As a part of its corporate social responsibility Borusan Holding contributes to the modernization of Turkey by creating and supporting projects pertaining to education, culture and the arts. All such activities of the Group are managed by the Borusan Kocabıyık Foundation. During 2011 the Foundation allocated $16 million of its budget for a variety of work and projects in the fields of education, culture and the arts.

Since 1992 the Borusan Kocabıyık Foundation has continued to carry out significant social responsibility activities in education because of its conviction that the private sector must also contribute to the campaign to overcome the problem of the lack of a qualified labor force in our nation. Meanwhile, the Foundation’s social responsibility activities that are carried out in the areas of culture and the arts are guided by the principle that Turkey must enhance its global integration with international societies.

The Foundation has especially concentrated its efforts in classical music towards two specific targets. The first of these is the aim of forming a cultural bridge between Turkey and other countries through the vehicle of classical music since it is considered a universal language. And the second goal focuses on engendering global publicity for Turkey both through its music activities as well as the preservation of our cultural heritage through various programs. The Foundation’s efforts in this regard go beyond classical music and include such projects as Borusan Contemporary, ArtCenter/Istanbul, the Borusan Music House and Ertuğ & Kocabıyık Publications.

In addition to the support provided for education, culture and the arts, Borusan’s commitment to being environmentally conscious leads us to implement projects which support the sustainability of the global ecosystem.

Borusan’s commitment to being environmentally conscious leads us to implement projects which support the sustainability of the global ecosystem.

 

 

In 2011 Borusan followed through with a number of corporate social responsibility activities related to the field of education.

The Borusan Kocabıyık Foundation continued to provide for a variety of needs not only for the Borusan Asım Kocabıyık Anatolian Technical High School and the Borusan Otomotiv Zehra Nurhan Kocabıyık Primary School, located in the Beylikdüzü and Avcılar districts of Istanbul, respectively, but others as well. In addition, 150 students were provided with scholarships during the 2010-2011 academic year.

The National Quality Movement efforts initiated by the Turkish Quality Association (Kalder) were continued at six educational facilities, namely the Avcılar District National Education Board, the Borusan Otomotiv Zehra Nurhan Kocabıyık Primary School in the Avcılar district of Istanbul, the Borusan Asım Kocabıyık Anatolian Technical High School, Kocaeli University’s Asım Kocabıyık Vocational School, the Uludağ Asım Kocabıyık Vocational School Campus and the Borusan Elementary School in Gemlik.

Furthermore, the Borusan Kocabıyık Foundation followed through with the commitment previously made to the “Dad, Please Send Me To School” project and provided scholarships for 100 girls in 2011.

The construction of the Afyon Kocatepe University Law Faculty building was completed and turned over to the University last year.

The ongoing construction project of the student center at the Gemlik Sunğipek Asım Kocabıyık campus of Uludağ University, which consists of two cafeterias and a conference hall, is scheduled to be completed during the first half of 2012, at which time the facilities will be turned over to the University.

The Borusan Kocabıyık Foundation also provided support for kindergarten teachers in order for them to be able to appropriately guide preschool children with the development of basic ethical values. In this regard the decision was made to sponsor a book written by the eminent preschool education authority Prof. Dr. Gülçin Alpöge. The book, entitled “Education in Preschool Ethical Values”, was primarily written for the purpose of providing counseling to parents and teachers on this subject. With the assistance of the Istanbul National Education Management the book was distributed to more than 5,000 kindergarten teachers.

 

Borusan Culture and Arts (BCA) coordinates its classical music-related activities in Turkey through the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (BIPO), the Borusan Chamber Orchestra (BCO), the Borusan String Quartet, the Borusan Children’s Choir, the Music Library and the Borusan Music House. BCA is also a member of the International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM), as well as the European Music Council (ECM).

During its 2011-2012 season the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (BIPO) accompanied numerous well-known soloists. It was quite a successful season for BIPO as all their concerts at the Caddebostan Culture Center were sold out while approximately 95% of the seats were sold for its performances at the Lütfi Kırdar Concert Hall. More than 200 university and elementary school students were able to attend each BIPO concert held at Lütfi Kırdar. Although it was recorded in June of 2011, the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra’s second CD, entitled “Music from the Machine Age”, was launched globally at the beginning of 2012.

