society, to strengthen economic ties between Germany and Turkey and to take multidimensional approaches in support of social development.

Our products and services…

Whilst satisfying ever growing customer needs and expectations, providing products and services matching customers’ needs at exactly the right time, and pursuing new business opportunities presented by markets, Ziraat Bank International AG always emphasizes environmental and social sensitivities utmost importance. In this regard; expanding the spectrum of environmentally and socially benign products and services through collaboration with international financial institutions is planned to be an essential element of our sustainability vision in the future.

Conclusion…

Given the general framework encompassing its sustainability policy, Ziraat Bank is committed to pursuing and maintaining sustainably profitable and efficient growth as a competitive, strong, high-market-value, and domestically integrated bank.

Improving our bank’s sustainability performance will be an important part of our business strategy. While emphasizing a transparent, accountable approach and ensuring full compliance with the regulations, ethical behaviour, and risk management principles, we aim to be more than a bank, also from sustainability perspective.