Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Yeşilova Holding has successfully reduced its carbon footprint by 30% over the past five years as part of its sustainability journey. Chairman of the Board, Ali İhsan Yeşilova, emphasized that this process is not only an environmental responsibility but also a strategic investment.
Organized by the Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry on May 13–14, 2025, the 2nd Uludağ Environment Forum brought together representatives from business, government, and academia to discuss innovative strategies for sustainable development.
During the forum, Ali İhsan Yeşilova participated as a speaker in the session titled “Carbon Strategies and Competitive Advantage: A New Era for Business.” In his speech, he shared insights into Yeşilova Group’s sustainability policies and priorities in this area. He also highlighted efforts under the umbrella of the Turkish Aluminium Industrialists’ Association (TALSAD), where he serves as Chairman of the Board, to advance the sector’s development and sustainability journey.
“We Are Taking Steps with a Green Transformation Mindset”
Sharing Yeşilova Group’s approach to carbon management and the concrete steps taken in this direction, Chairman Ali İhsan Yeşilova underlined that green transformation creates not only environmental but also economic value, stating:
“At Yeşilova, we are proud to celebrate our 50th anniversary, a journey that began in 1975 as a small aluminum shop. Today, we are an integrated industrial group consisting of nine companies operating in strategic fields such as automotive, rail systems, aluminum casting, and aluminum extrusion.
We are fully aware that aluminum is among the priority sectors in terms of carbon footprint, and we act with this responsibility in mind.
We systematized our sustainability policies in 2019. Since then, we have taken significant steps to reduce our carbon footprint and establish environmentally sensitive production processes. We see this approach not only as an environmental duty but as a strategic necessity that will safeguard our companies’ future and strengthen their competitive edge.”
20% Energy Savings with Rooftop Solar Power Plant
In 2020, we established working groups within our group companies focused on carbon emissions and environmental management. We developed five-year sustainability roadmaps. Since 2021, we have been monitoring carbon emission data monthly across all our companies.
This data-driven approach has made our sustainability performance both manageable and measurable. We have made notable progress in energy efficiency and accelerated our investments in renewable energy.
We commissioned a rooftop solar power plant with a total capacity of 5.7 megawatts at our Hasanağa campus. Thanks to this initiative, we now meet approximately 20% of our energy needs from renewable sources. As a result of these efforts, we have managed to reduce our carbon footprint by 30% over the past five years and achieved a 29% improvement in energy efficiency.
Water management has also been one of our top priorities. With improvements made in water-intensive processes, we have reached a 50% savings rate.
Thanks to this systematic, data-based, and continuous improvement-oriented approach, we at Yeşilova Group aim to further reduce our environmental impact each year and turn sustainable production into a lasting corporate culture.”
Throughout the event, topics such as carbon management, waste and recycling strategies, sustainable growth, and the future of environmental policies were discussed. Leaders offering innovative solutions to environmental challenges guided the business world on a wide range of topics, from emissions trading to waste management.