“81 Forests in 81 Cities” Project Relaunched

The “81 Forests in 81 Cities" Project, a collaboration between İşbank, Türkiye's General Directorate of Forestry, and the TEMA Foundation from 2008 to 2017, is being relaunched to commemorate the Bank's 100th anniversary. As part of the project aimed at preserving nature by increasing forested areas across the country, and fostering environmental consciousness within society, a total of 2.2 million saplings will be planted across 81 provinces within a span of 5 years.

İşbank continues to celebrate its 100th anniversary through nationwide projects dedicated to preserving nature and promoting environmental awareness. In this context, the Bank is relaunching the “81 Forests in 81 Cities" Project in collaboration with Türkiye's General Directorate of Forestry and TEMA Foundation, aiming to enhance environmental awareness within society, with a particular focus on children. The new phase of the project was unveiled during an introductory meeting attended by Hakan Aran, İşbank CEO; Deniz Ataç, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of TEMA Foundation; and Celal Pir, İstanbul Regional Director of Forestry from the General Directorate of Forestry.

In this second phase of the project, the plan is to plant 2.2 million saplings across 81 provinces of Türkiye within a 5-year period, and to ensure regular maintenance of the planted saplings for 3 years thereafter.

Conversion rate of planted areas into forests had surpassed 84 percent in the first phase.

In the initial phase of the project, which evolved into a nationwide afforestation campaign, a total of 2,205,000 saplings were planted across approximately 1,500 hectares in all 81 provinces. These areas underwent regular maintenance for 5 years, with new saplings planted to replace any that failed, dried up, or were damaged. The “81 Forests in 81 Cities" Project, implemented between 2008 and 2017, attained remarkable success, with the conversion rate of planted areas into forests surpassing 84 percent.

Additionally, within the project's scope, the establishment of the 82nd forest took place in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, encompassing 35,200 saplings over an area spanning 22 hectares.

“We set out on a journey to cultivate new plane trees in our second century"

​İşbank CEO Hakan Aran remarked that İşbank, commemorating its 100th anniversary, has now evolved into an institution akin to centuries-old plane trees. He expressed their joint endeavor with TEMA Foundation and the General Directorate of Forestry to cultivate new plane trees as they venture into their second century. Highlighting that this journey is not new, Aran remarked, “Between 2008 and 2017, we planted over 2.2 million saplings across 1,500 hectares of land. We are delighted to witness that 84 percent of these saplings have flourished into forests. Now, we are here with a revitalized project, aiming to plant 2.2 million saplings. We will start with Samsun and Erzincan, advancing to cover all 81 provinces. In each province, we will plant these saplings amidst a celebratory atmosphere, alongside the local community, our employees, retirees, and children. We aim to increase forested areas across our country over the next 5 years."

Hakan Aran mentioned their endeavors not only in afforestation but also in reducing carbon emissions, emphasizing that İşbank Group is committed to mitigating its own carbon footprint and spearheads projects aimed at facilitating green transformations for their customers. Aran highlighted significant strides made in the past two years, noting that they have revised their commitment, now aiming for carbon neutrality by 2026 instead of 2035.