Esteemed Stakeholders,
2023 was quite a difficult year around the world due to global geopolitical tensions and extreme weather events. The devastating earthquakes early in the year caused a deep sorrow for our country. Motivated by the power of unity, each and every IC employee working at IC Holding and Group Companies mobilized to help the region in a spirit of solidarity. As IC Holding, we rely on 54 years of experience and continue operating to maximize the expectations of our stakeholders in five distinct sectors, namely construction, energy generation and distribution, infrastructure management, tourism and industry.
Since 1969, we have achieved success in Türkiye and abroad thanks to our know-how and perseverance, which we now aim to employ to launch operations in new locations around the world. We acknowledge the value of integrating sustainability into our way of doing business as we formulate our strategy against potential risks from socioeconomic problems brought about by the global climate crisis, natural disasters and geopolitical tensions, the effects of which we feel deeply. In the Global Risks Report published in January 2023, the risk of falling to mitigate climate change tops the list again, as it did in previous years. However, promising news from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that with the help of existing technologies, it is possible to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In such a critical process, we, at IC Holding, have expedited the commissioning of renewable energy resources, while simultaneously establishing our way of doing business and roadmap to ensure energy efficiency.
We are aware of the challenges in our sustainability journey and on the road ahead to our goals, and we believe it is critical to work in coordination with our stakeholders. In this process, we rely on support from our industry partners and regulators who are similarly sensitive to the environment and future generations as well as our stakeholders who are the core components of our initiatives. We integrate the expectations of our stakeholders into our way of doing business and continue working resolutely in cooperation with them. As it has been the case every year, we carry out our social responsibility activities diligently to create social value in the regions where we operate and to support local communities in various aspects.
IC Holding’s unwavering commitment to social responsibility is one of our core values and encourages us to build a stronger future and a chain of benevolence each day. The IC İbrahim Çeçen Foundation (IC Foundation) is the highest executive body in our social responsibility efforts. The IC Foundation has continued its service to the society by increasing its investment amount from TL 75 million in 2021 to TL 350 million in 2023.
In addition, recognizing the importance of education in ensuring social resilience, we are delighted to have provided more than 16,000 scholarships to university students in 19 years. On the occasion of our 2023 sustainability report, which we published for the second time this year, I would like to reiterate our commitment to perform our everyday work diligently and resolutely to leave a better society and planet to future generations in the light of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our valuable stakeholders for taking the time to review our report, in which we transparently share our sustainability efforts, and to our employees, who support our sustainability work and are the main source of our success.
Sincerely,
İbrahim Çeçen
Board Chairperson