Organized by Sabancı Business School, the "Leaders’ Meetings” are held with the participation of prominent people from the business world. The “Leaders’ Meetings” bring together students and alumni of Sabancı Business School Professional Graduate Programs and successful and leading people of the business world.

This year, the Leaders’ Meetings will host Atila Yenişen, CEO of Makro Czechia, Cenk Alper, CEO of Sabancı Holding, and Leslie Coob-Hector, Vaco SVP & Executive Partner. At the first Leaders’ Meeting to be held on Wednesday, November 24, Atila Yenişen, CEO of Makro Czechia will share his knowledge and experience under the theme of “How to Become an Expat?”. On Wednesday, December 15, Cenk Alper, CEO of Sabancı Holding will talk about “We Bring Together the Leading Institutions with Turkey and the World for a Sustainable World”. On Wednesday, January 19, Leslie Coob-Hector, Vaco SVP & Executive Partner will share her knowledge and experience under the title: “Establishing Relations in the Business Community and Growing Market Share”.

Leaders’ Meetings events organized by Sabancı Business School for 12 years host leading figures of the business world every year. More than 40 senior managers and leaders have shared their knowledge and experience in different fields so far. At the events, students and graduates have a chance to listen to the strategies of the business world from the leading senior managers in the field. It is aimed to share the knowledge and experience of the valuable leaders of business world who participate in the Leaders’ Meetings, as well as their stories, strategies, and visions of the future with students and alumni to ensure the spread of knowledge.

The winner of the Hakan Orbay Research Award Competition 2021, commemorating Hakan Orbay, the late faculty member of Sabanci Business School, has been announced. 

Dr. Begum Guney (MA & PhD from Economics at New York University) received 8^th Hakan Orbay Research Award 2021 with her paper which is written with Michael Richter “Games with Switching Costs and Endogenous References?”. Begum Guney is currently Associate Professor of Economy at Ozyegin University.

Dr. Guney received his award with a ceremony on 12 November 2021.

Award Jury of Hakan Orbay Research Awards:

• Benan Zeki Orbay, Istanbul Bilgi University
• Izak Atiyas, Sabancı University
• Eren Inci, Sabancı University
• Aziz Simsir, Sabancı University
• Koray Deniz Simsek, Rollins College
• Melsa Ararat, Sabancı University
• Yigit Atilgan, Sabancı University

The 2021 Commencement Ceremony of Sabancı University Professional Graduate Programs, and the 2020 Professional Graduate Programs Alumni Gathering, which had previously been held online due to the pandemic, were held at Sabancı University Tuzla Campus on Saturday, November 20, 2021 in line with the pandemic conditions.

During her speech at the ceremony, Güler Sabancı, the Founding Chair of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University, said the following to the alumni: “Today, our 294 students, who have completed their professional graduate programs in the Sabancı Business School and the Graduate School of Science, are graduating. We know how important this commencement day, which brought us all together, is for you. This commencement does not only represent a new and important step in your future plans, but also your dedication and determination during the pandemic. We are going through a period which brings along extremely important changes for the world. To be successful in this period, it is very important to think in a versatile way, be open to continuous development and change, be resilient, make the most of available resources to get to solutions, and be solution-oriented. With this degree that you have obtained from Sabancı University, you will make a difference in every field where you work under the conditions of the new world”.

Highlighting that Sabancı University did not give up investing in the future even during the pandemic, Güler Sabancı said that the best example of it was Altunizade Digital Campus, which was inaugurated last month. Güler Sabancı said, “The construction of our campus, which started before the pandemic, was completed with exemplary technological investments based on what we learned from the pandemic. I am glad that our campus, of which there are only a few examples in the world, and the first one in Turkey for its technological infrastructure, hosts our professional graduate programs”. She continued as follows: “As Sabancı University, we always believed in the power of creating and developing together. Accordingly, we gave priority to building the triangle of success, which I find very valuable both in academia and the business world. I believe in this triangle of success composed of the private sector, the public sector, and academia that we implemented at our University, and think that it contributes greatly to us all. Currently, we implement this triangle of success to the best extent through our world-class education, our important collaborations with the private sector, and our projects with public institutions”.

