Team size: Six

Which recent political, economic, or regulatory changes have impacted the company and the team the most?

The ongoing pandemic as well as the regulations and policies introduced by the governmental authorities undoubtedly had dramatic impacts on every industry all over the world; and the petrochemical industry was not an exception. During the challenging period, our company’s priority was to ensure business continuity while protecting health of our employees. Esra Nigde Sahiner introduced remote and hybrid working by taking bold steps toward digitisation. For instance, using digital signatures has been highly encouraged in our company. It was demanding to carry out all the projects, corporate transactions, and agreement negotiations online. However, while working collaboratively with other departments, our team successfully overcome this challenging period in most effective and efficient way.

What are the biggest risks facing your industry and how are you preparing your team and company for this?

Petkim is Türkiye’s first and only integrated petrochemical company and we are an indispensable supplier of raw materials for majority of industries in Türkiye. Our products are being used in a wide range of industries, including plastics, chemistry, packaging, agriculture, automotive, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and detergents industries. Our company has been the biggest exporter in Aegan region for many years. Given that we are both an exporter and importer in the petrochemical industry, our operations are subject to laws and regulations of Türkiye as well as multiple other jurisdictions. Therefore, changes in such law and regulation can significantly impact on our operation. Thus, our team as a legal department of the company continues to catch up with regulatory changes to take appropriate actions if necessary.

How has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected the company and the team’s priorities?

Petkim Petrokimya Holding has promoted ‘taking responsibility for a sustainable future’ as one of the most important values of the company since 2010. Our company’s vision of sustainability consists of efficient use of natural resources and energy, continuous monitoring of emissions, effective waste management, and R&D projects related to developing environmentally compatible products. Raising awareness of climate change and sustainability all over the world encouraged our company to put more effort into renewable energy investments. For instance, Petkim now owns a wind power station to meet the company’s energy needs. As a result of our corporate sustainability performance, Petkim has achieved significant success by being ranked as the 8^th place out of 206 companies in the ‘Commercial Chemicals’ risk rating in the ESG criteria. Petkim is engaged with numerous social aid and sponsorship processes in relation to sustainability and climate change. As a legal team, we provide all necessary support to achieve our company’s sustainability values and put sustainability at the heart of our day-to-day business.