Ülker, Turkey's leading food company, carries its waste-free corporate culture, which has been at the center of its business since 1944, into the future with science-based targets and field practices. Achieving concrete results throughout the value chain and significantly reducing carbon emissions by 2025, the company is advancing its goals with renewable energy, resource efficiency, regenerative agriculture, sustainable raw material supply and logistics practices.
THE POWER OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN FIGHTING THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Ülker CEO Özgür Kölükfakı stated that Turkey's hosting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference - COP31 emphasizes the importance of common responsibilities and concrete practices in the fight against climate change, and said: "As the world's climate focus turns to Turkey with COP31, we are aware of our responsibility as a global company born from these lands. The key to the solution in the fight against the global climate crisis is to protect local values by exceeding promises and carry our country's agricultural production power to the future. Our waste-free company culture "We combine this with our 2050 Net Zero vision and support the transformation in our value chain with our farmers and business partners. While sharing our long-term goals, we attach importance to taking the steps that will make these goals possible."
CARBON EMISSIONS AND RESOURCE USE ARE REDUCED
By using I-REC certified 100 percent renewable electricity in its end product and raw material factories in Turkey in 2025, Ülker zeroed out Scope 2 emissions resulting from electricity consumption and prevented 97 thousand 193 tons of carbon emissions. With its energy and water efficiency projects, it saved 12 thousand 11 megawatt hours of energy, equivalent to the total annual energy use of approximately 634 houses, and 26 thousand 759 cubic meters of water, equivalent to 53.5 million half-liter bottled water.
With its waste-free company culture, Ülker reduces the use of plastic in packaging by 96 tons and the use of paper by 25.2 tons, and carries out material transformations that increase recyclability in order to reduce the environmental impacts caused by packaging in the products it offers to its consumers. By expanding the use of uniform raw materials in packaging, it reduces plastic use and strengthens compliance with recycling processes. As a result of these studies, Ülker has moved away from composite structures in all plastic packaging.
PRODUCTIVITY INCREASES WITH RESTORATIVE AGRICULTURE
The Regenerative Agriculture Project carried out by Ülker in wheat production was continued in 2025 with 101 farmers on an area of 6 thousand 860 decares. In the project, which combines soil analyses, satellite images and sensor data with farmers' knowledge and experience, productivity in dry farming areas increased by 22 percent compared to the previous season, and fertilizer-related carbon emissions decreased by 10 percent, with regenerative agriculture practices such as cover and hedge crops, reduced processing, fertilizer and irrigation optimization. While productivity in irrigated areas increased by 21 percent, energy emissions from irrigation decreased by 32 percent.
Within the scope of the project, rainwater harvesting systems, drip irrigation systems and orchards were established in four schools with the Rain to Harvest social responsibility project carried out in Kırıkkale. The study, which involves students in production, aims to practically develop water efficiency, sustainable agriculture and environmental awareness.
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION IN HAZELNUT AND COCOA
With the More Than Hazelnut Project launched in 2023, Ülker provided training and field support to 200 farmers, 100 of whom were women, on soil analysis, fertilization, pruning and pest control in 2025. He released 9 thousand samurai bees into nature for biological control. The project reached 350 farmers, 175 of whom are women, and 4 thousand 356 decares in 2026. The company has road maps that will take this figure even higher. Ülker continues to work with its producers to protect the fertility of the soil by popularizing modern and efficient agriculture and to support Turkey to maintain its leadership in hazelnut production.
The More Than Cocoa project, which Ülker has been continuing since 2020, is being implemented by establishing a direct bond with farmers and cooperatives through its group subsidiary in Ivory Coast, Ivory Cocoa Industry, Earthworm Foundation and the cocoa processing facility in Topkapı. Within the scope of the project, the agroforestry pilot project was expanded to two cooperatives in 2025. In the DAKUA cooperative, 387 hectares belonging to 196 farmers were mapped and 16 thousand 266 forests and fruit trees were planted in six different regions. The project, which supports the cultivation of cocoa trees together with different tree species, aims to protect the soil, improve biodiversity and improve the living conditions of farmer families.
BALANCED NUTRITIONAL GOALS IN PRODUCTS
Ülker develops its existing and new products in line with consumer expectations and the rising trend of holistic well-being and balanced life. Within the scope of Pladis' global nutrition model, it aims to reduce sugar, salt and saturated fat in its products, increase fiber and protein, and reduce 50 tons of salt, 1,000 tons of fat and 3,000 tons of sugar in all product categories by 2030.
RESOURCE EFFICIENCY WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
Ülker positions artificial intelligence and digital technologies as an effective tool in achieving environmental, social, governance (ESG) goals; It benefits from these in the areas of environmental efficiency, risk management, reporting processes and supply chain management. It uses digital solutions in many areas, from production to logistics, from agriculture to quality management, in order to increase resource efficiency, reduce environmental impacts, manage risks more effectively and strengthen decision-making processes.
With the artificial intelligence solutions implemented during the year, annual savings of over 200 million TL were achieved in factories in Turkey. By monitoring machine data instantly in production, possible malfunctions are detected in advance, energy consumption is managed more effectively and quality control is improved.
Ülker, which has reduced logistics-related carbon emissions by up to 70 percent since 2014 with artificial intelligence-supported route optimization, saved 100 million TL in 2025 and reduced logistics costs by 4 percent compared to the previous year. In the field of agriculture, soil needs, plant development and irrigation timing are monitored more precisely by using satellite images, sensors and digital analysis tools. Thus, while contributing to the more efficient use of water, fertilizer and other agricultural inputs, sustainable production practices are also supported.
Ülker's sustainability efforts are appreciated in independent evaluations. It became the category leader for the third time in a row, receiving the highest score among 427 food companies worldwide in the evaluation of LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group). It continued to be included in S&P Global's The Sustainability Yearbook list and succeeded in being the only Turkish company among 26 companies in the food products category. In addition to the Borsa Istanbul Sustainability Index, where it has been included since 2015, Ülker also entered the BIST Sustainability 25 index in 2025.
ÜLKER IS MOVING FORWARD TO ITS 2030 INTERIM GOALS
In line with its commitments in line with the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), Ülker aims to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42 percent, Scope 3 emissions by 30 percent, and FLAG emissions associated with agriculture and land use by 30.3 percent compared to 2023, by 2030. Moving regenerative agriculture practices to 10 thousand decares with contracted wheat producers is also among the 2030 targets.
The company also aims to provide all electricity in its factories and warehouses from renewable sources, reduce water use per unit production by 45 percent compared to 2014, and reduce net raw material losses from production to below 0.5 percent. It supports local production and the resilience of the supply chain, with the aim of increasing the use of domestic agricultural raw materials, excluding cocoa and vegetable oil, to 90 percent.