During the final days of 2011 BIPO accompanied famous pianist and composer Fazıl Say, as well as “the queen of the clarinet” Sabine Meyer, during a concert entitled “Two Stars One Premier”. Following the world premiere of the clarinet concerto “Hayyam” by Fazıl Say, it was vocalized for the first time in Turkey by Sabine Meyer.

All proceeds from the November 17 concert where BIPO accompanied pianist Gülsin Onay were presented to the Catastrophe and Emergency Situation Management Department of the Prime Ministry as a donation to the Humanitarian Aid Fund that was established for the earthquake victims in the eastern region of Van.

During the 2011–2012 season the Borusan String Quartet performed in front of a total audience of 1,200 persons during their three concerts at the Süreyya Opera.

During the final days of 2011 BIPO accompanied famous pianist and composer Fazıl Say, as well as “the queen of the clarinet” Sabine Meyer, during a concert entitled “Two Stars One Premier”

 

As one of the largest and longest supporters of the Istanbul Music Festival, Borusan Holding began a special partnership with the Festival in 2006, committing to become the main sponsor of the event for a period of 10 years. The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra performed the opening concert of the 39th Istanbul Music Festival under the guidance of conductor Gürer Aykal. During the Festival the orchestra also accompanied the Grammy winning violinist Hilary Hahn and world renown soprano Reneé Fleming.

 

The Special Concert Series that is organized each year by the Borusan Kocabıyık Foundation helps provide higher education opportunities at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions for young Turkish talents who demonstrate unusual potential in classical music. Essentially, it supports the development of future world renowned artists.

In 2006, Borusan’s own Ahmet Kocabıyık pioneered as the Guest Conductor, while in 2007 it was Rahmi Koç, the Honorary President of Koç Holding. In 2008 Bülent Eczacıbaşı, President of Eczacıbaşı Holding, conducted the orchestra. The Special Concert held at the beginning of 2010 drew significant interest from audiences as it featured Cem Yılmaz, one of Turkey’s leading stars in show business, as the Guest Conductor of the Series. In response to an overwhelming demand from music lovers Cem Yılmaz once again served as the guest conductor of the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2011 Special Concert.

Located in the heart of Istanbul’s cultural and art district in Beyoğlu, the Borusan Music House was created for the purpose of hosting events for a variety of art disciplines. The Music House stages chamber, jazz and world music concerts, as well as DJ performances and special music projects specific to the venue. In addition, every month young music talents are given an opportunity to display their art.

The Borusan Music House started off the 2011-2012 season on October 14 with a performance by the Mercan Dede Quartet, the Ceza and the Hüsnü Şenlendirici Quartet. Other performers who took the stage included Korean jazz vocalist Yuan Sun Nah, Italian classical musicians La Venexiana madrigal ensemble and the RONIN five. During the Borusan New Series performances the architecture and music of the Borusan Music House became “one”, while some of the most talented musicians in the field gave concerts during the Contemporary Music Days.

The Borusan Music House continued to host modern art exhibitions during 2011 for art enthusiasts. During the first months of the year artists from ArtCenter/ Istanbul held their second exhibition entitled “Questioning of the Circumstances”. The sequel to the “Matter-Light” Exhibition, which attracted close to 35,000 visitors in 2010, was another exhibit that was held last year.

During the first months of the year artists from ArtCenter/ Istanbul held their second exhibition entitled “Questioning of the Circumstances”

In keeping with Borusan’s ongoing vision of introducing Turkey’s rich historical and cultural heritage to the world through high quality books, Ertuğ & Kocabıyık Publications released two new books in 2011, entitled “Borusan Contemporary Art Collection Volume 1” and “Domes: A Journey Through European Architectural History”.

The Borusan Modern Art Collection, which went on display at Borusan Contemporary in September of 2011, houses some of the most prominent examples of modern art, ranging from picture to statue, photograph to video and installations from new media. The rather special anthology comprised of the pieces in the Collection is introduced to readers in the book entitled “Borusan Contemporary Art Collection Volume 1”, which contains photographs and design concepts by Ahmet Ertuğ accompanied by articles from other highly respected academicians and curators.

