ARÇELİK PUBLISHES ITS 14TH SUSTAINABILITY REPORT

ARÇELİK URGES ALL STAKEHOLDERS TO CHANGE FOR A BETTER WORLD

- Arçelik published its 14th Sustainability Report with the theme, "Lead the Change, Shape the Future," including its sustainability performance in 2021 and targets for the future, rooting its leading position in sustainability with ambitious targets.

- Aiming for zero emissions by 2050, Arçelik procured 69 percent green electricity, and also prevented the emission of approximately 5,514 metric tons of CO_₂ thanks to 228 energy efficiency projects.

- The company also reduced its Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) GHG emissions stemming from manufacturing by 20 percent in 2021 compared to the 2018 base year.

- Over the past 12 years, Arçelik has saved water corresponding to the daily water consumption of approximately 2.7 million Turkish households.

ISTANBUL, Turkey, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Arçelik continues to root its global leadership in sustainability and published its 14th Sustainability Report, outlining its performance in 2021 as well as fresh, ambitious targets for the future. The report, with the theme "Lead the Change, Shape the Future," aims to encourage everyone to speak up and mobilize for a better world. In line with this vision, Arçelik aims to achieve net-zero emissions in all operations by 2050 through green investments in renewable energy, and energy efficiency in products and production.

Hakan Bulgurlu, CEO of Arçelik, commented: "We take a multifaceted approach to sustainability and have invested €93 million in overall R&D spending."

Bulgurlu also underlined that the company's sustainability vision is to root its global industry leadership, commenting: "We need organizations to take positive action towards a sustainable future. We, therefore, urge all stakeholders across our value chain to lead that change to build a better world for our children."

Noting that 2021 witnessed groundbreaking sustainability activities by Arçelik, he continued: "We take a multifaceted approach to sustainability, taking into consideration social, environmental and economic factors. We have taken many steps to this end in 2021. We obtained the highest grade in our industry for the third consecutive year at the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and became the only company to have been awarded the Terra Carta Seal in Turkey and in our industry. We also became the first industrial manufacturing company in Turkey to issue green bonds in the international markets. Apart from its environmental ambitions, Arçelik is committed to the United Nations Generation Equality Forum. We continuously improve our performance to achieve 2030 sustainability goals and shape our roadmap to reach our 2050 net-zero emission target. Our technological investments toward sustainable development are also progressing at full speed.  We invested €93 million in overall R&D spending in 2021 and we aim to root our leading position through our technological efforts to make our planet a better place."

Water efficiency worth the water consumption of 2.7 million households

Having boosted the ratio of green electricity in global manufacturing operations to 69 percent, Arçelik also achieved approximately 63,000 GJ of energy efficiency and prevented the emission of 5,514 metric tons of CO_₂ thanks to 228 energy efficiency projects. In 2021, the company reduced Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) GHG emissions stemming from manufacturing by 20 percent in 2021 compared to the 2018 baseline. Over the past 12 years, Arçelik has saved 2.17 million cubic meters of water, equivalent to the daily water consumption of approximately 2.7 million Turkish households. Furthermore, the company used 7,216 metric tons of recycled plastic in its products to contribute to the fight against plastic pollution. Since 2014, 1.6 million pieces of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) were recycled at the company's own WEEE Recycling Facilities.

Sustainable Funding for a Sustainable Future

The report also includes technological advances in sustainability; Arçelik announced that it maintained investments in Research and Development (R&D), innovation, and technology with recent investments in R&D reaching €93 million. The company also noted that it is the first industrial manufacturing company in Turkey to have issued green bonds in the international markets with a release worth €350 million.  Other notable commitments include an eight-year loan agreement worth €150 million with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), including €83 million in green loans.

Following the initiative by Koç Holding, a leading voice of the UN Women Generation Equality Forum, Arçelik announced fresh commitment to advance gender equality in technology and innovation in Turkey over the next five years with targeted community outreach.

Global Sustainability Goals and Achievements

By 2030, Arçelik aims to establish a 50 MW renewable energy power plant for self-consumption at its own manufacturing facilities, investing a minimum of $50 million in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, and sourcing all electricity for global manufacturing facilities from 100-percent renewable sources. Furthermore, the company aims to reduce water use per product by 45 percent in production, increase water recycling and reuse rate up to 70 percent and boost the ratio of recycled plastic in products to 40 percent by 2030.

Already making contributions to gender equality in the workplace by continuously increasing the number of women employees across the organization, Arçelik also carries out projects among its dealership and service networks to further strengthen the role of women in the industry and in society more widely.

In 2021, Arçelik was awarded the Terra Carta Seal, which was presented by the Prince of Wales to companies that have committed to combat climate change with concrete targets within the scope of the Sustainable Markets Initiative. It is the first and only company in its industry to be awarded the Seal. In 2021, Arçelik was awarded the highest rank for the third consecutive time in the Durable Household Products category in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which evaluates the sustainability performance of the world's largest companies. Click on the link to access the report containing all other sustainability performance data and targets: www.arcelikglobal.com

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SOURCE Arçelik