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Garanti BBVA is in the process of installing solar panels on buildings at its Pendik Campus, on the Güneşli Service Building and on top of the bank’s ATMs. The solar energy project is part of Garanti BBVA’s commitment to fight the climate crisis and support renewable energy.
The initiative aims to save 1 million TL and prevent 160 tons of carbon emissions. This is equivalent to the amount of emissions that 9,884 trees can absorb in nature. Pendik Campus will have an installed capacity of 103KW and an annual energy generation of 122 MWh, while the Güneşli Service Building will have an installed capacity of 193KW and an annual energy generation of 228MWh.
In line with its Net Zero Banking Alliance commitments, Garanti BBVA announced its interim decarbonization targets for 2030. As the first bank in Türkiye to announce that it will no longer fund coal-related projects, Garanti BBVA joined the UN-convened Net Zero Banking Alliance in 2021.
Solar panels have also been installed on 81 ATMs so far this year, generating an average of 150KWh per month, and reaching approximately 60,000KWh by the end of the year. The bank will consume approximately 40 to 50 percent of the energy generated by an ATM per month.
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Garanti BBVA Executive Vice President Tuba Köseoğlu Okçu stressed that the initiative falls within the framework of the bank’s sustainability efforts, which is one of its strategic priorities: “The solar panels help to increase the amount of renewable energy used by the bank and reduce our carbon footprint.” She also noted that the bank has also installed solar panels on the Akdeniz and Bodrum branches and on the Sivas Customer Communication Center, with an installed capacity of 90KW. “The latest production at Pendik and Güneşli brings our total installed capacity to approximately 400 kW. We believe that we are leading our sector with our efforts to use renewable energy in our branches, ATMs and buildings.”