In the book “Domes: A Journey Through European Architectural History” Ahmet Ertuğ analyzed domes, or what are commonly accepted as the most defining symbol of architecture. The book entails a journey that extends through a wide range of structures, including the giant spherical Oculus centered dome of the Pantheon from the first century in Rome to the steel and glass combination masterpiece Bundestag created by Norman Foster in Berlin, which is presently among the most commonly visited modern architecture buildings in the world.

 

During the 100th year of the Yusuf Ziya Paşa Köşkü, which is the present home of the Borusan Holding Headquarters in the Rumelihisarı district of Istanbul, the celebrated edifice was transformed into Turkey’s first office-museum in the contemporary arts field under the name “Borusan Contemporary Perili Köşk Istanbul”. While normal office activities continue in the Borusan Contemporary during weekdays, progressively more innovative exhibitions are introduced to art enthusiasts on weekends. Guests at the museum can also benefit from opportunities offered via the BC Shop and Müzecafe. In addition to presenting an assortment of collections each year there are three temporary exhibitions that consist of different media and concepts in the program of the museum.

Borusan Contemporary also hosts children related workshops which operate in conjunction with the pieces that are being displayed at the time. During these colloquiums, which are meant to be both educational as well as fun, children get a chance to experience contemporary art up close. The training offered is primarily designed to encourage children between five to fourteen years of age to form a better connection with contemporary art.

The opening of Borusan Contemporary took place on September 17, 2011, in association with the 12th Istanbul Biennale. During the exhibit seven contemporary artists displayed a video collage entitled “Seven New Works” which they prepared especially for the occasion. Also, at the same time select pieces from the Borusan Collection were displayed in an exhibit called Segment #1.

Thomas Krens, the founder of Global Cultural Asset Management (GCAM) and the former director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, served as consultant on the management of visual identity, layout and exhibition program of Borusan Contemporary. Meanwhile, Asymptote Architecture, which was founded by Hani Rashid and his spouse, became involved during the architectural phase of the project development process. The concept design application was implemented by Mat Architecture.

While normal office activities continue in the Borusan Contemporary during weekdays, progressively more innovative exhibitions are introduced to art enthusiasts on weekends.

 

Borusan Holding became a sponsor for the Marble Hall project pertaining to the Terrace House 2 which is situated in the ancient city of Ephesus. The replacement of 120,000 pieces of marble back on the walls will undoubtedly be one of the world’s largest “puzzle” projects, which is estimated to cost €300,000. This venture will unquestionably occupy an important place in the world of archaeology.

In 2010, the Ephesus Foundation was formed under the leadership of Borusan Holding in an attempt to contribute to the development of the ancient city of Ephesus, as well as to provide international publicity for this great archeological treasure. The primary aim of the Ephesus Foundation is to facilitate the excavation process taking place in the ancient city of Ephesus and support its promotion in the international arena in order to help make Ephesus one of the world’s leading tourism destinations. Along these lines the Foundation continues its efforts to raise more support from both local and foreign business entities, as well as designs and implements projects to increase exposure pertaining to Ephesus.

 

The Borusan Group is committed to limiting the use of natural resources to an absolute minimum in all areas of business activity. Studies are ongoing to appraise possible means of reducing the use and disposal of all harmful chemicals, hazardous and other forms of waste. Environmental projects that are designed to reduce energy, water and nitrogen consumption are also in the process of being implemented by all Group companies.

Nearly every one of the Borusan companies has obtained the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems certification and each has made a full commitment to adhere to all related laws and maintain control over their adverse affects on the environment.

Environmental projects that are designed to reduce energy, water and nitrogen consumption are also in the process of being implemented by all Group companies.

Over the years Borusan has supported the sustainability of the environment through various projects it implemented. Through a joint sponsorship between Asım Kocabıyık, Borusan’s Founder and Honorary President, and the TEMA Foundation, a rural development project was initiated in the Tazlar village of the municipality of Afyonkarahisar.

