2018 Sustainability Report
We consider the protection of environmental resources and the realization of our activities with minimum environmental impact as one of our main responsibilities. In addition to the direct environmental impact we create, we also work to control and improve the indirect environmental impacts that occur throughout our value chain. We are committed to continuously reducing the negative impacts we create on the environment.
Environmental issues are carried out by the Sustainability Committee and Sustainability Working Group in line with the Tofaş Environmental and Energy Policy, and reporting on environmental performance is made to the Board of Directors.
Strengthening our environmental management infrastructure plays an important role in improving our environmental performance. For this reason, we continue to allocate resources for environmental management expenditures. We attach great importance to raising awareness on environmental issues and bringing environmental awareness to our employees and business partners.
Our green purchasing efforts are based on our philosophy of product and service choice, which has reduced environmental impact. We aim to reduce the environmental impacts caused by the manufacturing processes of our suppliers and the services they produce, to improve their overall environmental performance and to reduce environmental risks.
Within the scope of our work, we deliver a check-list of environmental issues to suppliers we buy products from. Through the list prepared with due-diligence logic, we request from our suppliers the results of their environmental impacts (energy, water consumption), general information about environmental management systems and questions about environmental risk management. Through the answers, we obtain the necessary data to calculate the environmental impact of the manufacturing of parts that make up an automobile.
We have identified a focus group of 8 suppliers from different sectors at the point of reducing the environmental impacts we have identified. Together with these suppliers, we started to work to reduce the environmental impact caused by their manufacturing. We aim to expand our gains in other suppliers in the future.
In service purchases, we create specifications specifically for the service item, specifying environmental sensitivity related to the subject and setting the criteria for preference. Thus, service purchases are only made from suppliers that meet the specified criteria.Detailed information about Environmental Management and Tofaş Environmental and Energy Policy can be found in https://www.tofas.com.tr/en/Sustainability/Policies/Pages/default.aspx or the Tofaş Annual Report 2018, which is also published interactively via http://ir.tofas.com.tr/en/index.html
We adopt a responsible approach to the efficient use of water, one of the most vital natural resources. By managing our water and wastewater processes in the most efficient way, we are trying to realize our activities with minimum water consumption. We aim to continuously improve the amount of water usage with various practices. We carry out periodic analysis studies to ensure the continuity and sustainability of water resources.
“In 2018, 1 million m3 of water used in the production processes constitutes the well water. Our water consumption per vehicle was 3,55m3 in 2018. By 2020, we aim to bring this volume to 2,50 m3.”
We ensure that the fresh water taken is reused repeatedly, in line with our principle of using water resources responsibly. At the end of the process, we put waste water back into the production process to meet our water needs.
In order to avoid any negative effects on natural areas and living creatures we constantly monitor our biological effects and conduct environmental impact assessment studies. With the controls we perform periodically, we identify potential risks and take necessary measures. In this regard, we accept Convention on Biological Diversity as legislation which Turkey is a party to.
Management of wastewater constitutes a significant part of our responsible water management approach due to its potential negative impact on biodiversity. We are trying to recycle the wastewater generated by our operations to the maximum level in our modern treatment units. We discharge remaining waste water to the receiving environments with loads under limit values specified in the waste water discharge permits.
In line with our Environmental and Energy Policy, we consider all kinds of waste disposal as a loss of natural resources and we aim to prevent pollution at the source. We ensure that all of the industrial wastes generated during the manufacturing processes are used as raw materials and energy sources in the cement sector, thereby achieving our goal of “zero waste disposal”.
Within the scope of our material and waste management activities, we focus on reducing the use of materials, the use of recyclable materials on a large scale, minimizing the amount of waste generated and recovering the whole amount. In addition to our own operations, we also work on reducing the use of materials in our suppliers.
The total amount of waste per vehicle was 45,3 kg in 2018. By 2020, we aim to realize this ratio as 44 kg/vehicle.
In line with our manufacturing approach, we provide 5R (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover-deny, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover) improvements in all manufacturing processes and provide efficiency in using natural resources.
