We are going green. KKR establishes first of its kind Green Portfolio Project in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund.

EDF Partnership

KKR takes our responsibility to the environment seriously and seeks to adopt and implement environmentally sound policies in our portfolio companies, and our own internal operations. In May 2008, KKR announced a groundbreaking partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) — a leading national non-profit organization with more than 500,000 members. Through this partnership, known as the “Green Portfolio” Project, we are working together to measure and improve the environmental performance of companies within KKR’s U.S. portfolio, similar to the way KKR drives financial improvement.

Building on the Success of the Historic TXU Transaction
This partnership is a direct result of KKR’s work with EDF and other environmental leaders during the TXU acquisition last year. That historic transaction was a significant step forward in incorporating environmental considerations into investment decisions as it set a new standard for conservation and efficiency in the energy industry.

Partnership With Lasting Benefits
EDF and KKR are conducting pilot projects within the KKR portfolio to develop analytic tools that can then be applied across a broader range of KKR portfolio companies over the next year. These tools will enable managers to cost-effectively improve efficiency, reduce waste and address environmental impacts, such as:

  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Use of toxic substances
  • Waste generation
  • Water consumption

EDF and KKR will make the processes, tools and results of their joint effort publicly available, with the mutual goal of having these tools implemented by other companies around the world.

Here’s what Marc Lipschultz, a private equity professional at KKR, said about the "Green Portfolio" Project:

“Building on the success of the historic TXU transaction, we and EDF agreed to pursue an innovative, cost-effective approach to using the private equity model to bring about improvements in environmental performance for a variety of companies, including our own internal operations. We believe this initiative will ultimately help our portfolio companies build upon their own environmental efforts while providing a workable example that may encourage other companies to make similar progress.”

Participating in EDF’s Climate Corps Program
In addition to the Green Portfolio Project, KKR is committed to improving the energy efficiency of its own office operations. This is evidenced by its participation in EDF’s Climate Corps Program. As part of this commitment, KKR underwent an energy audit of its offices and analyzed and implemented energy efficiency improvements.