On the occasion of March 22, World Water Day, Pınar Su ve İçecek outlined the steps it has taken towards sustainable living. In each new investment, Pınar Su ve İçecek prioritizes the principles of 'efficiency,' 'fair distribution of water and social equity,' and 'environmental health and ecosystem continuity.'

Introducing packaged water to Turkey for the first time in 1984, Pınar Su ve İçecek has since achieved significant successes in line with its sustainable living policy. These include protecting water sources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint, minimizing waste at the source and throughout the product lifecycle, increasing the use of recyclable packaging, and integrating practices that enhance energy and water efficiency into production processes.

In 2021, our water efficiency reached 96%.

Pınar Su ve İçecek Operations Director Koral Kalpaklıoğlu emphasized that they act with a responsible production approach, recognizing the importance of every drinkable drop of water on Earth. He stated, 'We are doing and will continue to do everything possible to effectively protect and use water resources. We produce from water sources located in three different natural areas. To ensure ecosystem sustainability, we leave 30% of the total flow drawn from these sources in the natural environment. Our automation-based applications in production lines also regularly reduce wastewater. In 2021, we reduced the amount of wastewater from production processes compared to the previous year by 26.31% per unit of production at our Bursa Uludağ facility, 16.2% per unit of production at our Sakarya Gökçeağaç facility, and 18.86% at our Aydın Madran facility. Our total water efficiency, which was 95% in 2020, increased to 96% in 2021 due to improvements aimed at reducing production line washings, domestic usage areas, and filling waste. We aim to raise this ratio to at least 97% by the end of 2022.

40 tons of plastic waste prevented

Kalpaklıoğlu, who stated that they meet environmental and social benefit requirements from the production process onward, said, 'We implement eco-friendly practices to minimize the impact of our activities. Over the past decade, we have regularly reduced the amount of plastic used in packaging and caps for PET bottles. In 2020, the reduction in packaging weights reached 26% for the 0.5L product group, 23% for the 0.33L product group, and 18% for the 1.5L product group. Optimization efforts in product packaging resulted in a 10% to 15% reduction in shrink and stretch film usage for certain product groups. In 2021, continued efforts in weight reduction led to a 7.37% decrease in the use of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging material for bottled water products and a 13.58% decrease for beverage products. As a result of these efforts, approximately 40 tons of plastic waste was reduced at the source. With ongoing projects under our plastic responsibility, we aim to reduce polyethylene plastic use by 15% by 2024. We also aim to achieve a 10% reduction in polyethylene terephthalate packaging material by the end of 2022. Additionally, we plan to reduce wastewater discharge by at least 5% by the end of 2022 through streamlining and efficiency improvements in the production process.

Carbon footprint reduced by 31.75%

Pınar Su ve İçecek not only strives to protect and manage water but also works to eliminate all factors contributing to climate change. Through energy efficiency, energy savings, and operational improvements, they continually reduce average carbon emissions per ton of production each year. By investing in new technologies for their production infrastructure, Pınar Su ve İçecek has also reduced plastic usage and environmental waste. This has resulted in a 16% decrease in electricity consumption per ton of product in 2021 compared to 2016, due to the reduced energy required for blowing lower-weight bottles. While enhancing energy efficiency, Pınar Su ve İçecek has also minimized waste at its source and reduced its carbon footprint in production facilities. On a global scale, Pınar Su ve İçecek has achieved carbon offsetting for its products, becoming the first in Turkey to produce Carbon Neutral Certified Packaged Natural Spring Water and Beverage Products in 2020. To reduce and prevent greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes and domestic energy consumption, Pınar Su ve İçecek continues its efforts in energy efficiency, energy savings, and operational improvements throughout the year. Compared to 2010, when it started calculating its carbon footprint, the company reduced it by 31.75% in 2021 and aims to increase this reduction to 33% with ongoing projects in 2022.