Türkiye sustainability reporting meeting assesses initial TSRS implementation

What happened

UN Global Compact Türkiye and the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority (KGK) brought companies together in Istanbul on 5 October 2026 to review early sustainability-reporting practice. Sabancı Holding hosted the session at Sabancı Center.

The meeting considered experience of the Türkiye Sustainability Reporting Standards (TSRS), alongside the UN Global Compact Communication on Progress (CoP). Its central purpose was to examine difficulties encountered by companies, exchange workable approaches and identify shared capability needs following the initial TSRS implementation period.

For reporting teams, the practical next step is to assess whether their internal processes can address the issues raised: materiality, value-chain information, climate-related risks and opportunities, Scope 3 emissions, data quality, assurance and digitalisation.

Opening remarks were delivered by Melda Çele, secretary-general of UN Global Compact Türkiye, and Mustafa Sözen, KGK vice-president. The programme also included a panel, moderated by KGK presidential adviser Sevgi Kılıç Er, on moving from reporting towards value creation through strategy, experience and impact.

Derya Özet Yalgı, sustainability director at Sabancı Holding, and Betül Işıklar, sustainability director at Kazancı Holding, shared perspectives during that panel. The discussion covered lessons from the first reporting period, reporting’s influence on strategy and decision-making, assurance experience, and planned improvements for the next cycle.

Why it matters

The exchange provides a view of implementation questions facing companies working with TSRS. Rather than treating disclosure as a standalone publication task, participants considered the links between reporting, management decisions and governance.

Group work examined how organisations are handling materiality assessments and value-chain coverage, as well as the reliability of underlying information. Climate risks, climate opportunities and Scope 3 emissions were included among the technical topics, alongside assurance processes and digital tools.

These areas can require coordination across sustainability, finance, risk, procurement and operational teams. Companies preparing subsequent reports can use the issues identified at the meeting to test data ownership, controls, documentation and readiness for assurance.

What comes next

UN Global Compact Türkiye and KGK intend to use the group-work findings to determine where companies need guidance, training and capacity development. Experience gathered from the first implementation period is also expected to inform the organisations’ future work.

Source: EkoIQ.