Mehmet Tütüncü, Chair of the Board and CEO of Yıldız Holding, has been appointed co-chair of the Food Security and Agriculture Working Group of the COP31 Business Forum, established by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) to coordinate the participation of the global business community in COP31, the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Antalya in November. Tütüncü will co-chair the working group with Diane Holdorf, Vice President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The appointment was announced to the international business community during the COP31 Business Forum meetings held as part of Climate Week NYC. Tütüncü said: “I believe the COP31 Business Forum presents an important opportunity to move beyond commitments in global climate diplomacy and launch concrete implementation mechanisms. We aim to make a tangible contribution to the COP31 agenda by translating the private sector’s practical expertise into actionable and scalable measures and policy recommendations.”

Mehmet Tütüncü, Chair of the Board and CEO of Yıldız Holding, has taken on an important international responsibility in the lead-up to COP31, which will be hosted by Türkiye in Antalya from November 9 to 20.

Following the appointment of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) as the COP31 Private Sector Envoy by the COP31 Presidency, the COP31 Business Forum was established to ensure the effective and results-oriented participation of the global business community in the COP31 process. The Forum aims to strengthen cooperation between the business community’s climate agenda and public policy, bring the private sector’s investment and implementation experience to the COP31 agenda, and establish a lasting framework for this contribution. Thematic working groups aligned with the COP31 agenda are also continuing their efforts to identify implementation challenges, areas for solutions, and tangible contributions that the private sector can offer.

Actionable recommendations for Food Security and Agriculture

The Food Security and Agriculture Working Group, co-chaired by Mehmet Tütüncü, Chair of the Board and CEO of Yıldız Holding, aims to bring together leading representatives of the global food system to develop actionable and scalable policy recommendations informed by the private sector’s on-the-ground experience in this field. The working group’s priority areas include the food-water-climate nexus, farmer ecosystem resilience, and climate-resilient agriculture. The food-water-climate nexus and climate-resilient agriculture are also among the key focus areas of COP31’s official Food Security agenda.

The policy recommendations to be developed by the working group are intended to draw on implementation challenges encountered on the ground and the private sector’s experience, and to bring solutions that will contribute to tangible progress in food security and agriculture to the COP31 agenda.

The priority policy recommendations, private-sector actions, and selected examples of good practice to be included among the working group’s final outputs are expected to be presented to the COP31 Presidency and international stakeholders at the COP31 Business and Investment Summit, to be held in Antalya on November 12–13.

Global business community convenes in New York around the COP31 agenda

The working group co-chairs, including Mehmet Tütüncü and Diane Holdorf, joined senior representatives of the global business community at the COP31 Business Forum meetings held as part of Climate Week NYC.

The COP31 Business Forum – New York Dialogue, held at Bloomberg’s global headquarters on September 22, was hosted by Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of TOBB and Chair of the COP31 Business Forum, and Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

On September 23, a High-Level Roundtable is being held with the participation of members of the COP31 Business Forum Advisory Council, the working group co-chairs, and selected senior business leaders.

Mehmet Tütüncü: “We view food security and agriculture as a key focus area of the climate agenda”

Mehmet Tütüncü, Chair of the Board and CEO of Yıldız Holding, who attended the COP31 Business Forum meetings held as part of Climate Week NYC, commented:

“I believe COP31, which will be hosted by Türkiye, presents an important opportunity to translate climate targets into concrete action and mobilize the business community’s capacity to develop solutions. At Yıldız Holding, guided by our ‘This Is Our World’ approach and ‘Zero-Waste Company’ model, we place sustainability at the heart of our approach to long-term value creation. Drawing on our global experience in food, we view climate resilience, the efficient use of natural resources, and the future of farmer ecosystems as key focus areas for food security and agriculture. As the Food Security and Agriculture Working Group within the COP31 Business Forum, we aim to make a tangible contribution to the COP31 agenda by translating the private sector’s practical expertise into actionable and scalable measures and policy recommendations.”