THE ONLY UNIVERSITY IN TURKEY IN THE TOP 100

Delivering a speech at the commencement ceremony, Yusuf Leblebici, President of Sabancı University, said they positioned Altunizade Digital Campus as an educational base equipped with the state-of-the-art technology. He continued as follows: “Born from the merger of the words ‘hybrid’ and ‘flexible’ into one word, HyFlex education is greatly featured in our new campus, which enhances the use of digital technologies in the field of education, and which is our new address in the city center. We will continue to lead in this area by combining our expertise in digital technologies and computer science, one of the fields where we at Sabancı University are the strongest and the most ambitious, with our deep-rooted experience in teaching. The Digital Campus will also provide us with the ideal environment to work together with our industry partners, and develop new applications, and serve as a meeting point to further strengthen university-industry collaboration”.

Stating that professional graduate programs at Sabancı University were designed to respond to the needs of the business world and open new horizons in the careers of professionals, Yusuf Leblebici said the following: “We believe that these applied, project-oriented programs, both in the field of engineering and business administration, create important value in terms of academy-industry collaboration. We are proud to see our professional graduate programs in international rankings as a result of our meticulous efforts. Very recently, we have been ranked among the best business programs in the world in the QS World Rankings Executive MBA list, becoming the only university in Turkey in the top 100.”

Sabancı University Professional Graduate Programs include Information Technologies, Energy Technologies and Management, Cyber Security, Data Analytics, Finance, Business Administration, Business Administration for Professionals, and Executive MBA.

CENK ALPER: “I AM ONE OF THE GRADUATES OF THESE PROGRAMS”

The guest speaker of the commencement ceremony, Cenk Alper, Board Member and CEO of Sabancı Holding, emphasized that he also completed a Sabancı University Professional Graduate Program, and continued: “I am one of the first alumni of this program. First of all, I should say that what I learned there contributed greatly to my professional life”.  

Highlighting that the concept of success changed a lot recently, Cenk Alper said the following:

“Being successful does not mean any more that your company makes the highest profit. What you sacrifice or how you contribute to others while making the highest profit are also among the most important success criteria. We should hear all the voices around us. We should ‘listen’ and ‘implement’ more and more. This is the only way we can move forward and adapt to the world. We can create a collective spirit by managing our business with a leadership approach free from ego and castes.”

Advising the alumni to go for sustainable ones among all the opportunities brought to them in their future lives, Cenk Alper gave the following messages: “Whatever you do, please act by thinking about our world and the future generations first. Let your choices be ‘sustainable’ all the time. There is only one theme for our professional and private lives going forward: Sustainability. Sustainability for the nature, the society and the production. We can and must hand over a more livable world to the generations to come. We do not have the luxury to leave this responsibility to future generations. The times when we evaluate our work purely on financial criteria are well over. Nowadays, our clients and investors assess us, companies, based on our environmental, social and governance performance as much as our financial indicators, and they sometimes fail us for poor performance in those fields. We must take notice of the climate emergency, know that our resources are not infinite, and we must take measures urgently. We all have some responsibility to assume in this.”

The special speaker of the 2020 Alumni Meeting was Cüneyt Evirgen, Sabancı University Executive Development Unit, EDU Director.

Zeynep Bahar Çelik, President of the Alumni Association, made a special speech at the Graduation Ceremony and the Alumni Gathering. On behalf of the 2021 graduates, Seher Yalçın from the Management for Managers Program, Gökhan Gençörnek from the Management for Professionals Program and Pamir Can Karakurt from the Management for Professionals deliver their speches also. 

The Sabancı University Professional Graduate Programs 2021 Commencement and 2020 Alumni Gathering will be held on Saturday, November 20, 2021. 

Sabancı University will conduct its Professional Graduate Programs 2021 Graduation Ceremony and 2020 Alumni Gathering at Tuzla Campus on November 20, 2021.  Professional Graduate Programs include Information Technology, Energy Technology and Management, Cyber Security, Data Analytics, Masters in Finance, MBA, Professional MBA, and Executive MBA programs.

