SUSTAINABILITY BULLETIN (ISSUE 1)

MESSAGES FROM US

Dear Readers

As Trasta ESG, we present you the first issue of our newsletter with great pleasure. Trasta ESG newsletter will meet you regularly from now on. In the content of the newsletter, we will share the developments both in the sector and in our services. At the end of the bulletins you will find a column by an author. In time, we will also include various surprises in the content.

We wish you a pleasant reading.

KEMALEDDIN DİLBAZ, CEO

Dear stakeholders

Sustainability is today’s most popular topic. In this field, new regulations, standards and action requirements are constantly emerging around the world. All of them have a single goal: To make the world a more livable place and to leave a beautiful legacy for future generations. Keeping track of such a dynamic field is becoming increasingly difficult. With the Trasta ESG newsletter, we aim to shed light on your path in this regard and to be with you at all stages of your ESG journey.

Stay sustainable

ÖZGÜN ÇINAR, CRO

A STORY OF A JOURNEY: FROM PERA ESG TO TRASTA ESG

• About 2 years ago, with the principle of being beneficial to our world and society, we set out with the name Pera ESG Consulting Inc.
• As the first and only ESG Scoring company in Turkey, we have supported the distinguished businesses of our country with the motto ‘We are with you at every stage of your Sustainability Journey’ in both scoring and consultancy and training services through the ‘Sustainability Assessment and Management Platform’ designed for businesses operating in our country.
• It is with great pleasure that we announce that, as a reflection of the Görer Business Family’s decision to operate under an integrated brand, we continue to serve our esteemed stakeholders with the title of ‘TRASTA ESG CONSULTANCY INC.’ as of the beginning of 2024.
• As our new brand Trasta, we will continue to symbolize reliability, expertise and customer focus. This name change is an important step to further strengthen our relationship with you, our valuable Stakeholders, and to carry our cooperation further.
• In addition to ESG, Trasta Group also offers services in tax, audit, risk management, legal, capital markets, financial management and human resources consultancy. Thank you for your support and trust in this process.

GONE WITH THE WIND, BUT ALWAYS WITH CONTROVERSY: COP 28
The COP28 climate summit in Dubai began with controversy, not only because the United Arab Emirates is an oil country, but also because Sultan Al Jaber has been appointed as the summit’s president. Jaber is the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the largest drilling company in the Middle East, which is preparing to significantly expand its drilling initiatives. The president’s statement at the start of the summit that there is no scientific evidence to show that fossil fuels should be phased out to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius sparked controversy.
As the summit continued in the shadow of these debates, humanity was expecting a concrete commitment to phase out the use of fossil fuels, but the summit did not produce a commitment of the expected quality. Instead, countries were urged to “contribute to global efforts to transition energy systems away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner, and to accelerate action in this critical decade to achieve net zero by 2050 in line with science.”

By supporting technologies such as carbon capture and storage and allowing for transition fuels, the agreement also contained loopholes that prevented the complete phase-out of fossil fuels. However, not everyone is happy with the results. Since so far there have not been so many genius declarations to move away from fossil fuels, it is fair to say that some people left the summit feeling hopeful.

On the other hand, another expectation was the clarification of the financial aid to be provided to fragile countries, which are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In the text of the agreement, it was recognized that more financing was needed to adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis. However, there are uncertainties about the source and amount of financing. Rich countries did not commit to providing $100 billion annually by 2025 to poor and vulnerable countries. Moreover, the financing required for green transformation is said to be in the trillions of dollars.

ÖZGÜN ÇINAR, CRO

ESG NEWS

• The UK government has announced a new carbon tax on some products from 2027 to protect British businesses from cheap imports from countries with more lax climate policies. There is ample time for a transition period. Our readers who export to the United Kingdom should speed up their preparations. DETAIL

• Turkey, one of the four countries that did not make any commitments at COP28 and opposed both phasing out and reducing fossil fuels, dropped from 47th to 56th place in Germanwatch’s Climate Change Performance Index this year. DETAIL
• Researchers studying 7,827 people and their home environments found that those who lived in areas with more parks, gardens, trees and other vegetation had longer telomeres, a region of DNA sequences associated with longevity. The result is clear… People living in green areas seem to age more slowly at the cellular level. DETAIL
  The world’s largest carbon capture factory is being built in Wyoming, in the United States. The plant is expected to be completed by 2030 and will remove 5 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. DETAIL
• Earth’s climate has already warmed enough for humans to risk triggering five global “tipping point criteria”, according to new research by Professor Tim Lenton of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, in collaboration with more than 200 researchers worldwide. This means devastating effects on our planet. DETAIL
• New research shows that every purchase or sale of Bitcoin uses enough water to fill an entire swimming pool. A stunning example of the staggering environmental impact of cryptocurrencies. DETAIL
• The United States has pledged to phase out coal-fired power plants, joining 56 countries that have already announced commitments to kick the coal habit, a major factor in global warming. DETAIL
• According to the Bundesnetzagentur, the country’s energy authority, the proportion of Germany’s electricity generated from renewable energy sources increased by 6.6 percent to 55 percent in 2023. DETAIL
• In Colorado, applications for the e-bike discount program have been suspended for a while. Why? The program attracted so much interest that the initial funding was exhausted ahead of schedule. DETAIL
• The Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority has set the Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards. The Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards (TSRS) are based on IFRS S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures) standards published by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in June 2023. You can find the detailed article we have prepared on this subject on the following page. DETAIL

🍃GREEN CORNER🍃

The Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority determined the Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards with its decision dated 27.12.2023 and numbered 75935942-050.01.04 [01/21632].

The standards entered into force after being published in the Repeated Official Gazette dated December 29, 2023 and numbered 32414.

The standards aim to ensure unity in practice and international validity in the preparation of sustainability reports of enterprises.

In this context, the Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards (TSRS) to be used in practice are based on IFRS S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures) standards published by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in June 2023.

These standards were published under the names of IFRS 1 “General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information” and IFRS 2 “Climate-related Disclosures”.

With a very correct and appropriate decision, the Authority has determined international standards as the basis for Turkish reporting. In this way, a great workload and application confusion was prevented.

In our country, whose largest trading partner is Europe, the demands for sustainability reporting have been increasing due to the carbon regulation mechanism at the border and ensuring the sustainability of trade in general, as well as customer demands and pressure due to increasing environmental sensitivity.

With the determination of Turkish Standards, clarity has been provided on which standards the reporting will be based on.

So, who will have to prepare sustainability reports in this context?

The implementation of the Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards (TSRS) will undoubtedly usher in a new era in sustainability reporting for businesses in Turkey. The companies that are obliged to report in accordance with the TSRS and the criteria to be used in determining these companies are as follows:

Are among the companies within the scope determined by the POA and

• Total assets of TL 500 million,
• Annual net sales revenue of 1 billion TL,
• Number of employees over 250

institutions and organizations that exceed at least two of the above criteria in two consecutive reporting periods are obliged to report in accordance with the standards.

In addition, rating agencies, financial holding companies, financial leasing companies, factoring companies, financing companies, asset management companies, companies holding qualified shares in financial holding companies and banks as defined in Law No. 5411 must also apply these standards.

These companies are obliged to prepare sustainability reports as of 01/01/2024.

In this sense, the necessary preparations need to be made quickly. Because time passes quickly and leaving the preparations to the last days may cause problems.