Turk Hava Yollari (Turkish Airlines)

Turkish Airlines’ target to reduce emissions by 50% by 2050 compared to 2005 lacks ambition compared to the sector’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050. Furthermore, the company lacks interim targets that can hold management to account for necessary short-, medium- and long-term actions needed to reduce emissions. Turkish Airlines risks significantly exceeding its 1.5°C pathway if it does not update its targets to meet the International Transport Forum (ITF) recommendation for transport companies to reach net zero by 2050.

Turkish Airlines has committed to introducing biofuel in its energy mix from 2022 onwards. It has also invested in research and development (R&D) to source microalgae-based fuel. However, this business model is in the early stages and the company reports no growth plans or financial details. To improve its credibility and substantiate the development of its business model, the company should report information on the profitability, current size, growth potential and deployment schedule.

Turkish Airlines remains a member of some associations, such as the IATA (International Air Travel Association), that are reported to have opposed climate policies. IATA has actively opposed numerous measures to decarbonise aviation. The company can increase its credibility by setting a clear position on climate policy and by implementing processes to withdraw from trade associations that oppose positive climate policies.

Turkish Airlines has developed a low-carbon transition plan until 2025. However, the company did not conduct climate scenario analysis to inform its transition plan and ensure the plan’s ambition is sufficient for a 1.5°C pathway. Turkish Airlines can go further and improve the likelihood of a successful low-carbon transition by ensuring that there is board-level oversight of climate-related issues and that board members have climate expertise. Furthermore, it can align its incentives for executives with its decarbonisation commitments.

Turkish Airlines has set a target to reduce its scope 1 absolute emissions by 50% by 2050 compared to 2005. It also aims to reduce the fuel consumed per tonne-kilometre by 5% until 2025 compared to 2016. However, the company’s target lacks ambition and is far below the sector-wide net zero by 2050 commitment.

Turkish Airlines aims to have the most modern fleet in the European Union and reduce its passenger fuel consumption per seat by 13% by 2023. The company has also committed to introducing biofuel in its energy mix from 2022 and has made R&D investments to achieve the goal.

Turkish Airlines has made investments to modernise 17% of its fleet. It has also invested in R&D into microalgae-based fuel and has introduced it in its fuel mix in 2022. However, the company does not disclose what proportion of its R&D expenditure is dedicated to low-carbon technologies.

The company’s reported scope 1 emissions intensity decreased by approximately 2.3% annually from 2015 to 2019. This is not aligned with the company’s 1.5°C pathway that requires an annual decrease of 3.8%.

Turkish Airlines does not have a clear low-carbon transition plan in place. The company does not disclose planned investments or decarbonisation actions beyond 2025. Moreover, there is no evidence that it has conducted scenario analysis to evaluate risks and inform its transition plan.

No evidence was found of the company’s commitment to social dialogue or of the categories of stakeholders the company engages with on a just transition. Furthermore, no evidence was found to demonstrate the company’s ongoing social dialogue and meaningful engagement with affected stakeholders.

No evidence was found of the company undertaking low-carbon transition planning to mitigate the social impacts of the transition on workers, affected stakeholders and its business relationships. Additionally, no evidence was found to demonstrate the company’s engagement in social dialogue or engagement with stakeholders in its just transition planning.

No public commitment by the company was found stating its intention to create and support access to green and decent jobs as part of the low-carbon transition. Moreover, no evidence was found of the company’s action to promote these jobs in a way that ensures gender balance and inclusion of vulnerable groups. Additionally, no relevant disclosure was found of the company’s assessment of employment dislocation risks.

The company discloses the actions it takes to provide training and education opportunities for workers and affected stakeholders. For instance, it offers certificate programmes to employees in subjects such as marketing, finance and technology. Additionally, it offers part-time work and study opportunities for undergraduate students through its AIRSTARTER programme. However, no relevant disclosure was found of the company embedding equality of opportunity for women and vulnerable groups in these actions. Furthermore, no evidence was found of the company having a process for identifying skills gaps for workers and affected stakeholders or a public commitment to help workers displaced by the transition to reskill or upskill.

No relevant disclosure was found to show if the company identifies impacts of the low-carbon transition on social protection for workers and affected stakeholders, nor how it contributes to social protection. Additionally, no evidence was found that the company expects its business relationships to contribute to the social protection of their workers and affected stakeholders.

No relevant disclosure was found to show how the company identifies any misalignment of its lobbying activities with policies and regulations that support the just transition, nor of the measures it takes to address misalignment. Furthermore, no evidence was found that the company lobbies for policies and regulations for green and decent job creation; retention, education and reskilling; and social protection for workers.

The company commits to respecting human rights and the ILO fundamental rights at work, and it expects its business relationships to respect the ILO fundamental rights at work. However, no evidence was found of the company’s process to identify, assess and mitigate salient human rights risks in its own operations and supply chain. Moreover, no evidence was found of the company disclosing the stakeholders whose human rights have been affected by its activities. The company does, however, have a grievance mechanism available to workers and external stakeholders to report human rights concerns.

The company commits to respecting the health and safety of its workers and expects the same commitment of its business relationships. The company has also signed the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA’s) campaign, committing to increasing the employment of women in its workforce by 25% by 2025. However, no evidence was found that the company has a broader-level commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The company discloses the proportion of its direct workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements and discloses some indicators of workforce diversity, including the age and gender of its workforce by employee category. However, it can strengthen its disclosure on these subjects, as well as on its living wage and working hours practices.

The company commits to protecting personal data. However, no evidence was found that it has a privacy statement regarding the collection, sharing and access to personal data of employees and customers. While the company has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption, no evidence was found of anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with business relationships. Furthermore, the company can strengthen disclosure regarding its global tax strategy and its lobbying policy.