The Commencement Ceremony and Alumni Gathering will be broadcast live on Sabancı University YouTube channel.

2021 Commencement Program

• 15.30 – 16.00 Registration and distribution of caps and gowns (Sports Hall)
• 16.00 – 17.00 Cocktail (Sports Hall)
• 17.00 – 17.30 Gathering for commencement and queuing for academic procession (Sabancı   Performing Arts Center)
• 17.30 – 17.45 Taking of seats according to the plan (Sabancı Performing Arts Center)
• 17.45 – 19.30 Commencement (Sabancı Performing Arts Center)
• 19.30 – 19.45 Return of caps and gowns (Sabancı Performing Arts Center)

2020 Alumni Gathering Program

• 11.00 – 11.30 Registration and Distribution of Caps and Gowns (Sports Hall)
• 11.30 – 12.30 Cocktail (Sports Hall)
• 12.30 – 13.00 Gathering and Queuing for Academic Procession (Sabancı Performing Arts Center)
• 13.00 – 13.15 Taking of Seats According to the Plan (Sabancı Performing Arts Center)
• 13.15 – 14.15 Alumni Gathering (Sabancı Performing Arts Center)
• 14.15 – 14.30 Return of Caps and Gowns (Sabancı Performing Arts Center)

Sabancı Business School ranked among the best 100 business schools on the Financial Times’ “Executive MBA Rankings” in 2021, as in 2019 and 2020.

Sabancı University ranked 93^rd based on the average of the last three years in the rankings, which list the best Executive MBA programs in the world. Sabancı University ranked the first in terms of “Faculty Members with Doctorates, becoming one of the leading business schools in the world. Rising to the 2^nd rank in the ratio of “Women on Board”, the program also ranked 18^th in “Female Student ratio”, and 43^rd in “International Course Experience ratio”.

Equality Responsive, World-Class Education

Nihat Kasap, Dean of Sabancı Business School, said they would continue to provide international course experience through the international study trip to Columbia Business School and course content with international standards. He continued, “As Sabancı University, we keep working to reflect our gender responsive approach on every aspect of our academic and administrative mechanisms. We implemented our plans to offer equal opportunities and eliminate stereotyped frontiers, and we are proud to the see the results of our efforts reflected on our rank in the internationally-recognized FT Rankings. Despite the challenging conditions of the pandemic, teaching and research quality of our school is at international standards in many respects, which is the most important factor for us as educators.”

About the Financial Times Ranking

To be eligible to participate in the FT Executive MBA rankings, a school should be accredited or have an affiliation with an AACSB or Equis accredited organization. While preparing its global rankings, Financial Times evaluates schools for 16 criteria such as alumni career progress and salary increase, gender, and nationality diversity among students, faculty members and advisory board members, faculty members’ publications in FT 50 journals, and corporate social responsibility activities. The 16 selection criteria used in the Financial Times rankings are composed of data collected from surveys participated by Sabancı University EMBA Program alumni.

The full FT Executive MBA rankings 2021 can be seen here:  https://rankings.ft.com/rankings/2863/emba-2021 

Electric bikes and charging stations are being installed at different locations in Ankara with the project entitled ‘Integrating a Connected Micromobility Infrastructure to the Existing Public Transport – MeHUB’, implemented by Sabancı University.

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality will implement sustainable, environmental-friendly public transport services in the framework of the project implemented jointly by Sabancı University and DUCKT company. During the first stage of the project, 25 electric bikes will be deployed for test purposes and 60 chargers at different locations will be installed to serve them.

Supported within the framework of the EIT Urban Mobility Program, and coordinated jointly by Sabancı University and DUCKT company, the MeHUB project aims to help organize public space in the urban environment, lower operation costs for micromobility operators, and create a better Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) experience for citizens with the connected and universal micromobility charging infrastructure solution.

