ABSTRACT
This chapter provides Turkey profiles which includes key information about the relevant corporate sustainability and responsibility (CSR) history, country-specific issues, trends, research, education and leading organizations. Turkey represents an interesting case of CSR agendas in the developing world. The CSR agenda in Turkey, even within foreign multinational corporations, is strongly influenced by the Ottoman Turkish tradition of vakifs, or endowments. The environment is becoming a major priority in CSR initiatives in Turkey, unlike labour and human rights. Education is highly valued in Turkey as it is seen as the surest way to be lifted out of poverty. Therefore many vakifs make much of providing scholarships and donating computers and funds to schools. Educational provision is improving in Turkey, which has a large national public education system. Healthcare is another traditional priority for philanthropy in Turkey. Western and Eastern Turkey also represent very different environments, with latter largely rural and underdeveloped and the former quite wealthy by comparison and highly urbanised.
