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A new white paper titled Türkiye Corporate Environmental Outlook: From Disclosure to Delivery, prepared by the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum, has been released.
The white paper will be officially launched on 11 November 2026 at the Türkiye Pavilion in the COP31 Blue Zone. The launch will feature the study's key findings and its assessment of the environmental performance of the business sector in Türkiye.
The white paper is authored by Ozan Duygulu, Director of the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum, and Mirhan Köroğlu Göğüş, Country Manager of CDP Türkiye at the Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum.
The study draws primarily on two key publications: CDP Türkiye's CDP Türkiye 2025 Climate and Nature Report, published in May 2026, and the UN Global Compact Türkiye's 2025 Communication on Progress Analysis, published in 2026. It also incorporates relevant policy and regulatory developments, including the COP31 Presidency Action Agenda, Türkiye Sustainability Reporting Standards (TSRS), Türkiye's Climate Law, and the regulations establishing the national Emissions Trading System and Green Taxonomy.
Bringing together findings from these two complementary reports, the white paper examines corporate progress and remaining challenges across climate action, water security, biodiversity, forests, circularity, climate adaptation and environmental risk management. It also explores how companies translate environmental commitments into investment and operational decisions, the extent of value-chain engagement, and the differences in environmental management capacity between large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
One of the study's central findings is that while corporate environmental policies, governance structures and emissions measurement have advanced considerably among participating companies in Türkiye, implementation remains uneven. Significant gaps persist in independently validated targets, transition planning, value-chain engagement and the management of physical climate and nature-related risks. Water management emerges as a particularly strong area for Turkish companies compared with their European and global counterparts.
The white paper highlights that the next phase of corporate environmental action requires moving beyond commitments and reporting towards measurable implementation. It identifies key priorities for businesses, including integrating environmental data into investment and risk management decisions, strengthening climate transition and adaptation plans, improving location-specific water and nature risk assessments, and providing greater support for suppliers and SMEs.
With COP31 providing an important platform for advancing climate and nature action, Türkiye Corporate Environmental Outlook: From Disclosure to Delivery contributes to discussions on how Türkiye's growing corporate environmental management capacity can translate into tangible outcomes, stronger business resilience and more effective action across value chains.