We need to take action today for the sake of tomorrow's water

To effectively manage the increasingly greater water risks associated with climate change, it is important to take a coordinated approach to increasing water-use efficiency through recycling and recovery. The Koç Group as a whole aims to recover used or discharged water, to reduce water resource stress through source diversification, and to treat effluents.

Joining forces with global leaders through the partnerships it enters into and leveraging technology to use water more efficiently, the success of the Koç Group’s water management practices is acknowledged on international platforms. As both a supporter of the Global Compact CEO Water Mandate and a member of the World Economic Forum Water Futures Community, Koç Holding holds an A- rating in the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Water Security Program. Two other Koç Group companies that disclose their water performance to the program are Yapı Kredi, which is a water leader with an A- rating, and Beko, which has been included in the program’s Global A List.

Water management targets & practices at Koç Group companies

• Europe’s leading home appliances manufacturer Beko is aiming to achieve a base-year 2024 25% reduction in the average amount of water the company uses per output product unit by 2040. Beko plans to recover and reuse 163 thousand m³ of water annually by deploying a newly-commissioned effluents treatment system at its Bolu Cooking Appliances Plant. Beko is a supporter both of the Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, an alliance of shareholders seeking sustainable water management solutions, and of Forward Faster, an initiative whose objectives include having a positive impact on watersheds. Thanks to its water efficiency, wastewater recovery, and rainwater harvesting projects, Beko has conserved 887 thousand m³ of water in just the last four years. Beko also develops home appliances that leverage cutting-edge technology and innovation to reduce water consumption. For example, Beko-branded dishwashers equipped with the company’s SaveWater technology use 2.6 liters less water per load on their Eco cycle than do Beko-branded dishwashers of the same energy class and capacity that don’t have SaveWater built in.

• Using water efficiently and managing water-use effectively in the conduct of its operations, the Koç Group’s energy-sector subsidiary Entek formulates water management strategies so as to be compatible with its climate-change risks and opportunities. In this process, the company’s fundamental concerns are continuously reducing the amounts of water it takes in, increasing the ratio of recycled water used to total water used, and reusing water as much as possible. Entek achieves a better than 94% rate of water recovery through its reuse of greywater. By using artificial intelligence in the conduct of its hydrology project, it can accurately predict the volume of water flowing through dams with up to 90% accuracy and moreover performs these calculations approximately 96% faster than using traditional manual methods.

• For Koç Group company Ford Otosan, developing innovative strategies which use water optimally, protect water resources, and contribute towards ecosystem continuity are high priorities. The company regularly reviews and assesses the environmental impact of its water use, manages its water risks, and aims to improve water-use efficiently in all of its processes. Projects currently underway at the company’s Gölcük, Yeniköy, and Eskişehir factories are aiming to reduce the current average amount of freshwater used per vehicle manufactured by 40% by 2030.

• Koç Holding subsidiary Otokar develops projects focused on using water more efficiently. In 2024 the company commissioned a newly-installed water recovery system at its plant. Otokar contributes towards water circularity by harvesting rainwater and by recovering process water used in its cathodic electrocoating (cataphoretic) operations as deionized pure water.

• Continuing to focus on deploying both innovative and digital technologies to conserve and recover water while producing energy for the future, petroleum-refiner Tüpraş conducts its operations with a mindfulness for conserving natural resources, recycling wherever possible, reusing wastewater, and protecting biodiversity. 73% of the water which the company used in 2024 consisted of recovered greywater. Tüpraş is the first Turkish Industrial Company to become a member of the Water Europe platform, the leading stakeholder organization in the European water market.

• Koç Group company TürkTraktör is Turkey’s leading manufacturer of farm tractors and other agricultural equipment. TürkTraktör regards the digitalization of agricultural processes and practices as much as possible to be vitally important to supporting farmers’ efforts to increase the value which they create. A mobile app which the company rolled out in 2019 for this purpose currently has more than 175 thousand users. Dubbed “Tarlam Cepte”, the app provides farmers with targeted weather forecasts where their fields are located and can even help support decision-making by using AI and machine learning to interpret downloaded satellite images. Other modules that support sustainable agriculture include a plant cover hydration map that conserves water by analyzing water stress so that farmers can make informed decisions about crop irrigation.

• The rainwater recovery capacity of the rainwater harvesting systems installed at the Yapı Kredi’s Darıca Arşiv, Banking Base and Yeniköy Koru facilities was increased by 51% between 2022 and 2024.

• As the author of major sustainability-focused initiatives in the leasing industry, Yapı Kredi Bank’s leasing subsidiary Yapı Kredi Leasing is one of the world’s leading suppliers of water-conservation project financing. The company recently secured a three-year USD 120 million International Finance Corporation loan to provide financing for energy-efficiency and water conservation projects.