Businesses from hotels to factories are gaining access to a new financing option for investments that will reduce their heating and cooling costs. With an agreement signed at COP31 in Antalya on November 10, Daikin Türkiye joined Akbank’s Sustainable Cooling Finance Program as its first technology partner. Daikin will examine businesses’ existing systems and calculate how much energy can be saved through which equipment upgrades, while Akbank will finance eligible projects.
Editor’s note: This press release has been translated and localized into English with the assistance of AI.
The investment a business makes in its heating and cooling systems today affects both its energy costs and its carbon footprint for years to come. With more than 100 years of global experience in the air conditioning industry, Daikin has joined Akbank’s Sustainable Cooling Finance Program as its first technology partner to make it easier for businesses to transition to systems that consume less energy. Under the collaboration, Daikin will examine existing systems through energy audits and design improvements that can deliver energy savings according to the needs of each business, while Akbank will provide financing for eligible projects. The cooperation agreement was signed on November 10, 2026, the second day of COP31 held in Antalya, at a ceremony attended by Hasan Önder, President of Daikin Türkiye, Middle East and Africa Region, and Kaan Gür, CEO of Akbank.
The signing ceremony took place as part of the “Perspectives from the Field” panel at the Akbank Sustainable Cooling and Finance Day in the COP31 Green Zone. In the panel moderated by Akbank Sustainable Finance Manager Dilan Laçin, Onur Ece, Daikin Solution Sales and Energy Efficiency Consultancy Services Department Manager, and industry representatives discussed the technical and financial barriers to cooling investments and the ways to overcome them.
As the first technology partner of the Sustainable Cooling Finance Program, Daikin will guide businesses on which air conditioning investments they can prioritize. Akbank, as the financial partner in Türkiye of the UNDP Cool Up Programme, identified businesses’ needs and investment potential during the first six months of the financing program it launched in March 2026. Daikin will evaluate these needs within the scope of its Energy Efficiency Consultancy and develop suitable investment projects for each business.
Daikin experts will examine the performance of businesses’ existing air conditioning systems through energy audits and engineering analyses. This work will reveal which equipment can be upgraded, which technology suits the business’s needs and to what extent the investment can reduce energy consumption.
Hasan Önder, President of Daikin Türkiye, Middle East and Africa Region, commented on the cooperation agreement signed with Akbank at COP31:
“I am very pleased to have signed this agreement together with Mr. Kaan Gür at COP31, hosted by Türkiye. Air conditioning has an important role to play in reducing the carbon footprint of buildings. When a business meets the same heating and cooling needs with less energy, it lowers its energy costs and can also reduce the carbon emissions resulting from energy use.
Our job at Daikin is to identify where these savings are possible and to develop the air conditioning project that suits the needs of each business. Akbank will support the implementation of these investments by providing financing for eligible projects. With this step we have taken at COP31, we want to turn the goal of reducing carbon in buildings into concrete projects that businesses in Türkiye can implement.”
Participating in the summit for the fourth consecutive time since COP28, Daikin is also present at the Japan Pavilion organized by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in the COP31 Blue Zone. There, the company is showcasing high-efficiency inverter air conditioners that adjust their operating capacity to cooling demand, heat pumps that support the electrification of space and water heating, and practices for recovering refrigerants when equipment is replaced or reaches the end of its service life. At the interactive exhibition, visitors can compare different scenarios to examine the potential CO₂ reduction these solutions can deliver over the life cycle of buildings.
At the Japan Pavilion at COP31, Daikin is demonstrating how energy consumption and carbon emissions in buildings can be reduced with today’s air conditioning technologies. Through the collaboration signed with Akbank, it will also support businesses in Türkiye in realizing this potential in their own buildings and in transitioning to energy-efficient air conditioning systems.