The project is implemented with the Smart Mobility and Logistics Lab by Bülent Çatay, member of Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (FENS). In the framework of the project, he works with Mir Ehsan Hesam Sadati, part-time faculty member of FENS, to develop operational research models and algorithms in order to support decision-making on charging infrastructure, and will measure scalable benefits of the infrastructure.

Providing information about details of the project, Bülent Çatay said the following: “The project was started with a MaaS approach. In this context, a pilot study is being carried out to integrate last-kilometer solutions with existing public transportation hubs, reduce burden on public transport and traffic congestion through the use of e-bikes and e-scooters, ensure that these vehicles are supported by smart and connected locking against vandalism, decrease carbon emissions, and create alternative solutions for efficient and electric personal mobility post COVID-19”.

Sabancı University, Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM) and Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Research and Application Center (SU-IMC) attended SAHA EXPO, the biggest defense, aviation and space industries expo in Turkey and the second biggest in Europe organized by SAHA Istanbul.

Organized with the participation and support of the Presidency of Defense Industries, the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Interior and attended by important stakeholders in the defense and aviation industry, the event was opened by Hulusi Akar, the Minister of National Defense. 

The stand of Sabancı University, SUNUM and SU-IMC hosted prominent guests at SAHA EXPO, which is an international platform exhibiting the growth of Turkey’s domestic production potential and its independent production power.

At the stand, Yusuf Leblebici, President of Sabancı University, hosted Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Deputy Minister of Defense and Technology, Celal Sami Tüfekçi, Vice-President of the Presidency of Defense Industries, Selçuk Bayraktar, CTO of Baykar, Dr. Alime Özyıldırım, Vice-President of TÜBİTAK Space, Ferhat Özsoy, General Manager of Aspilsan, and İlhami Keleş, Secretary General of SAHA.

Contacts were established with representatives of various companies to expand field of cooperation with the defense and aviation industry at the expo. In this context, an initial strategic cooperation agreement was signed between SUNUM and Koç Bilgi ve Savunma Teknolojileri A.Ş and Aselsan Hassas Optik San. Ve Tic. A.Ş.

Sabancı University became the first academic member in the SIAM (Industrial and Applied Mathematics Society) in Istanbul and the second in Turkey after METU.

Nilay Duruk Mutlubaş, Faculty Member at MATH, who led the establishment of the Sabancı University SIAM Student Community, made the following statement on the subject: “As you may know, SIAM (Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics) is a huge community comprising not only applied mathematics but also many disciplines such as data science, computer science, optimization. By forming a student chapter, SIAM provides students free membership and many facilities. As a student, you can get free access to many journals, activity groups etc. Each year SIAM funds academic activities. Since this year is the first one, we need undergraduate/ graduate students to get involved and express their opinions and possible activities to organize.” said Nilay Duruk Mutlubas.

There are nearly 200 student chapters all around the world (https://siam.org/students-education/student-chapters/student-chapter-directory).

Chapter advisor Nilay Duruk Mutlubas is looking forward to meeting students and getting in touch with those to organize activities! “Getting in touch with other chapters and improving our network would be amazing but it is possible with your contribution. Faculty members are also very welcome! Please encourage your students as well” said Mutlubaş.

See https://siam.org/membership/join-siam/individual-members/student for further information. 

If you are interested, contact with her, nilay.duruk@sabanciuniv.edu

Sabancı University Gender and Women’s Studies Center of Excellence (SU Gender) with the support of the Sabancı Foundation awarded teachers and teacher candidates in the field of gender equality.

Organized for the first time this year, and a first of its kind in the field, the Purple Certificate Program Gender Equality in Education Awards’ İpek Gürkaynak Creative Pedagogy Award was granted to Selin Sengir, a school counselor from Kayseri, who participated in the 2015 Purple Certificate Program; the Gender Equality Award was granted to Büşra Bayram from Isparta, a teacher of philosophy, who completed the  Purple Certificate Program in 2020, and the Egalitarian Practices Award was granted to Zeynep Alay from Istanbul, a teacher of Turkish, who participated in the 2016 Purple Certificate Program. In addition, Dilan Özdemir, a primary school teacher of mathematics, and Fadimana Küçük and İlke Özipek, both teacher candidates, became the recipients of the Purple Seeds Award.

