‘Yılmaz’ means ‘dauntless’. ‘Argüden’ means ‘honorable’, ‘guide for integrity’ and is pronounced as ‘argue then’, as in the phrase “if you don’t agree, argue then.”
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Stratejist, Yönetim Kurullarının Doktoru Strategist, Governance Guru

Aligning Incentives
With the World We Want

7 Leading banks that are signatories of UN Global Compact have signed the Declaration on Sustainable Finance. The declaration was initiated under the leadership of the Global Compact Türkiye during the chairmanship of Dr. Argüden who also served on the Board of UN Global Compact representing over 100 countries. It aims to integrate the evaluation of both environmental and social risks with the credit evaluation processes of the signatory banks.

Leading financial institutions across the world have begun to implement the sustainability criteria into all of their corporate activities and customer services, and thus creating long term value for the benefit of the business community and the society. On the other hand, initiatives based on voluntary cooperation such as Banking Environment Initiative, Equator Principles, and Principles for Responsible Investment are shaping the global agenda of sustainable development.

In accordance with the strategy of “creating a multiplier effect by leveraging natural stakeholders”, Global Compact Türkiye believes that the integration of the sustainability criteria into the credit evaluation processes of the financial institutions can play a crucial role in spreading the concept of sustainability across the society. The “Declaration on Sustainable Finance” prepared with this spirit is an important step forward that will improve current practices of the financial sector in Türkiye and mobilize all stakeholders in order to build a sustainable future.

With this declaration signed by Akbank, Garanti Bankası, ING Bank, İş Bankası, Şekerbank, Yapı Kredi and TSKB, we invite all the banks to participate in this transformation.

This ground-breaking declaration was launched at the V. Forum on Sustainable Finance, on September 29, 2017. Jointly organized by SKD Türkiye, UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and Global Compact Türkiye, the Forum was graced with the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Mehmet Şimşek who has made a call to all other banks to join this initiative. This year, the central theme of the Forum on Sustainable Finance was “The Fight Against Climate Change and the Financial Sector”.

Please find the text of the Declaration at the following link: Global Compact Türkiye Sustainable Finance CEO Letter