Abstract
Turkey as an emerging market is a member of G20 and in accordance with the rapid economic growth, Turkey is facing with pressing energy and environmental problems including air pollution, water quality, food quality, land and forest degradation. When these problems are accompanied with the recent wave of immigrants from Syria and Iraq, Turkey needs sustainable business models more than ever. In recent years, Turkey has taken important steps about sustainability practices. Among them, BIST Sustainability Index, the first such index in Turkey, was launched in 2014. The index aims to encourage Turkish companies and investors to give careful consideration to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues for sustainable wealth creation. The sustainability index is an important tool to improve ESG disclosure, sustainability reporting and reputation. More importantly, the index plays a crucial role to provide access to international investors and promote more responsible investment. The purpose of this chapter is to investigate sustainable business models of the leading sustainability-driven companies that take place in the BIST Sustainability Index. In this context, we are particularly interested in exploring the relationship between the index and the sustainable business models of the companies listed in the index. A review of the BIST Sustainability Index can help us to understand how Turkish companies with different backgrounds adopt sustainable business models in such a way that enable them to capture economic value through delivering social and environmental benefits. A further discussion on sustainable business models can provide support that enables Turkish companies to focus on resource efficiency, environmental issues, tightening regulations and shifting social pressure.
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Hizarci-Payne, A.K., Kirkulak-Uludag, B. (2018). Sustainable Business Practices of Turkish Companies Listed on the Borsa Istanbul Sustainability Index. In: Moratis, L., Melissen, F., Idowu, S. (eds) Sustainable Business Models. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73503-0_15
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