THE PURPLE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM TRAINED 4800 TEACHERS AND TEACHER CANDIDATES

Established in 2007 by Sabancı University faculty members as part of the United Nations Joint Program, and supported by the Sabancı Foundation from its inception, the Purple Certificate Program has provided training to teachers about gender, inclusion, diversity and intersectionality in teaching environments and curriculum for the past 14 years. In addition to teacher training, the Purple Folder teams aim to add a gender equality perspective to education with innovative classroom material and awareness-raising efforts. The project is one of the oldest programs of Sabancı University Gender and Women’s Studies Center of Excellence.

Within the framework of the project, 4800 teachers and teacher candidates have been trained so far. 440 teachers have received the Purple Certificate upon successful completion of their training. Considering the number of students that teachers with the Purple Certificate reach throughout their professional lives, the program will have reached nearly 10 million students who interact with teachers who have received training. In addition, 100 NGO representatives from 25 cities have been reached through various programs involving training for NGOs.

“WE REPRESENT TURKEY IN EUROPE WITH OUR GENDER EQUALITY PROGRAM”

Delivering a speech at the award ceremony, Prof. Dr. Yusuf Leblebici, President of Sabancı University, stated the following: “Gender is among the top priority subjects for us as Sabancı University. With both our Sabancı University Gender and Women’s Studies Center of Excellence (SU Gender) and our Corporate Governance Forum, we work to ensure that all the necessary educational support is provided so that women can be empowered in social life. We do not confine ourselves to this, we also contribute to special international projects in this field. One of the best examples of this is our Gender Equality Plan, which we implemented this year”.   

Pointing out that Sabancı University was among the first universities in Turkey to implement the “Gender Equality Action Plan”, Prof. Dr. Yusuf Leblebici said that the plan was an important component of the GEARING-Roles project implemented under the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program. He continued: “As one of the 6 international institutions implementing the gender equality action plan, we represent Turkey in the project. Being one of the 10 international institutions implementing the GEARING-Roles project, SU Gender is one of the most important supporters for the creation of the gender equality action plan.”

TEACHERS WITH  PURPLE CERTIFICATES WILL OVERCOME ALL OBSTACLES ON THE PATH TO GENDER EQUALITY

During her speech at the ceremony, Nevgül Bilsel Safkan, General Manager of the Sabancı Foundation exclaimed: “As the Sabancı Foundation, we have been working for 47 years with our dream of a society in which all individuals enjoy rights equally. We believe that ensuring gender equality is one of the most important milestones on this road. The Purple Certificate Program is very valuable for us since it is one of the most comprehensive and the longest-running programs that we support in this field. What makes the Purple Certificate Program so special is that there is no comparable program that aims to raise awareness about gender equality through teachers”.

Stating that she was both embarrassed and extremely honored by the fact that a Creative Pedagogy Award was endowed in her name in the Purple Certificate Program Gender Equality in Education Awards, social psychologist Prof. Dr. İpek Gürkaynak said the following: “We live in a society where we can see all kinds of discrimination, including gender discrimination. We can notice these only if we are careful and aware. Teachers with the Purple Certificate have the skills to notice and disseminate what they notice. By doing this, they remove the obstacles on the road to gender equality not one by one, but five by five, ten by ten”.

NOMINATED FOR THE UNESCO PRIZE FOR GIRLS’ AND WOMEN’S EDUCATION

Prof. Dr. Hülya Adak, Director of SU Gender, stated that with the Gender Equality in Education Awards, they aimed to enable communication with alumni of the Purple Certificate Program, to follow pedagogical good practices of all teachers and teacher candidates from the Purple Certificate Network when they went back to their schools, to enhance solidarity and to make creativity more visible. She continued as follows: “The Purple Certificate Program was organized initially for teachers, and then the scope was broadened to include teacher candidates. The process later encompassed designing material to be used in the classroom. In this context, educational materials were produced in many fields including literature, physical education, mathematics, and history, among others. These Purple Folders were prepared based on our joint work with teachers. In addition, we organized staged readings of plays, movie screenings, panels and discussions to develop empathy, to strengthen our struggles against discrimination and to promote an inclusive school culture. Over the years, the Purple Certificate Program became the leading program on gender equality in education in Turkey. The Purple Certificate Program was nominated for the UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education by the Sabancı Foundation in 2020, and by the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO in 2021. This is an international prize delivered by UNESCO in Paris. It Is a great honor for me to share this outstanding achievement with you and we are proud that the Purple Certificate Program is now a well-renown, prestigious program nationwide, and a nominee of UNESCO Turkey.”

