ISTANBUL, Nov. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Arçelik has been named the "Industry Leader" in the Durable Home Appliances category for the second year in a row in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which evaluates the sustainability performance of the world's largest companies. It is also the fourth consecutive year that Arçelik is the only Turkish Industrial company to be listed in the DJSI Emerging Markets Category.

Arcelik Dow Jones Sustainability Indices 2020

Arcelik CEO Hakan Bulgurlu

Arcelik production site

Sustainability is one of Arçelik's top priorities and the company's ethos is "Respecting the World, Respected Worldwide". Evaluating the company's place in the index, Arçelik CEO Hakan Bulgurlu said, "Being selected as the Industry Leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which represents the gold standard in corporate sustainability, is an important achievement that demonstrates we are on the right track. We are proud of this success we have achieved together with all our employees. We have set an exemplary standard for the companies in our industry to follow. We have become carbon neutral in 2019 and 2020 global production thanks to the "Energy Efficient Refrigerators Carbon Credit Finance Project" in Turkey. Within the scope of the project, at Arçelik, we obtained the right to 305.407 tonnes of VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) carbon credits which have been used to offset our 2019 and 2020 global direct and indirect (Scope 1 and 2) GHG emissions. We plan to invest an additional $50 million in renewable energy and energy efficiency for the future of our planet in the coming years. Together with our brands we will continue to design environmentally friendly products, continue our efforts on energy and water efficient production and implement social projects across the globe, helping combat food waste and encourage healthy living. We are expanding our goals by implementing our sustainability initiatives not only in the environmental field, but also in the social and governance spheres. We will continue to contribute to the protection of our planet and encourage others to live a more sustainable lifestyle."

Arçelik, which continues to commission pioneering studies into combating climate change, published its 2030 objectives in its 12th Sustainability Report and declared that they will establish a 15 MW renewable energy system in its own production facilities by 2030. Arçelik, which used 100% green electricity in 2019 for its Turkey and Romania operations, aims to use 100% green electricity in all global production facilities by 2030. Besides, Arcelik aims to decrease the energy consumption used to produce each product by 45% by 2030 (compared to 2015 baseline in South Africa, Russia, Turkey, Romania, China, Thailand and Pakistan plants).

Arçelik, Turkey's first and only industrial company which owns two WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Recycling Facilities, achieved 315 GWh energy savings and 6.4 million tons of water savings by replacing old high energy and water consuming products with energy and water efficient products regardless of the brand since 2014. The old products collected from the market are being sent to Arçelik WEEE Recycling Facilities where they are recycled. The saving generated is equivalent to nearly 39 million households' daily electricity consumption and 7.9 million households daily water consumption. By recycling these waste products, we have prevented approximately 155,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

Notes to editors

Arçelik has featured in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) since 2017. The DJSI evaluates company's performance in various areas that cover all aspects of sustainability, such as management, financing, supply chain, transparency, human rights and combating climate change. Created by S&P Dow Jones Indices and RobecoSAM, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index selects the most sustainable companies from 61 industries and serves as a reference point for investors who integrate sustainability issues into their portfolios.

About Arçelik

With over 30,000 employees throughout the world, 12 brands (Arçelik, Beko, Grundig, Blomberg, ElektraBregenz, Arctic, Leisure, Flavel, Defy, Altus, Dawlance, Voltas Beko), sales and marketing offices in 34 countries, and 22 production facilities in 8 countries, Arçelik offers products and services in nearly 150 countries. As Europe's second largest white goods company according to market share ranking based on quantity, Arçelik reached a consolidated turnover of 5 billion Euros in 2019. With almost 70% of its profits coming from the international markets, Arçelik is the R&D leader in Turkey – holding more than 3,000 international patent applications to date with the efforts of 1,600 researchers in 15 R&D and Design Centers in Turkey and R&D Offices across five countries.

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References

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