TSKB Responsible Corporate Communications Policy
A. PURPOSE
This policy sets forth the principles governing the strategies of Türkiye Sınai Kalkınma Bankası A.Ş. (TSKB) in relation to its internal and external practices considering sustainability and responsible banking approach in its brand and marketing communications activities.
B. SCOPE
Continuing its efforts with a view to offering efficient banking and advisory solutions for a climate-friendly and inclusive production economy that will help the country's growth in a sustainable planet in parallel to sustainability principles, TSKB aims to ensure contribution to development in a positive impact-oriented manner with its brand and marketing communications activities. TSKB manages environmental and social impacts and related risks and opportunities while carrying out these activities. It takes responsibility to make sure that its target groups adopt sustainability principles as part of its brand and marketing communications and social responsibility projects it launches. Important focus areas include collaborations and common goals in terms of sustainable development, UN Sustainability Development Goals, climate risks, Net Zero Emission targets and responsible banking principles, as well as sustainability-oriented synergy with its subsidiaries This policy aims to ensure that efficient activities and projectsare carried out at the bank in relation to responsible brand and marketing communications, raise awareness on the issue across the sector and among the stakeholders, and enhance national and international commitments.
C. PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES
1. TSKB carries out all its brand and marketing communications activities in line with the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact, UNEP FI Responsible Banking Principles and UN Sustainable Development Goals ("SDG") with a view to making sure that the country achieves a high-quality and consistent economic, environmental and socio-cultural development.
2. It carries out its brand and marketing communications activities with the focus on sustainable and inclusive development.
3. It provides its stakeholders with measurable, objective, accurate, consistent and transparent information.
4. It aims to ensure strict compliance with principles related to human rights, labor rights, social justice, gender equality and diversity.
5. Creating common values in cooperation with stakeholders, raising awareness on sustainable future, being sensitive towards nature and biodiversity, producing solutions for our common future, and focusing on producing tangible value and on positive impact are among the core values of the Bank.
6. It ensures full compliance with corporate governance principles, laws and principles of privacy.
7. It is the first bank in Turkey that has achieved zero Scope-1 emissions by means of managing the environmental impact of the Bank's internal operations, and takes its steps towards the future assuming responsibility for reducing the emissions produced by its funded activities. It takes actions aiming to reduce environmental footprint of its brand and marketing communications activities within this framework. It considers the environmental impact as it conducts its procurement processes. It gives priority to the usage of recyclable or recycled materials in its activities.
8. In parallel to the Bank's principal strategies it adopts ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria while making all its decisions related to brand and marketing communications.
9. As a responsible corporate citizen, it produces concrete and measurable value with the social responsibility projects focused on environment, climate change, cultural development, employment of women, high-quality training, gender equality and equal opportunities.
10. It does not make any discrimination on the basis of gender, age, seniority, physical and mental disability, language, religion, race and ethical origin while determining its communications language .
11. It excludes investment projects for sectors harming environment, biodiversity and human health, infringing human rights and security, threatening global peace and encouraging dependency as well as harming environmental structure and cultural heritage.
12. It provides its employees with training and development programs designed to be customer-, value- and solution-oriented, and assumes responsibility to increase its employees' capacity in terms of sustainability and social impact.
13. It strives to expand awareness on sustainability in its sector and the production environment, and to increase concrete solutions and create new role models.
14. It supports its C-Level executives for spokespersonships and advocacy efforts in the field of sustainability and inclusion.
15. It determines the target audience of brand and marketing communications activities with a vision to support the country's sustainable and inclusive development.
16. It does not provide its stakeholders with false and misleading information within the scope of its internal and external communications activities.
17. It takes corrective actions instantly about the misleading news spread about the brand outside its will.
18. It creates communications plans with a view to ensuring business continuity against potential crisis scenarios, fulfilling responsibilities towards stakeholders, protecting brand reputation and informing the public efficiently.
19. It gives importance to gathering feedback from its customers and business partners, and carries out stakeholder analyses to this end. It manages the using structured systems and include them in the corporate memory.
20. It does not participate in reward programs, sponsorships and conferences that do not consider environmental and social impact or that are not reputable and transparent.
21. It does not give advertisements to media channels that convey extreme content involving violence or discrimination.
22. It does not use messages or visuals related to concepts harming society, environment and humanity.
23. It does not engage in "greenwashing" as part of its brand and marketing communications activities.
Greenwashing is the term used to describe marketing communications and advertisement campaigns aiming to create a false perception that a particular service, product or brand is environmentally-responsible, sustainable, non-hazardous and beneficial for the nature.
24. It promises positive impact through the commitments it has signed, associations and initiatives in which it is involved, and the policies it publishes; creates synergy in collaboration with its subsidiaries, and increases its impact by means of exchanging its experience with other institutions.
25. It provides its stakeholders with transparent information on its website and reports in relation to its goals, results and the steps it will take to improve its sustainability performance.
D. EFFECTIVE DATE
This policy goes into effect as of the date on which it is approved by the Board of Directors.