With the participation of the award-winning teachers, the Gender Equality Awards ceremony continued with a panel moderated by Ayşe Alan.

Global energy and climate trends and implications on Turkey, which are among the most important items on the global agenda, were covered in the “Global Energy and Climate Trends & Implications on Turkey” conference and “Business Leaders’ Perspectives” panel organized in Istanbul by Sabancı University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate (IICEC).

The Founding Chair of Sabancı University Board of Trustees, Güler Sabancı said they prioritized energy and climate for a long time, and continued, “We aim to make Sabancı University campus net-zero. We share this with you for the first time on this occasion. We have started to work on it and will announce the results”.

Ayşem Sargın, Chair of YASED highlighted that green transition agenda became more important for evolution and development of international investments, and she added, “International investments will play a catalyst role in the green transition”.

Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Honorary Chair of IICEC, emphasized that a rapid transformation started in energy. He said, “A new energy system is born in the world. The change has started and is going on rapidly”.

Global energy and climate trends and implications on Turkey were discussed in the “Global Energy and Climate Trends & Implications on Turkey” conference of IICEC held at Sabancı Center. During the conference which started with the opening speech of Güler Sabancı, the Founding Chair of Sabancı University Board of Trustees, Ayşem Sargın, Chair of YASED, and Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Honorary Chair of IICEC made speeches.  Delivering the opening speech of the conference “Global Energy and Climate Trends & Implications on Turkey”, Güler Sabancı highlighted the importance the IICEC conference, and thanked Ayşem Sargın, Dr. Fatih Birol and panelists for their contributions. 

Güler Sabancı: “We aim to make Sabancı University campus net-zero”

Reminding that Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Honorary Chair of IICEC, was the only person from Turkey on the TIME magazine’s “The Most Influential People of 2021” list, Güler Sabancı said she was proud of him and congratulated him once again. Güler Sabancı continued as follows:

“We can secure a more sustainable future through energy policies that promote energy security, competitiveness and transition to clean energy, investments with a focus on sustainable value and innovative business models, and clean energy technologies. As you know, we as Sabancı University have been prioritizing energy and climate for a long time. We established IICEC, as an Energy and Climate center, with the vision that these two topics cannot be separated, in order to contribute to a cleaner and more secure, and therefore, a better future of energy for economic growth, social development and new generations. I am very glad to see that IICEC, which is now 11 years old, grows its contribution to these goals. As you know, IICEC broke a ground in Turkey and published “Turkey Energy Outlook”. This study was adopted by stakeholders from the sector, and received very positive feedback. It became a “reference” study. IICEC will publish another big project, “Turkey Electric Vehicles Outlook” in December. This study will cover electric vehicles, e-mobility ecosystem and growth perspectives in addition to opportunities in Turkey. IICEC will continue to let us meet the most important dynamics in the field of energy and climate. I would like to thank Dr. Fatih Birol once again for his contributions to the development of IICEC as the Honorary Board Chairman. As the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Dr. Fatih Birol has made it an institution that leads “global clean energy transition”. ‘Net Zero by 2050’ report, prepared by the International Energy Agency upon request of Heads of G7 States and Chair of COP26 Climate Change Conference, to determine the “Pathway” to critical goal of clean energy, set out important messages and recommendations to decision-makers about the transformation that energy sector should go through in order to reach international climate goals, and to reach a cleaner and more secure future of energy. I also would like to thank IICEC’s Board of Directors Members for their support.

