Arçelik becomes carbon-neutral in global production operations

Arçelik, one of the leading companies in sustainability, has succeeded in becoming carbon-neutral in global production with its own carbon credits and has taken another important step in the fight against climate crisis.

ISTANBUL, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Operating in nearly 150 nations with its vision Respecting the World, Respected Worldwide, Arçelik will achieve its target of being a carbon-neutral company. Developing climate-friendly products that use less resources and that are accessible to all in line with the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Arçelik marks a milestone in its sustainability efforts.

"Within the scope of the Carbon Financing Project for Energy Efficient Refrigerators in Turkey, we received the right to 305,407 tons of CO₂e emission reductions between 2013 and 2018. With this carbon credit we obtained by introducing innovative refrigerators with high energy efficiency level to the Turkish market, we achieved a meaningful shift from 'business as usual' to a new technology and thus, our global production facilities* will become carbon-neutral in 2019 and 2020 fiscal years. For us, sustainability is both a must for the future of humanity and a profitable business model," says Hakan Bulgurlu, Arçelik CEO.

The Carbon Financing Project was initiated by Arçelik with the consultancy of GAIA Carbon Finance in 2013. The 305,407 tons of carbon credit earned by Arçelik via the Carbon Financing Project, was verified by a 3rd party verification company RINA in compliance with the Verified Carbon Standard. The company will use this credit to offset its direct and indirect GHG emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) generated in global production facilities in 2019* (verified by an independent third party, BSI Group) and 2020 and thus become carbon neutral in global production plants in 2019 and 2020 fiscal years without purchasing any carbon offset credit, in accordance with PAS 2060 carbon neutrality standard, self-declared by Arçelik. 

Through its long-term carbon-neutral strategy in line with the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), Arçelik plans to continue the Carbon Financing Project for 4 more years and contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions through various renewable energy investments, and verification for its efforts at its own Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Recycling Plants, which differentiate the company from its sector. Having committed to the SBTi in 2017, Arçelik continues its efforts on finalizing its global Scope 1-2-3 emission reduction targets.  

In line with its long-term sustainability strategy, Arçelik shared its 2030 targets in its 12th Sustainability Report. Bulgurlu says, "With our vision, Respecting the World, Respected Worldwide, our plan is to make an additional $50 million investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency for the future of our planet in the coming years."

In order to tackle the climate crisis and maintain carbon neutrality, Arçelik will focus on the following practices:

• Investing in renewable energy systems at its own production sites
       - 2030 target: Establishing 15 MW of renewable energy systems
• Purchasing electricity from documented renewable sources
       - In 2019, 100% of electricity was purchased from documented renewable sources in Turkey and Romania operations.
       - 2030 target: Purchasing 100% of electricity from documented renewable sources in global production plants, where market allows.
• Investing in energy efficiency projects in production 
       - 2030 target: Reducing energy consumption per product in manufacturing by 45% (compared to 2015 baseline in South Africa, Russia, Turkey, Romania, China, Thailand and Pakistan operations)

For further information about Arçelik's declaration on the climate related risks and opportunities, please refer to 2019 Sustainability Report, "ESG Related Risks and Opportunities".

*Singer Bangladesh which was acquired in 2019 and Voltbek in India which started production in 2020 are excluded from calculations.

Note to the editor

84% of total GHG emissions generated by Arçelik global plants have been verified by BSI, an independent third party in 2019. GHG emissions generated by Turkey, Romania (refrigerator production), Russia, China, South Africa production plants (expect Wilsonia) have been certified by an independent third party in 2019. GHG emissions from South Africa-Wilsonia, Thailand, Pakistan and Romania washing machine production plants are not verified by an independent third party and the data is based on Arçelik declarations.

About Arçelik

With over 30,000 employees throughout the world, 12 brands (Arçelik, Beko, Grundig, Blomberg, ElektraBregenz, Arctic, Leisure, Flavel, Defy, Altus, Dawlance, Voltas Beko), sales and marketing offices in 34 countries, and 23 production facilities in 9 countries, Arçelik offers products and services in nearly 150 countries. As Europe's second largest white goods company according to market share ranking based on quantity, Arçelik reached a consolidated turnover of 5 billion Euros in 2019. With almost 70% of its profits coming from the international markets, Arçelik is the R&D leader in Turkey – holding more than 3,000 international patent applications to date with the efforts of 1,600 researchers in 15 R&D and Design Centers in Turkey and R&D Offices across five countries.

www.arcelikglobal.com

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