'Sustainability Index Workshop', with the collaboration of Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum (SU CGFT) and United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE) and the welfare fund of British Embassy, was carried out at Sabancı Center on the 23th of January, 2014.

Sabancı University (SU) is actively supporting the project by providing intellectual support and by helping the rating process undertaken rating firm EIRIS. To help the process benefit from investors' and investment managers' input, SSE Initiative and SU are jointly organized the workshop in Istanbul and bring together the CEOs of top local asset management firms and investor relations managers of selected firms listed in BIST together with international institutional investors and BIST team.

The opening speech of the workshop was held by Borsa Istanbul Executive Vice President Mustafa Kemal Yılmaz. Then the director of the SU-CGFT, Melsa Ararat made her speech. The main speech of the workshop was carried by the Amra Balic general manager of the BlackRock, which is the biggest asset management company in the world. After speeches, participants of the workshop made three different roundtables. They discussed about the determined questions and the moderators of each table made presentations about the results from tables. At the end of the workshop Melsa Ararat made synthesis and the closing speech.  

The Stock Exchange Istanbul (BIST), the Capital Markets Board (SPK), international and local portfolio managers, index rating agency EIRIS, investor relations officers that are in the BIST 30 index within and sustainability in the description leadership of the companies, UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the British Embassy, Turkey Corporate Governance Association (TKYD), Turkey Capital Market Intermediary Institutions Association (TSAKB), Turkey Investor Relations Association (TÜYİD), Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD), Sustainable Development Association (SKD), the Central Registration Depository Institution (MKK) and the UN Global Compact network representatives of Turkey took place as workshop participant. 

The results from the workshop will be published in a report by Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum.

Please find the interview of SU-CGFT coordinator Melsa Ararat about Sustainability Index here.