Climate Change Action and Emissions Management

Climate Change Action and Emissions Management at Türk Telekom

Climate Change Action Plan

Our climate transition plan outlines the steps we will take to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 45% by 2030, compared to the 2020 baseline, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. This plan incorporates our science-based greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies, covering energy efficiency, increased use of renewable energy sources, and other environmentally friendly projects, while accounting for the principle of financial sustainability at every stage. Our goal is to ensure sustainability across all our operations and throughout our value chain, and to minimise our carbon footprint.

As of 2024, we are continuing to implement our climate transition plan under the following five main pillars:

1. Renewable Energy Projects

Renewable energy projects remain one of the cornerstones of our climate strategy. Our planned solar power plants, with a total capacity of 405.8 MWe, are expected to meet approximately 65% of our current total electricity consumption. We have received a positive EIA report for the Sivas Zara Project with a capacity of 96 MWe and started construction in 2025. We target completing installation of total 405.8 MWe capacity in the coming years. In the medium term, we plan to assess opportunities to increase solar capacity in line with evolving needs. Renewable energy solutions will continue to be one of our key focus areas in reaching our net zero target.

2. Energy Efficiency and Optimisation Projects

Energy efficiency and optimisation projects are another important component of our climate transition plan. We aim to reduce our dependence on grid energy by continuing our existing energy efficiency projects. We are replacing low-efficiency equipment with next-generation technologies to reduce energy consumption and increasing the use of solar energy at our base stations. For our fixed infrastructure, we are accelerating investments in high-efficiency fibre conversion. By integrating AI-powered optimisation systems into our data centres, we plan to build our next-generation data centres with a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.2. We also aim to invest in 4.5G and 5G technologies that offer higher energy efficiency, use low Global Warming Potential (GWP) gases in our cooling systems, and increase the number of electric vehicles in our fleet.

3. Science-Based Emissions Reduction Targets and SBTi Commitments

Our science-based emissions reduction targets and SBTi commitments continue to form the foundation of our climate transition plan. We aim to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 45% by 2030, compared to the 2020 baseline, and plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. We continue our efforts to extend the depth of our carbon inventory calculation, which covers all our group companies, and aim to set target for Scope 3 emissions soon. In this process, we aim to complete the SBTi target verification steps. Between 2025 and 2030, we will implement all necessary actions to achieve our targets, and we will continue our net-zero focused progress beyond 2030.

4. Other Environmental Topics

As part of our efforts to combat climate change, we are not only focusing on emissions reduction but also continuing our work to minimise other environmental impacts. In waste management, we plan to implement more comprehensive projects for the recycling of electronic waste, going beyond our legal obligations.. In this regard, we have included in our action plans the implementation of customer electronic device waste recovery and recycling programmes, as well as the development of separation, collection, and recycling programmes for non-hazardous waste from network waste and IT equipment.

In water management, we aim to implement smart solutions to reduce water consumption in our offices in the short and medium term, and to develop rainwater harvesting systems and alternative cooling methods in our data centres. We plan to expand our sustainable projects to achieve water conservation.

Under the heading of pollution prevention and control, we are taking steps to not only minimise waste generation but also to promote reuse and recycling. We are continuing to develop projects to replace gases used in cooling systems with alternatives that have a lower Global Warming Potential (GWP), and to recover and reuse refrigerant gases in existing systems. Recycling the gases extracted from old air conditioning equipment using environmentally friendly methods is also part of our plans. Furthermore, as part of our environmentally friendly mobility solutions, we have entered the electric vehicle charging station market by obtaining the necessary licences. With our investments in this area, we aim to encourage the use of electric vehicles and reduce fossil fuel consumption and the associated carbon emissions.

We are also aligning our procurement processes with our environmental responsibilities. By promoting sustainable practices within our supply chain, we plan to implement environmentally friendly procurement methods that are in line with our SBTi targets. In all these processes, we will continue to expand our efforts to minimise our environmental impact by building meaningful collaborations with our suppliers and other stakeholders.

5. Monitoring and Annual Reporting

We implement comprehensive monitoring and annual reporting mechanisms to assess the effectiveness of our climate transition plan and support our sustainability performance with concrete data. Through these mechanisms, we regularly monitor key indicators, such as our annual energy efficiency, investments made, and the benefits achieved from these investments, including greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Through our annual sustainability reporting, we transparently share the progress we have made with our stakeholders, making our performance comparable and measurable. In this way, we adopt a management approach based on continuous improvement and demonstrate our determination in fight against climate change through concrete steps.

In the upcoming periods, we aim to further enhance our monitoring mechanisms by expanding them to include more detailed measurements, data verification, and forward-looking performance forecasting. In this way, we aim to establish a stronger monitoring and reporting structure for both internal management and stakeholder communication in our sustainability journey.

Climate change, one of today’s biggest environmental threats, is increasing its impact on a global scale, with one of the main causes being greenhouse gas emissions. As Türk Telekom, we are aware of this global crisis and are taking responsibility by developing various strategies to reduce our carbon footprint.

We view emissions management not only as an environmental necessity but also as a critical component for the sustainability of our business model. Therefore, when developing our sustainability strategies, we take into account the expectations and views of our stakeholders, shaping the steps we take towards emissions reduction based on scientific data. We recognise that digitalisation contributes positively to reducing energy consumption in many ways, thereby lowering our carbon footprint. On the other hand, the energy consumption of our data centres and network infrastructure is among the factors contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. To minimise their environmental impact, we are developing energy efficiency projects, restructuring our operational processes based on the principle of low carbon emissions, and continuing our investments in renewable energy.