I would like to share with you a news about Sabancı University for the first time. We aim to make Sabancı University campus net-zero. We have started to work on it and will announce the results.

“The green transition agenda became more important for evolution and development of international investments”

Delivering a speech at the conference, Ayşem Sargın, Chair of YASED (International Investors Association) said the following: “The most positive development after the pandemic is that the green agenda became more and more important, to such an extent that it impacts evolution of international investments now. The 2021 theme of the global investment report was “a sustainable recovery”, parallel to the COP26 agenda, and pointed to the growing chances for green investments and financing, and highlighted that there were important opportunities ahead. All global actors agree that international cooperation is the key to success in leaving the pandemic behind and fighting climate change. However, it is not only about transition; what we should focus on is to secure a lasting, sustainable transition as inclusively as possible. International investments will play a catalyst role in the green transition.”

“A clear message from Glasgow to the world of energy and investors”

Emphasizing at the IICEC Conference that there was a new trend in global energy markets, Dr. Fatih Birol continued as follows:

“There is a certain trend in energy markets. A new energy system is born.  When you look at the energy market over the last 30 years, 80% of energy came from fossil fuels, coal, gas and oil, but the change has started. The change is continuing rapidly and the speed at which the change will continue depend on the decisions made in Glasgow and further decisions of governments. All the countries in the world adopted the Paris Agreement. In Turkey, the Paris Agreement became a law yesterday, which is a very nice development. Many countries set zero emission targets for 2050 and some others for further years. A clear message was sent from Glasgow to the world of energy and investors. The message is the following: ‘You, investors, if you want to continue to invest in fossil fuels, go ahead, but beware, your investments many be a bit risky’. Whether you believe in climate change or not, whether you like fossil fuels or not, the risk of investing in fossil fuels, particularly coal, is now factored in as a parameter for predictions. I think the most important message from Glasgow to investors in the world was this. 80% of emissions leading to the climate change come from energy, which means that solutions to the climate change must focus on energy sector. What should be done to do this? A great transformation is needed in energy sector. As Güler Hanım put it, G7 leaders COP Presidency requested us to prepare a roadmap. What should the world of energy look like by 2050 so that there can be zero emission? We established a big team, worked with many international organizations and prepared a roadmap. As a matter of fact, unprecedented changes must occur to get to the level of zero emission.

“Three homework for zero emission”

There are three homework: First, we should increase the speed of growth of our current clean energy technologies by three times until 2030, which is very critical for the world. Second, we should make new clean energy technologies, which are currently not operational in the market, but are worked on through R&D, part of energy system through innovation as soon as possible. Third, we should see a major reduction in the current consumption of fossil fuels.

“Turkey has a great solar rooftop potential”

Turkey made a considerable move in solar energy, but still we can only use 3% of our total solar energy potential. There is a huge potential. It is a system applied successfully in many countries and people generate solar energy on their own. Turkey can generate rooftop solar energy in residential units, industrial facilities, building, schools, and can even export such energy.

 “There is no scarcity in gas or oil, what matters is dispatching it to markets”

Currently, we see an upwards pressure on gas prices in Europe, Asia, and America. The price was 5 USD in 2019, and it is 25 USD today. The first reason of it is that the world economy heads to a 6% growth in 2021, which is the biggest economic growth globally over the last 50 years. Unfortunately, this growth is fueled by fossil fuels. We can see an incredible growth in gas, oil and coal. The second reason is the extreme weather conditions in some countries. And the third reason is that many maintenance works that should have been done in production facilities in 2020 could not be done due to COVID, and the facilities came to a halt. But let me say that there is no scarcity in gas or oil. There is enough gas and oil. What matters is dispatching it to markets.”

Recent developments in climate and energy were discussed from the perspective of energy sector and energy companies

Following the speeches, “Business Leaders’ Perspectives” panel started. Moderated by Ahmet Erdem, Shell Turkey Country Chair, Sinan Ak, CEO of Zorlu Energy, Erkan Kafadar, CEO of Borusan Holding, Merve Öztunç, Baker Hughes, TPS Country Leader, Hakan Yıldırım, CEO of Sanko Energy, and Kıvanç Zaimler, Sabancı Holding Energy Group President discussed recent developments in climate and energy from the perspective of energy sector and energy companies.

