ASSESSMENT
SECTOR
Glass and Glass-Based Chemical Manufacturing (Global Industry)
WEBSITE
CERTIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS
TS EN ISO 9001 – Quality Management System Standard
TS ISO 45001 – Occupational Health and Safety Management System
TS EN ISO 14001 – Environmental Management Standard
TS EN ISO 50001 – Energy Management System Standard
ISO/IEC 27001 – Information Security Standard Compliance (for Investment and Data Systems)
SOURCE MATERIAL
Şişecam 2024 TSRS-Aligned Sustainability Report
ŞİŞECAM'S TRACK RECORD
One of the industrial symbols of the Republic, Şişecam is now a giant operating at a global scale in glass and chemicals across 14 countries. When a player of this size is involved, a “sustainability strategy” is not merely an internal company choice; it becomes a force that affects the entire value chain. So how concretely does Şişecam put its sustainability claims into practice?
Şişecam brings its sustainability strategy together under the “CareforNext” banner. This framework is built around:
“Protect the Planet,” “Empower Society,” and “Transform Life.” The strategy is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and includes a set of targets extending to 2030. It provides a substantial corporate framework in an area that remains at the level of “good intentions” for many brands in Türkiye.
However, the language of this framework is dense, technical, and highly “corporate.” As seen in reports aligned with TSRS (Türkiye Sustainability Reporting Standards), the narrative is shaped mainly around compliance, governance structures, and risk categories; the answer to “What changes in the lives of employees, cities, and consumers as a result of this transformation?” remains more in the background.
ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE: FROM CULLET TO CLIMATE TARGETS
Şişecam is a leading player in glass recycling in Türkiye. Since 2011, it has operated a system that reduces both raw material use and energy consumption through the collection of 2.2 million tonnes of glass waste. It has previously shared with the public how projects such as “Glass is Glass Again” have kept millions of bottles out of landfills. This places Şişecam in a genuinely strong position in the area of the “circular economy.”
It is also notable that Şişecam reports the distinction between internal and external cullet in detail. According to its 2024 TSRS report, Şişecam appears to have sourced a significant share of the raw material used in glass production from circular materials, using 1,115,812 tonnes of internal cullet and 331,228 tonnes of external cullet. This provides a particularly strong data set under the GRI 301-1 standard.
CLIMATE AND ENERGY: THE 2030–2050 PATH
Şişecam sets ambitious climate targets on paper: under the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) framework, it aims to “halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030” and reach net zero by 2050. The report also states that, as of 2023, it allocated 63.5% of its R&D spending to sustainability-focused projects and spent a total of TRY 275 million on R&D.
In the same year, it allocated approximately TRY 387 million to environmental spending, increased its installed renewable energy capacity to “10 MWp,” and reported energy consumption in line with SASB standards.
WATER MANAGEMENT
One environmental indicator that stands out in Şişecam's 2024 report is “water withdrawal.” The group withdrew a total of “53,602,391 m³” of water. This water is sourced from municipal supplies, groundwater, and surface water, and is categorized according to the GRI 303-3 standard.
The reported 25% reduction in water consumption per unit of production compared with 2020 also points to notable progress in resource efficiency.
However, despite the strength of its water-management data, the report does not provide context such as the “impact of this consumption on cities,” what it means for regions under high water stress, or how water-recovery performance has developed.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Şişecam classifies waste generated in its operations under “Scope 3 – Category 5” within TSRS. Emissions from the disposal of all waste and wastewater are calculated using the DEFRA 2024 data set. Emissions from transporting waste to disposal facilities are also modeled using the “tonne × km” functional unit, so waste is treated not only as a “quantity” but also as a “climate impact.”
Although this methodological transparency is a strength, the following gaps remain apparent in waste management:
· The year-on-year reduction trend in waste from production processes has not been presented.
· No stories are shared about waste being turned into social or economic value.
· The circular-economy narrative is strong, but the question “Who are we transforming what for?” remains unanswered.
TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING:
Positive aspects:
· Şişecam publishes sustainability reports regularly and makes its policies and statements accessible on its website.
· Its TSRS-aligned reporting responds to the expectations of financial markets and regulators.
· It also draws on the GRI 2021 Universal Standards and SASB industry guides, making its metrics internationally comparable.
Critical aspects:
The report's language is inaccessible to non-specialist readers; it is dense with charts and metrics, while context and explanations of “why it matters” are limited.
ŞİŞECAM'S SUSTAINABILITY SCORE IN OUR VIEW: (4 / 5)
Unlike many corporate brands in Türkiye, Şişecam does not treat sustainability as a “side page”; for years, it has been building systems, investing, and monitoring performance to embed it in the core of its operating model. The clear segmentation of its CareforNext strategy, its disclosure that more than 1.4 million tonnes of circular material were used to return cullet to production, its data-based process management that reduced water consumption per unit of production by 25%, and its alignment of climate targets with international scientific frameworks such as SBTi show that the company bases its sustainability claims not only on narrative but also on measurable and reportable evidence. Given its sector-wide scale of impact, this approach represents a rare example of corporate commitment in Türkiye.
Even so:
The company's communications about social impact have not yet achieved the same visibility as its environmental metrics. Reporting is primarily financial and methodological, which limits its ability to connect with a wider audience. The data is presented systematically, but accessible impact narratives explaining what it means for the lives of people in cities, employees, and consumers have not yet been sufficiently developed.
Şişecam is strongly positioned as an ambitious climate investor, a producer that turns waste figures into opportunity, a follower of efficiency in water management, and a long-term, persistent builder of sustainability systems. Its environmental performance and strategic governance capacity already make it one of Türkiye's most consistent sustainability players. Once its social narrative grows stronger, this impact will clearly leave an even brighter mark.