Fortune Türkiye / SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATIONAL ECONOMY

FORTUNE TURKEY SUSTAINABILITY FORUM

The panel on sustainability in agriculture was moderated by Cahit Okyay, Director of the Fortune C-Suite Premier Club. Business leaders addressed questions regarding the role of sustainability in their agendas, touching on important details. Mey Diageo Supply Chain Director Kürşat Apan shared his views on the topic, saying, "Mey Diageo is an industrial company based on agriculture. We purchase 120,000 tons of grapes, 20,000 tons of dried grapes, 4,000 tons of anise, 20,000 tons of wheat annually, and use water and bottles. When you add up these numbers, you reach figures around 2-3 billion TL, which most agricultural companies do not purchase at such scales. Our continuity is dependent on the continuity of agriculture and water. Without these, our survival is not possible. For this reason, we are among the companies that started their sustainability journey early."

Mey Diageo began its sustainability efforts in 2007, working on water and carbon reductions until 2020. The amount of water used was reduced by 45%, and carbon by 70%. The company has eight factories in Turkey, seven of which are located in regions experiencing water stress. The biggest goal for the future is to achieve 100% recycled packaging and zero waste across all facilities. Speaking at the panel, CarrefourSA Category and Supply Chain Deputy General Manager Murat Dinçer highlighted that CarrefourSA is a large family with 1,100 stores and 15,000 employees. The share of agricultural and livestock products in the company's total turnover is around 40%. Dinçer provided the following information: "In the meat products group, we have around 19,000 tons of sales, and we aim to increase this to 25,000 tons this year. In seafood, we aim to increase our sales from 10,000 tons to 19,000 tons. We had 125,000 tons of fruit and vegetable sales, which we plan to increase to 150,000-160,000 tons."

He also mentioned that CarrefourSA has commitments related to water security, forest reform, and climate change.

Chef/Consultant Murat Bozok, who spoke on sustainability in relation to the world's inability to meet global food demand, noted, "Good things are happening around the world in terms of sustainability. There are different movements, such as the 100 Mile Diet. You put a compass at your location, draw a 1-mile radius, and consume only what is produced within that area. There are restaurants following this trend, offering menus with dishes made solely from ingredients grown in their region. In our country, there are also efforts related to local cuisine. Our successful chefs who have earned Michelin stars are bringing our local cuisine to the forefront and working under the name of the new Turkish cuisine."

Regarding future sustainability goals, Kürşat Apan emphasized their belief in contract farming, mentioning a project in the Şahvarlar region of Manisa where they collaborated with the municipality to support a drip irrigation project, resulting in over a 50% increase in productivity. Murat Dinçer emphasized the importance of local food, stating that they have reached a point of reducing energy consumption by 22 million kilowatts in 2023, established e-charging stations in 49 stores, achieved zero waste certification in 700 stores, and recovered approximately 10 tons of oil and 10,000 tons of water. Finally, Murat Bozok highlighted the need to change traditions to achieve sustainability and added, "In China, with a population of 1.5 billion, 80 billion wooden sticks are used annually. Each tree produces 4,000 sticks. That means 20 million trees are cut down to eat with sticks. Is this sustainable? No. This is precisely where I believe that the responsibility and duty of change lie with the chefs."

Moderator:

Cahit Okyay, Director of the Fortune C-Suite Premier Club

Panelists:

Kürşat Apan, Supply Chain Director, Mey Diageo

Murat Dinçer, Category and Supply Chain Deputy General Manager, CarrefourSA

Chef/Consultant:

Murat Bozok