In addition, we are not limited to energy management but also carry out our waste management processes in line with sustainability principles to reduce our environmental impact. As Türk Telekom, we prioritise the proper recycling of e-waste and support circular economy models to ensure the efficient use of resources.

We approach emissions management from a holistic perspective and continuously improve our sustainability strategies by considering environmental, economic, and social impacts. Under our Sustainability Policy, Environmental Policy, and Integrated Management System Policy, we fully comply with all national and international regulations, regularly analyse the environmental impacts of our activities, and take steps to continuously improve our performance. The lack of any legal violations or administrative penalties related to environment issues to date is the most tangible evidence of our diligent approach to this matter.

In the coming years, we will continue to systematically reduce our carbon footprint, integrate eco-friendly technologies into our operations, and take responsibility for a more sustainable future.

Our Emissions Reduction Strategies and Targets

We are developing comprehensive strategies to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and are utilising scientific and internationally recognised methods to implement them. We began calculating our carbon inventory in 2011, and as of 2023, we have advanced this process by calculating our Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions in accordance with the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) Protocol. Unlike previous years, this work was carried out to include all of our group companies, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of our carbon emissions.

In 2024, we have not only measured our inventory but also implemented various strategies to reduce our carbon emissions and enhance environmental sustainability. Our projects aimed at increasing energy efficiency stand out as one of the cornerstones of these strategies. Through optimisation and transformation projects in both our fixed and mobile networks, we have achieved a total annual energy saving of 42 GWh. By commissioning more efficient cooling systems and conducting regular maintenance activities, we are significantly reducing the failure rates, which in turn lowers our emissions from refrigerant gases. These strategic improvements make a significant contribution to the continuous enhancement of our environmental performance. Additionally, through I-REC certificates, an international certification system that documents the environmental integrity of every 1 MWh of renewable energy generated, we have offset 33% of our total Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Taking into account the 42 GWh in savings achieved through energy efficiency projects brings this ratio up to 35%. Thus, in 2024, by reducing our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 29% compared to 2020, we have taken another step toward our goal of a 45% reduction by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050.

I-REC certificates also strengthen our commitment to renewable energy investments. In 2024, by purchasing I-REC certificates to increase our consumption of electricity from renewable sources, we achieved a reduction of 221 thousand tonnes of CO₂ from our Scope 2 emissions. Compared to the previous year, we increased our use of I-REC certificates by 48%, purchasing a total of 500 thousand MWh of renewable energy certificates, further reducing our environmental footprint.

While reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we support our value chain with low-carbon products. With the contribution of our emissions reduction strategies, which we approach from a broader perspective, we achieved an “A” leadership level in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in 2024. This success stands out as an indication of our transparent and science-based approach to carbon management. Additionally, across Türk Telekom Group, we have committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 45% by 2030, compared to the 2020 baseline, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In line with this commitment, we calculate our carbon inventory using scientific methods, carry out verification processes according to international standards, and confirm the reliability of our emissions data through third-party independent audits.

In the coming years, we will continue our commitment to emissions management and, by increasing our investments in renewable energy, we will continue to progress steadily towards our net-zero target.

Note: Scope 3 emission values have been revised in previous years due to data and calculation methodology changes in Business Travel and Electricity Transmission Distribution categories. With the effect of this revision in the TND and Business Travel categories, our total scope 3 emissions in 2021, 2022, 2023 have changed by (0.6)%, (2.0)% and (2.3)%, respectively.

Emissions Intensity

We comprehensively evaluate our emissions management performance and monitor it through emissions intensity indicators per annual net revenue and subscriber count.

In 2024, the emissions intensity per annual net revenue in US dollars dropped by 29%, settling at 104 tonnes of CO₂e per million USD. Despite increases of 1.1 million mobile and 200 thousand fixed broadband subscribers and addition of one thousand base stations in 2024, our emission intensity per subscriber decreased by 5% annually to 9 tonnes CO₂e.

With the technological transformation in recent years, a decline has been observed in fixed voice subscriber numbers, while there has been an increase in mobile, fixed broadband, and TV subscribers. Our energy efficiency projects, GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) transformations, and the renewable energy certificates we have purchased have significantly contributed to this reduction in emissions intensity. In line with our emissions reduction strategies, we continue our efforts to minimise our environmental impact while achieving sustainable growth.

A Step Forward on the Net-Zero Journey

We continue to take significant steps toward a low-carbon economy in line with our goal of building a sustainable future. While maintaining our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we also support our value chain with lowcarbon products and services. Our aim is not only to reduce emissions within our own operations, but also to create a sustainable ecosystem by offering low-carbon solutions to our business partners and customers.

In this context, in 2024, we became a member of the GSMA Climate Action Taskforce, one of the most prestigious initiatives in the global mobile communications sector, representing more than 80% of global mobile connections. This membership is a strategic step aligned with global climate goals and further advances our company’s sustainability vision on an international platform.

With our GSMA membership, we will be featured in the GSMA Mobile Net Zero 2025 Report, which highlights the progress made by mobile operators worldwide in achieving their climate goals. The pledge we have made is not merely about numerical targets but is the strongest indication that we embrace the responsibility of building a sustainable future. On our net-zero journey, we continue to take determined steps to enhance our contribution to environmental sustainability and minimise our carbon footprint.