Enerjisa Enerji supports green deal action plans of Turkey and European Commission
As the leading actor of electricity distribution and sales sector which operates in a structure open to public with the majority of the shares belonging to Sabancı Holding and E.ON, Enerjisa Enerji became the signatory of UN Global Compact in October 2019, and later they entered into Istanbul Stock Exchange’s (BIST) Corporate Management Index in January 2020 by receiving Corporate Management Rating score for the first time. Continuing to develop sustainability strategies and road map in line with this, Enerjisa also announced in the past few days that they support both action plans declared by European Commission and Turkey’s Ministry of Commerce for reduction of carbon emissions.
Murat Pınar, Enerjisa Enerji CEO:
“Fight against climate change is among our primary responsibilities”
Murat Pınar, Enerjisa Enerji CEO, shared his thought about the newly announced action plans by emphasising that these action plans have great importance in the fight against climate change and that Enerjisa Enerji considers owning this issue as one of their main responsibilities. “We consider contributing to the propagation of green energy utilisation as our responsibility against the community and environment as well as an unmissable opportunity. I believe that these action plans should be studied in depth in a country with such a high potential like Turkey. As Enerjisa Enerji, we will work with all our might to include our customers, business world stakeholders and our cities in the implementation of the action plans,” said Pınar.
Murat Pınar, Enerjisa Enerji CEO, continued as follows: “We aim to maximise the benefits we create for all our stakeholders as the leading actor in Turkish electricity distribution and sales market. Therefore, we see the concept of sustainability not only as a series of actions to be taken, but also as a steady part of our DNA and one of the driving forces of our business strategy. Following the successful public offering in 2018, we focused on corporate sustainability with the purpose of creating long-term value in order to develop a strategic and holistic approach in economic, environmental and social fields. And we position sustainability as an important part of our story and as a critical tool for an effective strategic management. We comply with global environmental and social standards along with raising social awareness while integrating sustainability into our processes. Just last week, we launched our SENTRUM (Centre for Tourism Practices Based on Sustainable Energy) project that we will bring to life in cooperation with UNDP and Sabancı University at Ayvalık Küçükköy. With this project, we will be at Ayvalık Küçükköy for 18 months. We will conduct awareness works, particularly in the area of energy efficiency, in a manner that addresses directly 10 of the United Nations’ Development Goals. Especially the subject of Energy Efficiency is an important dynamic that has entered into the strategy documents of our Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources as well. At this point, we refer to National Energy Efficiency Action Plan too. With our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance, we created our sustainability strategy to integrate these metrics in line with our vision to be the leading company in energy sector.
Through Enerjisa Distribution Companies, namely AYEDAŞ, Başkent EDAŞ and Toroslar EDAŞ, we distribute electricity to nearly 21.5 million users in our responsibility areas including 14 cities thanks to the work of more than 10,000 employees. We provide electricity to 1 out of every 4 people in Turkey. We conduct our works in the cities we operate with a focus on human, solution and innovation, and we bring our plans to life not only for today’s operations but also for the grid of the future. In 2020, we made investments totalling to 1,960 billion TL as AYEDAŞ, Başkent EDAŞ and Toroslar EDAŞ. We conduct all our activities with a focus on sustainability and last year, we brought together all our customer solutions focusing on technology and sustainability under the umbrella of “The Energy of My Business.” As part of this, we offer our public and private sector customers eco-friendly customer solutions, namely Eşarj which supports green energy utilisation by conducting operations in the field of installation of charging stations for electric vehicles, Renewable Power Plants, Energy Efficiency Practices, and Certified Green Energy. As Enerjisa, we plan to make investments totalling to 15 billion TL in grid and sustainable technologies in all our business branches for the next 5 years. With the awareness that electricity is a need for survival such as air and water, we closely follow the changes and trends in the energy sector, rules of which are being rewritten, and we continue to work to provide healthy living standards to all the segments of society.”
Action plan for green and circular economy
Including a series of legal regulations in order to enable member states of European Union to get closer to the goal of becoming zero carbon economies by 2050, the green package called “Fit for 55” draws attention as the most assertive plan declared by EU up till today to fight against climate change. The priority goal of the package is to enable 55 percent reduction in carbon emissions in the Union by 2030, compared to 1990s. “Fit for 55” package includes many controversial drafts such as taxing jet fuels, completely stopping diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles in 20 years, and carbon tax that will enable green transformation in economies which trade with EU member states such as Turkey as well.
Furthermore, with the “Green Deal Action Plan” declared by T.R. Ministry of Commerce, the aim is to contribute to the transition of Turkey to a sustainable and resource-efficient economy. The Action Plan includes actions to be taken to reach the goals determined under titles of border carbon regulations, green and circular economy, green financing, affordable and secure energy supply, sustainable agriculture, sustainable smart transportation, tackling climate change, diplomacy and information and awareness-raising activities for European Green Deal.