About "Environment: Our Priority"

The deterioration in the environment and the environmental equilibrium, which has become the most important common problem of humanity, takes an increasingly important place in the agenda of the world.

Within recent years environmental responsibility has started to exert its importance on the banking sector. Many organizations in the world are in the process of developing and implementing environmental risk management programs.

TSKB (Industrial Development Bank of Turkey), which has been financing the investment projects of the industrial and service sectors since the year 1950, takes into account the possible existence and the management of the environmental risks associated with the projects funded and the companies financed. TSKB has furthermore been involved in important environment related activities in Turkey through the loans extended for the protection of the environment as well as the loans provided for investments in renewable energy. TSKB is the first Turkish Bank to obtain an ISO 14001 environment certification.
In line with this vision and environment related finance accomplished in the past years as our starting point, we as TSKB have put into motion a comprehensive social responsibility project on the subject of "environment", targeting to become the Environmental Bank of Turkey.
The purpose of the project, "Environment: Our Priority", is to establish a platform that will bring all the sections of society together on the subject of environment and to improve the level of knowledge and awareness of the people while helping develop their willingness to stand up for the environmental values regardless of their age and to support any positive and permanent behavioral changes on the subject of environment.
With our group of "Environmental Ambassadors", comprising of people who have been a success in the fields of art, science, media and business, setting examples for the rest of the society, we aim to spread the project to the most extensive population of people possible, while targeting to take a permanent place in the agenda of the public.

The communication channel of the project, "cevreciyiz.com" became operational as of the 2nd of May 2007, targeting to be the most comprehensive portal available on the subject of environment. Through this portal, news pertaining to the environment are presented along with the research studies, articles, and texts of the academicians, non-governmental organizations, medical doctors and all the professional people who have an interest in the subject together with the special files on environment, applicable legislation on environment, institutional steps to be taken to be in compliance with the legislation on environment, the individual and institutional stories of success, the virtual photography exhibitions of famous photographers of nature, the agenda of Turkey and the world on the subject, and some specific tools that are utilized in measuring benefits of the environmental approaches  as well as the risks involved.  As such, the objective is to develop an environmental consciousness in the society. There are also special sections oriented towards the young people and children in this portal.

A "Nature Day" was arranged in cooperation with NGOs in June 2007. We spent a day with the public, surrounded with nature and organized events that provided information on how to protect and preserve the nature.

Furthermore, in the "Environment: Our Priority" Conference organized in December, reputable foreign and Turkish speakers discussed the subject of environment from various aspects, bringing the successful projects on the subject of environment to the attention of the public. The aim of this conference was to set the ground for a platform that will bring together the people from the public sector, universities, NGOs and the world of business. 

The "Environment" titled Sculpture Competition that was organized with Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University has also special importance. 30 pieces of work of art that took place in the competition are being published on cevreciyiz.com's "Photography Exhibition" section.
In the years ahead, TSKB will continue with similar projects to improve the level of knowledge and awareness of the people on the subject of environment