Environment
Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM)
Shell Eco-marathon, one of the longest-running student innovation competitions in the world, is a program that aims to encourage students who will design the future in the fields of science, technology and engineering. The program also contributes to enhancing students’ knowledge in the fields of energy technologies and alternative energy sources. This program is implemented by teams exploring all aspects of design, technology and engineering, designing energy-efficient vehicles and competing on the track. Students aim to travel the longest distance with the least amount of fuel with the vehicles they design.
Shell Eco-marathon has been attended by over 135 Turkish teams and over 2,000 Turkish students in Europe since 2005. Turkish teams have managed to rank among top 10 in their categories 25 times since 2005.
In 2018, Uludağ University Machinery Community students won the European championship in this competition organized with the participation of 147 teams from 27 countries. Designed and produced by Uludağ University students, ‘Barbaros’ was chosen as the most efficient vehicle in Europe in the city concept hydrogen energy vehicle category. In 2019, Yıldız Technical University AE2 team, one of the Turkish teams, won the “Safety Award” in the Off-Track Awards granted in 5 categories.
In 2020, in the competition held online for the first time due to the pandemic, Turkish young people attracted attention in Europe with the projects they developed. Within the scope of Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2020, Bursa Uludağ University’s team UMAKIT ranked first in both the “Circular Economy” and “Technical Innovation” categories, Yıldız Technical University’s team AE2 ranked first in the “Safety Award” category and TED University’s ALECTED TEAM ranked first in the “Monitoring and Reducing Carbon Emissions in Vehicles” category in Europe. The program continued with virtual competitions during this period when physical competitions were suspended due to the continuing impact of the pandemic conditions in 2021. One of these was the “Journey to 2050” competition, where high school and university students from all over the world sought an answer to the question “What should mobility look like in your future?”
In this competition, which was held in collaboration with Shell and Microsoft, students were asked to shoot a 30-second advertising video using their sustainable, creative, environmentally friendly and technological ideas in the field of the future of mobility in line with this goal. Team UMAKIT from Bursa Uludağ University became the first in the Europe & Africa Region with the interesting video they shot.
Shell Eco-marathon was held physically in 2022 after a two-year break. In the races in the Netherlands, Karadeniz Technical University Energy Technologies Community was granted the ‘Spirit and Perseverance Award’, which was selected with a special evaluation. The team members’ ability to overcome difficult conditions throughout the competition, their flexibility, harmony, support and high energy they provided to their friends in other teams played a role in receiving this award. In 2023 and 2024, the Shell Eco-marathon was held at Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro, France.
In 2024, a total of 166 students from cities including Adana, Antalya, Bursa, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Konya, and Trabzon came together to form 12 teams representing high schools and universities. They hit the track with vehicles powered by alternative energy sources like hydrogen and electricity.
In 2024, three teams applied to the Shell Eco-marathon for the first time and earned the right to compete in France: Gaziantep University, Selçuk University, and Turan Erdoğan Yılmaz Science High School.
Borusan Asım Kocabıyık Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School competed in different categories with two different vehicles. Yıldız Technical University’s AESK team competed in the Autonomous Urban Concept and Battery Electric categories with a single vehicle.
Istanbul Technical University and Karadeniz Technical University also had the opportunity to test their vehicles, developed in various categories by two different teams, at the international level.
DenizTemiz Association - 23rd Foundation Anniversary
Aksoy Holding undertook the general sponsorship of the DenizTemiz Association’s 23rd year of the foundation gala dinner, which was held in at Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus. DenizTemiz Association is undertaking a very important task in the protection of our country’s seas and coasts. Over 500 members of the association and its guests attended the gala dinner on October 16, 2017. With the support that given to association who have been working for 23 years Aksoy Holding contributed to the protection of the biodiversity of the sea and coasts and the prevention of pollution.
In her opening speech Şadan Kaptanoğlu, “We will continue our blue voyage together with our valued members, our guests and supporters, until we reach a society who protect its sea and Turkey who won the fighting with sea pollution” she said. A plaque was presented to Aksoy Holding for the support it gives to the association, who believes that a clean environment can be achieved by protecting undersea as well as the sea surface. Aksoy Holding CEO & Vice Chairman Mr. Batu Aksoy’s plaque was given by Founder and Honorary President Rahmi M. Koç and Board Chairman Şadan Kaptanoğlu. Batu Aksoy said, “As the business people, we have a great responsibility to make the ecosystem that we live in better. Reclaiming what we receive from nature is very important for both humans and other living creatures living in nature. In this sense, Turmepa’s work is very valuable. We are happy and proud to be a part of it tonight as Aksoy Holding and Epique Island”.
Bottle Caps Recycled into Happiness
Respect for Nature
In addition to constantly improving its products through technological innovation, Shell & Turcas plays an active role in the fight against climate change by providing cleaner energy solutions, which contributes to increased efficiency and performance. A number of projects have been launched by the Company to date, including electric charging units, waste management, LNG stations, and solar-powered stations.
There are currently 38 stations across the country that use 30% of their electricity from solar power. The “digital energy management” system, which was piloted in 2020, allows users to monitor the energy consumption of a wide range of station components, including air conditioners, refrigerators, and canopies. Up to 10% of energy can be saved with digital energy management.
In addition, Shell Lubricants and Grease Production Facility in Derince, where products are exported to 70 countries, has received the Zero Waste Certificate, awarded by the Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of Kocaeli, after establishing the Zero Waste Management System. By separately collecting, labeling, recycling, or recovering waste across the facility at their source, the company was able to contribute significantly to its sustainability and carbon emission reduction goals, reducing the amount of waste disposed of, as well as raising employee awareness. Solar panels have been installed on the roof of Derince Lubricant and Grease Production Facility, enabling the facility to generate its own electricity. With its 1MW installed power, it is expected that the solar panel structure will provide approximately 25% of the facility’s annual power consumption, thus preventing approximately 500 tons of carbon emissions annually.
Shell offers the widest service network for vehicle maintenance in Türkiye. For the first time in the industry, Super Ionized Water technology is being used in car washers to allow thousands of vehicles to be washed without wasting any water. Every station saves an average of more than 2,000,000 liters of water each year as a result of this technology.
A Shell & Turcas Forest has been established on an area of 5 hectares on the Istanbul Northern Ring Motorway that is expected to neutralize approximately 105 tons of carbon dioxide released by more than 1,300 automobiles every year. A total of 3,100 trees of eight varieties, blue cypress, pyramid cypress, umbrella pine, lime, ash-leaved maple, sycamore, red oak, and acacia catechu, were planted in the Shell & Turcas Forest, which were planned, accredited, and planted by two distinguished professors from Istanbul University’s Faculty of Forestry.