The positive results of this endeavor have become an inspiration for the development of projects of similar scale in other areas of Turkey. Under the scheme, named “The TEMA-BORUSAN Afyonkarahisar-Sinanpaşa-Güney, Düzağaç and Tokuşlar Towns and Kınık and Karacaören Villages Rural Development Project”, similar ventures have now been initiated in five regions.

In 2010, under the slogan “For a Greener Turkey”, Borçelik began to sponsor a project that is being managed by the Bursa Department of Forestry Management in Gemlik for the forestation of an area covering 160 hectares. Within the framework of this sponsorship the funding necessary for the planting of 500,000 saplings was provided.

Another one of the Group companies, Borusan Lojistik, is presently implementing the “1 million trees campaign”. The Company recently became a part of the “7 Tree Forests” program, which was launched by the ÇEKÜL Foundation in 1991, and has agreed to provide the necessary funding for the forestation of two regions that were previously selected by ÇEKÜL, namely in Izmir-Ödemiş and Mardin-Kızıltepe. In line with the efforts that were initiated in September of 2011 Borusan Lojistik also agreed to accept responsibility for the upkeep of the trees for a period covering the next five years. The project is slated for completion in 2015.

Borusan Holding was included among the private sector companies which signed the Cancun Declaration calling for the urgent formation of a legal, binding and comprehensive international agreement to be set in place to guard against global warming and climate change after 2012.

During the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Cancun Mexico the members of the business world created the Cancun Declaration against climate change to inform participating governments of their responsibilities and expectations. In the declaration the private sector representatives have made demands for governments to convert to lower carbon economies on a local, national and regional basis. As carbon economy related investments have continued to increase daily, the fact that more binding steps have not been taken to deal with climate change has persuaded the leaders of the business world to make a detailed list of its demands in the aforementioned Declaration.

Following the Cancun Declaration the introduction of the 2°C Challenge Communiqué calls on governments to take action on a local scale for both the creation of solutions to ongoing international climate change negotiations and expedite conversion to green economies.

In line with the principles of its sustainability approach Borusan was among the first companies in the world to sign the 2°C Challenge Communiqué. This Communiqué, according to statistics provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA) points to the fact that global carbon emissions reached the highest levels on record during 2010 and, based on current indicators, there exists a definite risk that the annual 2° C barrier could be breached. The Declaration calls for collaboration between the private and public sectors to come up with viable solutions to address the issue of climate change.

A group of Borusan employees known as “Ocean Volunteers” have opened up stalls at Borusan Holding, Borçelik, Borusan Makina ve Güç Sistemleri, Borusan Lojistik, Borusan Oto/ Otomotiv and Kerim Çelik to sell crafts which have been handmade by mothers of children who have leukemia.

 

The Asım Kocabıyık Afyonkarahisar Micro Loan Branch was opened in 2011 for the express purpose of giving hundreds of women the opportunity of setting up their own businesses.

A vast portion of the financing for the Asım Kocabıyık Afyonkarahisar Micro Loan Branch was provided by the Founder and Honorary President of Borusan Holding, Asım Kocabıyık. There are many success stories attesting to the tremendous impact of this program on the lives of numerous woman in the region.

Thus far, the Asım Kocabıyık Afyonkarahisar Micro Loan Branch has provided 300,000 TL in loans, thereby giving an opportunity to 405 women to start their own businesses.

A group of Borusan employees known as “Ocean Volunteers” have opened up stalls at Borusan Holding, Borçelik, Borusan Makina ve Güç Sistemleri, Borusan Lojistik, Borusan Oto/Otomotiv and Kerim Çelik to sell crafts which have been handmade by mothers of children who have leukemia. The proceeds from the initial sales totaled TL18,000 and were donated to the Foundation For Children With Leukemia (LÖSEV).

These “Ocean Volunteers” are now trying to establish a systematic approach and sustainability for these types of initiatives by becoming actively involved in volunteer projects pertaining to education and the environment, as well as the culture and the arts.

In 2011 Borusan published its second Sustainability Report which covers the activities of 2009 and 2010. The first Borusan Sustainability Report, which is based on the globally accepted GRI Sustainability Guidelines, was published in December of 2009. Subsequently, in January of 2010, the Global Compact Center of the United Nations in New York gave the report a “Notable” rating for being exceptional in terms of UN standards.