CUDES 2023 - Current Debates in Social Sciences, Tbilisi, Gürcistan, 11 - 12 Ekim 2023, ss.12
The concept of sustainability has been addressed in business and marketing research as one of the essential
topics of the last decades. As a result of the expectations of consumers and the market from companies on
sustainability, companies carry out various activities in the field of sustainability and share them with the
market. Understanding how sustainability studies, which are based on long-term thinking for both the
planet, the ecosystem, and the environment, are communicated to consumers and the market, will be an
essential source of information for today's marketing decision-makers. The study aims to evaluate the
sustainability communication of the banking companies in the Turkey market by an exploratory approach.
Consistent with that approach, thematic analysis methodology is employed for the study. For the study's
sample, the banking industry brands are selected from Brand Finance 2023 Turkey report, and Facebook
posts are examined. Posts are examined through three aspects; the communication type, sustainabilityspecific topic, and content form. Nine different communication type themes as podcast/series,
informing/teaching audience, society projects/partnerships with social projects, direct sustainability
projects, supporting industry, embedding sustainability into banking products, company policy, special
days about sustainability and environment, and indirect support to industry (competitions/programs) are
concluded in the study. For the sustainability-specific topic, the sustainability topic taxonomy of Confetto
and Covucci (2021) is used for this study, while some part of the taxonomy is found valid in the context.
Finally, three different content forms, photo-based posts, video-based posts, and carousel-type posts, are
concluded in the study. The findings present an overview of sustainability communication in the banking
industry in Turkey. They can help marketing communication decision-makers better understand the
concept with theoretical and practical lenses.