Ülker working tirelessly towards “Net Zero” goal Türkiye’s leading food company, Ülker, has published its 2023 Sustainability Report. The company continues to progress towards its goals under the main categories of Our Planet, Value Chain, Employees, and Community.

Ülker* has released its 9th Sustainability Report, highlighting its economic, social, and environmental activities. Having growing since 2014 without increasing its carbon emissions thanks to its commitment to environmentally and socially responsible production, Ülker continues its efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions across all operations, striving to become a “net zero company” by 2050.

Mete Buyurgan, CEO of Ülker, highlighted the initiatives and improvements implemented by the company in 2023, ranging from water and energy savings to sustainable raw material procurement, human resources, and production quality.

Special projects for farmers

Buyurgan commented: “The future of food demands transformation and sustainability, with a focus on redesigning agricultural production, ensuring food security, combating food waste, and strengthening supply chain resilience.  At Ülker, the principles of zero waste have been central to our corporate culture since our establishment.  The aim of our sustainability initiatives is to drive this transformation and contribute to the creation of a more resilient global food system. To address the climate crisis, one of the key pillars of our sustainability strategy, we are progressing towards our goal of becoming a net zero company by 2050 while also working on sustainable procurement and regenerative agriculture projects for the supply of our main raw materials wheat, cocoa, and hazelnuts.

As part of our Beyond Hazelnut project, we organized good agricultural practices training and field support programs for a total of 75 farmers, 25 of whom were women from the Giresun region. Currently, 100 farmers, including 33 women, are involved in the project.  Regenerative agriculture is a holistic approach that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, conserves biodiversity, increases the soil’s water retention capacity, improves yield, and supports farmers’ livelihoods.  As such, we have set a target to implement regenerative agriculture on 10,000 decares of land by 2030. In 2023, we started working with 10 farmers on approximately 300 decares of land. Through our Beyond Cocoa project, we also provide training on agroforestry and good agricultural practices to cocoa farmers. As part of our agroforestry project in the regions where we source cocoa, we distributed 12,000 saplings to 124 farmers. We are closely collaborating with the cooperatives from which we directly source in Ivory Coast.” 

First in the sector to use electric trains for transportation

Buyurgan also noted the company’s prioritization of rail transport in its logistics processes, which has made Ülker the first company in the fast-moving consumer goods sector in Türkiye to adopt rail logistics, including electric trains. In 2023, thanks to rail transport, Ülker prevented 213 tonnes of CO2 emissions, shared Buyurgan, adding that the company avoided another 3,094 tonnes of CO2 by using double-decker trucks and optimizing routes in road transport, which has made it possible to maximize load efficiency with fewer vehicles.

‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ certification for all factories

Buyurgan also highlighted Ülker’s efforts to track its environmental footprint from farm to table through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies, as well as the company’s waste recycling and recovery rate of 98%. As a result of these efforts, all Ülker factories in Türkiye have earned the “Zero Waste to Landfill” certification, Buyurgan noted. 

2023 highlights

• By aligning with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), Ülker set an interim target for 2030 and committed to the 2050 net zero goal, becoming one of the three food companies in Türkiye to make this commitment.
• Ülker’s energy efficiency projects saved 12,000 MWh of energy, preventing 5,683 tonnes of carbon emissions.
• Since 2014, Ülker has achieved a 20% reduction in carbon emissions in logistics operations.
• Ülker allocated a total R&D budget of TRY 154.3 million to the development of new products and processes with reduced environmental impact.
• The company reduced water usage per unit of production by 39% compared to 2014.
• It reduced 220 tonnes of plastic and 700 tonnes of paper in packaging.
• Ülker converted 99% of raw materials into finished products and reached a waste recycling rate of 98%.
• 43% of the power consumed by Ülker factories came from I-REC certified renewable energy sources, driving down the company’s Scope 2 emissions.
• Ülker was included in the S&P Sustainability Yearbook for the fourth consecutive year, becoming one of nine Turkish companies listed and the only Turkish company among 19 global companies in the food products category.
• In 2023, Ülker raised its Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) water security score to B, and continues to be listed on the Borsa Istanbul Sustainability Index since 2015.
• According to the environmental, social, and governance performance evaluation conducted by LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) between January 8 and 15, 2024, Ülker ranked first in its category among more than 450 publicly traded companies worldwide.