Ethics and Compliance

All our business processes are conducted with a transparent and accountable governance approach in collaboration with Heidelberg Materials and Sabancı Holding’s Legal and Compliance Department. Within this framework, we have adopted the Sabancı Group Code of Business Ethics (SA-ETİK), defining our corporate principles, ethical values, and standards company-wide. SA-ETİK serves as a guiding framework to ensure that our employees act in the company's best interest, adhering to legal regulations, internal norms, and contractual obligations, while avoiding any behavior that could harm the company.
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All members of our Board of Directors, executives, and employees are required to comply with the Code of Business Ethics. Similarly, we expect all suppliers, subcontractors, dealers, and business partners to adhere to these principles. Upon hiring, our employees receive comprehensive training on the Code of Business Ethics, and all members of our management team and staff have committed to legal compliance under Sabancı Group’s ethical standards. Our supplier contracts also include ethical compliance clauses, ensuring that suppliers commit to these principles upon signing.
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To promote and integrate ethical values, we provide regular training programs for our employees. In 2024, we conducted 990 hours of training, covering topics such as competition law, personal data protection law, and labor law, with 299 employees participating. Additionally, 395 employees completed ethics training in 2024, totaling 229.5 hours. Our Audit teams also attended various trainings and seminars organized by the Cement Industry Employers' Association and the Turkish Internal Audit Institute, enhancing their professional and managerial skills while staying up to date on relevant issues.
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We have established a transparent reporting system to prevent and address ethical violations. Employees, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders can report ethical concerns through multiple channels, including the Akçansa ethics hotline, Sabancı Group ethics reporting channels, and email. Employees are regularly informed about the accessibility of these reporting channels. Ethical reports are reviewed by the Human Resources, Legal, and Compliance Department, and when necessary, the Audit Department is also involved in the process. For ethics-related matters, the Human Resources (HR) Department acts as an Ethics Compliance Advisor within the company. Employees seeking ethical guidance can consult this unit. All ethics reports are examined and investigated by the HR Department, with findings and recommendations shared with the Board of Directors for further evaluation.
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As of 2024, no ethical violations have been identified. Specifically, there have been no recorded cases of bribery and corruption, discrimination or harassment, customer data privacy breaches, conflicts of interest, or money laundering. However, regarding environmental complaints, 17 notifications were received in 2024. All these complaints were addressed and fully resolved.
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To safeguard whistleblowers, Akçansa enforces a strict non-retaliation policy, ensuring that employees who report ethical violations are protected through appropriate security measures. The company is committed to maintaining a transparent and impartial review process, ensuring that all reports are assessed objectively.
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All business activities are conducted in full compliance with applicable local regulations, international legal frameworks, and the relevant communiqués of the Capital Markets Board (CMB). The SA-ETİK guidelines play a fundamental role in fostering transparent, honest, and reliable communication in shareholder relations and decision-making processes, while also ensuring that ethical compliance procedures are managed with the utmost diligence. In support of ethical compliance, the company conducts regular audits and provides ongoing internal training programs, which incorporate dedicated ethics modules to enhance employee awareness.  As of 2024, participation in business ethics training has reached 100%.
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Furthermore, all company operations adhere to internationally recognized standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Within this framework, the Compliance Procedure, which defines the company's legal commitments and employee expectations, constitutes a key component of corporate policies.
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During the reporting period, employees refrained from engaging in any political activities during working hours and did not use their colleagues’ time for such activities. Furthermore, employees did not utilize the company’s name, position, title, or resources for any political purposes. As part of Akçansa’s regulatory compliance processes in 2024, an assessment was conducted to determine whether any violations had occurred. The review confirmed that there were no breaches, penalties, or legal proceedings related to the three key areas of compliance: competition law, personal data protection law, and international sanctions.
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Akçansa upholds its commitment to ethics and compliance through principles of transparency, education, and adherence to international standards. By sharing these values with all stakeholders, the company continues to set an industry benchmark with exemplary practices in ethics and compliance.

• For more information, you may access the Akçansa Code of Business Ethics here.