How It Works

The Green Portfolio Program applies KKR's approach of assessing, measuring, and optimizing performance to help our portfolio companies manage their environmental impacts while also improving their businesses. At the core of this approach is a set of analytic tools to help each company management team assess and track improvements across several key environmental performance areas (KEPAs), such as greenhouse gas emissions, water, waste, priority chemicals, and forest resources, where improving performance can bring about measurable business benefits. The simple process looks like this:

Select Priority
KEPAs

Establish Metrics &
Baseline

Develop Goals &
Action Plan

Measure & Report
Results

  • Review current environmental practices
  • Assess environmental & business impact through materiality assessment
  • Establish key metrics to assess progress for priority issues
  • Collect historial data & establish baseline for selected metrics
  • Identify improvement targets against selected metrics
  • Develop and implement action plan
  • Report on performance against baseline & targets quarterly
  • Reassess & amend as necessary
Process tailored to companies' existing environmental or sustainability programs

By the end of the process, each company has one or two areas of focus for the year. In most cases, participating companies already have environmental efforts underway, so the Green Portfolio Program brings additional resources and support for these focus areas.

To date, KKR has launched the Green Portfolio Program at 23 of our portfolio companies. As other companies join the program and we update results over time, you can follow our Green Portfolio successes in the results section of this site.

But how does it really work?

We recognize that many of our companies are already highly engaged in managing their environmental impacts. The primary goal of the Green Portfolio Program is not to apply a one-size-fits-all mandate to a diverse portfolio. Instead, the goal is to bring additional resources to bear upon existing priorities. KKR's team of operations experts — KKR Capstone — partners with our portfolio companies to help make this program work. They are on the ground at many of our companies. They help drive this program like they do other operational priorities at the companies in which we invest.

As part of this initiative, KKR is also building a number of resources for Green Portfolio participants. We will be launching an online portal for our companies to log in and collect data and report performance against their goals. In addition, as more companies enroll in the program, we will continue to work with our partners at the Environmental Defense Fund to build a database of best practices that our portfolio company managers can access so that every participating company can learn from the lessons of the others.

Responsible Investment

For more information on KKR’s responsible investment efforts, go to www.kkr2011esg.com.

Program Updates

Dec 17, 2012

16 portfolio companies achieved more than $644 million in financial impact

In 2011, 16 portfolio companies achieved more than $644 million in financial impact and avoid more than one million GHG emissions and 13.2 million cubic meters of water use.[More]
Dec 17, 2012

8 portfolio companies joined the GPP

In 2012, 8 portfolio companies joined the GPP, bringing total participation to 24.[More]
Jun 21, 2012

KKR published its second annual ESG and Citizenship Report

KKR published its second annual ESG and Citizenship Report. http://www.kkr2011esg.com/[More]
May 22, 2012

KKR Green Portfolio Program Announces New Participants

Seven new companies have partnered with the Green Portfolio Program, bringing total enrollment to 23.[More]