Sun Tekstil Shared the Results of Sustainability Transformation Process

Sun Tekstil, which rapidly realized its sustainability goals with the digital transformation process, shared the entire process and results of its sustainability transformation with its participants at the “Sun Tekstil Sustainable Transformation” event held at Zorlu Center Raffles Istanbul Hotel.  

Speaking at the event, Sabri Ünlütürk, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sun Tekstil, said: “As Sun Tekstil, we trusted the expertise of NTT DATA, which we have seen as our companion since the beginning of our digital transformation journey, and integrated the Microsoft Sustainability Manager solution into our business processes. We hope that our transformation project, which is an indicator of our responsible production approach, will be a reference for the sustainability approach of the Turkish textile industry. We believe that this study will increase our competitive potential and influence the future of the Turkish textile industry. However, consumer awareness and the inclusion of used textile products in the recycling system are at least as important as our efforts and activities.

Research shows that the textile industry is responsible for 8% to 10% of global carbon emissions. The European Union’s steps towards carbon neutrality have mobilized Turkish textile manufacturers exporting to Europe and the whole world. Sun Tekstil set its mind on reducing its environmental impact in a wide range of areas, from raw material selection to natural resource utilization, energy consumption, and supply chain emissions. It chose NTT DATA Business Solutions Turkey’s expertise to take its sustainability transformation to the next level by involving all production stakeholders.

65% of Consumers Prefer Sustainable Brands

According to a survey conducted by Bain & Company with nearly 6 thousand participants, 65% of consumers are more likely to prefer sustainable brands in the textile, fashion and apparel industry. Sabri Ünlütürk stated that in addition to customer demand, “Fit for 55” and ‘Carbon Regulation Mechanism at the Border’ are expected to become mandatory for the textile and apparel industry in the near future. Ünlütürk: “Sustainability is not only a social responsibility issue today; it is one of the most important parts of the life cycle of organizations. The balance of the resources you use during production and the return of the outputs to the ecosystem through recycling affect the efficiency and profitability of organizations. The exporting companies of our country, which is one of the world’s important textile bases, also affect the way their stakeholders do business in line with their goals of fulfilling their own obligations in terms of sustainability.”

Sustainable Resources Used in 64% of Production

In 2022, Sun Tekstil exported 92% of its total production to more than 10 countries and exported sustainable raw materials in nearly two-thirds (64%) of this percentage. Speaking on the subject, Ünlütürk said: “We work on issues such as the protection of natural resources with circular economy models in the production process, zero waste management, water recovery, the use of environmentally friendly chemicals and increasing the rate of renewable energy use. On the other hand, at our associated partner Ekoten Tekstil, we have achieved a 51% reduction in total water consumption in the last 22 years and a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the last 10 years. Since 2019, we have generated an average of 1,410,000 KWh of electricity per year with our SPP (Solar Power Plant) system, and since 2020, we have balanced our electricity consumption from the grid with I-REC certified 100% renewable energy sources.

Dr. Bahri Danış, CEO of NTT DATA Business Solutions Turkey and Mena, emphasized that by taking advantage of Sun Tekstil’s practical experience in the management of greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain, they carried out an end-to-end project that will reduce the environmental risks that companies will face in the sustainability process and the costs that will occur while managing these risks, and make their processes traceable.

Danış: “This project, which we have realized with Sun Tekstil, with which we have been working together for many years, is also important as it is the first project we have realized in the field of sustainability on Microsoft technologies.”

“We Achieved Significant Outcomes with Sun Tekstil in Reducing Emissions in the Supply Chain”

Danış continued his words as follows: “Thanks to this transformation, which works in harmony with the existing infrastructure, we have achieved significant outcomes in monitoring and reducing emissions in the supply chain with Sun Tekstil. We aim to further develop our applications with differentiating solutions, especially robotic process automation, integrated artificial intelligence and machine learning. The project, which also strengthens Sun Tekstil’s sustainability vision in terms of making sense of climate risks and financial risks, provides added value in many dimensions such as raw material procurement, production, logistics, supply chain and waste management.

Ünlütürk concluded his evaluations as follows: “The textile supply chain has a very complex structure. There is no single solution to meet the expectations of different customer groups and retail companies. This is where effective traceability systems come into play. We believe that sustainable transformation should not be separated from digital transformation with the awareness that we are one of the important stakeholders of the textile industry, which is one of the sectors that produces the most waste due to dyeing, washing processes, water, energy and chemical consumption. In these days when the effects of climate change have reached striking dimensions, we will continue to do our part to achieve sectoral transformation.”