Sustainability Cooperation Protocol was Signed Between Zero Waste Foundation and THY

The protocol for the ceremony held at the foundation's building in Kandilli was signed by Zero Waste Foundation President and COP31 High Level Climate Champion Samed Ağırbaş and THY General Manager Ahmet Ollamış.

In his speech here, Ağırbaş stated that THY was the first company with which they signed a cooperation agreement and that they were excited for this reason.

Stating that they have signed an important cooperation that brings together Türkiye's environment and climate vision with a strong global brand, Ağırbaş said, "The Zero Waste Movement, which was initiated by First Lady Erdoğan in 2017, has today turned into a global movement that finds response in 81 provinces of Türkiye and 193 countries of the world. In this context, we want a society that reduces waste and protects its resources, and in this context, we are working for a more livable, more fair world together with many international organizations, especially the United Nations." he said.

Ağırbaş stated that the vision of "The World is Our Common Home" put forward by First Lady Erdoğan puts the protection of resources, reducing waste and leaving a more livable world to future generations as one of the basic responsibilities of not only environmental policies but also the common future, and said, "Today, we are taking this vision to a further point with the strong climate perspective put forward by our Minister Murat Kurum during Türkiye's COP31 Presidency. COP31 is not only a meeting where negotiation tables are set up, but also where action is seen, where the facts on the field are seen." "As the COP31 High Level Climate Champion, I continue to work to build a meeting where the realities of the field are discussed. At this point, this cooperation with THY is extremely valuable." he said.

Stating that THY is one of Türkiye's strongest and proudest global brand ambassadors in the international arena, Ağırbaş continued as follows:

"This great brand, which connects different geographies of the world, has a significant potential in carrying the concept of sustainability on a global scale. We believe that when the Zero Waste Foundation's knowledge in the field of sustainability and circular economy comes together with THY's global reach and experience in the aviation industry, a model that can be an example of sectoral transformation can emerge, not just a corporate collaboration. In this context, we can focus on reducing waste and bringing it back into the economy, preventing food waste, resource efficiency, reducing carbon footprint, passenger awareness, sustainable aviation." "We will carry out joint studies in a wide range of areas, from aviation to aviation. We believe that the work we will carry out with THY will contribute to Türkiye's vision for the future of sustainable aviation. Because success in the world of the future will be measured not only by how fast we act, but also by how smartly, efficiently and responsibly we use our resources."

Stating that the signature they signed today has an important meaning in terms of disseminating the transformation that Türkiye has created within its borders on a global scale, Ağırbaş said, "We are bringing together Türkiye's Zero Waste vision with the power of THY that reaches all over the world. For this reason, we see this protocol as a sustainability bridge extending from the sky to the world. I believe that this partnership will reveal Türkiye's vision in the field of environment and climate, as well as what value Turkish brands can produce on a global scale."

"We continue to work towards our 2050 carbon neutral airline commitment"

THY General Manager Ahmet Olmuş said that they are very pleased that the Conference of the Parties (COP31), the highest decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, will be held in Antalya, hosted by Türkiye, for the first time on 9-20 November 2026, and that they, as THY, are happy to be a part of COP31.

Stating that they will jointly organize the "Global Sustainability Aviation Forum" on the Energy and Transport Day at COP31 within the scope of their partnership with the Zero Waste Foundation, Ollamış said, "The forum we will organize during this period, when COP31 will bring together the stakeholders of the global climate agenda in Türkiye, will offer a dialogue platform to discuss the decarbonization process of aviation and its role in sustainable economic development at a high level. With the protocol we will sign today with the Zero Waste Foundation, we will discuss zero waste, sustainability, circular economy, resource efficiency, carbon footprint." "We will carry out new work together in the fields of reducing footprint, sustainable aviation and combating climate change."

Olmuş stated that the signed protocol directly overlaps with the practices they currently carry out in the areas of carbon footprint reduction, operational and resource efficiency, sustainable aviation fuels, waste management, food waste reduction and circular economy, and said:

"We continue to work towards our 2050 carbon neutral airline commitment, in line with our country's 2053 net zero target. We increase our fuel efficiency by reducing emissions with our new generation aircraft and operational improvements. We use sustainable aviation fuel in our flights. While we see SAF as one of the important elements of emission reduction, we aim to contribute to the development of the SAF ecosystem in our country by supporting domestic production projects. We carry out studies to reduce the environmental impact in our in-flight products. We prefer sustainable materials, single-use plastics We offer our passengers the option of flights without meals to prevent food waste, and we continue to carry out our renewable energy studies at our facilities. We have increased the rate of renewable energy we use throughout our campuses to 18.5 percent with the solar power plants we have installed on the roofs of our buildings. On this occasion, we would like to thank First Lady Emine Erdoğan, who put forward this initiative, and our Zero Waste President, Samed Ağırbaş, with whom we will sign the protocol here today. "I thank you very much and I hope that the protocol will be beneficial."

The ceremony ended with signing autographs and taking a family photo.