“Turkey ranks 5^th in Europe and 12^th in the world by installed renewable energy capacity”

Ahmet Erdem, Shell Turkey Country Leader:

“We need to provide more and cleaner energy for continued growth and welfare globally and in our country. In this context, energy transition is very important. This transition can be achieved only if energy policies, energy companies and sectors work together in harmony. Thanks to its steps for energy independence and clean energy future, Turkey ranks 5^th in Europe and 12^th in the world by installed renewable energy capacity. Implementation of necessary regulations and practices is very important to achieve this transition, which is critical for our country to reach its objectives under the Paris Agreement, and to maintain its international competitiveness. For this to happen, we should continue to work together with all the stakeholders.”

“Hydrogen has a growing role in renewable energy”

Sinan Ak, CEO of Zorlu Energy:

“As the world focuses on transition to low carbon energy systems in order to attain the 2050 Paris Agreement objectives, hydrogen has a growing role in renewable energy. Currently on the agenda of Europe, hydrogen has the potential to transform the transportation sector and industries, especially those involved in manufacturing under very high temperatures such as steel, cement, refinery and petrochemicals. In addition to renewable energy, many different technologies such as internet of energy (IoE), Blockchain, artificial intelligence will play an important role to make energy sector more sustainable. Implementation of digital transformation and investments with correct strategies will decrease costs in energy generation, distribution, and consumption, and will secure energy supply. It will help use inert energy, decrease losses and create new micro networks with renewable energy sources, and manage consumption securely with transparent and traceable production data.”

“We aim to be carbon-neutral by 2030”

Erkan Kafadar, CEO of Borusan Holding:

“We do not only focus on energy generation. As a group with production facilities, factories, we take care of the energy that we consume. We monitor energy use in our companies. We aim to follow up scope 1, scope 2, and if possible in the future, scope 3 emissions of goods and services that we produce, take necessary actions and become carbon-neutral by 2030. On the other hand, we believe that wind energy will be one of the key sources of energy to combat the climate change in our country and in the whole world. We are confident that the existing wind potential of our country will be further utilized through investments, and this local, clean and renewable source of energy will be the biggest contributor to Turkey’s sustainable development.”

“We commit to make important steps to mitigate environmental impact”

Merve Öztunç, Baker Hughes, TPS Country Leader:

As Baker Hughes energy technology company, we believe that the climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world and we commit to make important steps to mitigate the environmental impact of energy sector on our planet. We support these steps with our company policies about the climate change and our Paris Climate Agreement Commitment. We commit to decrease our GHG emissions to net zero by 2050, and implement available products and services to help our clients decrease their emissions and invest in new technologies for the future of energy. The essence of our mission is to offer the most efficient solutions today and carry the decarbonization of energy to the future.”

Öztunç also emphasized the empowerment of women roles and increase of women employment in all the sectors, to start with energy, and she thanked IICEC for its awareness about this subject. 

“We are moving to a new, carbon-free economic order”

Hakan Yıldırım, CEO of Sanko Energy:

“Over the last 10 years, the world is on the verge of a ‘new, carbon-free economic order’. This impacts all our lives to the utmost extent. I find it important that companies have an ‘integrated’ approach to carbon. We should always ask ourselves “as a producer, at which points do I cause carbon emission, and how should I eliminate it?”. I believe the performance of energy sector in this sense will also guide other sectors. Green energy investments can grow at full speed and we can manage to make clean energy technologies available to all, and we as the sector can attain our targets if we focus on energy efficiency carefully.”

Transition should be supported with social awareness and realistic targets

Kıvanç Zaimler, Sabancı Holding Energy Group President:

''Energy transition with a focus on sustainability must focus on optimization of fundamental aspects including climate and environment, cost of transition and impact on consumer prices in addition to ensuring security of supply. For the success of energy transition, innovation and new energy technologies will be the most critical elements. Transition should be supported with social awareness and realistic targets.''