KKR to reward eco-friendly portfolio companies

KKR has launched an award to reward the firm’s eco-friendliest portfolio companies with a financial prize.

The Eco-Innovation Award is intended to highlight current projects or initiatives within KKR portfolio companies that are innovative, “environmentally beneficial solutions that create business value”, KKR said in a statement. The firm did not disclose the size of the financial reward.

The award is part of KKR’s Green Solutions Platform (GSP), a program introduced by the firm to identify, support and highlight environmental initiatives at its portfolio companies.

“Our goal with the Green Solutions Platform and now the Eco-Innovation Award is to encourage and support our companies' eco-innovation work as we do their eco-efficiency projects,” said Elizabeth Seeger, director at KKR and a leader of the GSP program. “We hope that by launching the Eco-Innovation Award, we are not only recognizing the achievements of our portfolio companies, but also inspiring them to identify new and enhanced ways of creating sustainable value.”

The GSP applies KKR's approach of assessing, measuring, optimizing, and highlighting performance to support participating portfolio companies' efforts to manage their environmental impacts while also seeking to improve their businesses, KKR said on its website.

The program includes 30 participating portfolio companies from across four asset classes, including private equity, special situations, real estate, and infrastructure.

Private equity portfolio companies providing results include, web hosting company GoDaddy, healthcare company Panasonic Healthcare, pet supplies retailer Pets at Home, American toy retailer Toys “R” Us and foodservice distributor US Foods.

The announcement of the first Eco-Innovation Award winner is expected in fall 2016, KKR said in the statement. The winning portfolio company will receive a financial prize to enhance the company's broader environmental initiatives, as well as relevant and customized project enhancement support from KKR and KKR Capstone.

In July, KKR released its sixth annual ESG and Citizenship Report outlining five global challenges and opportunities for KKR, its portfolio companies, and its investors. These challenges include adapting to climate change, improving agriculture, preventing and treating disease, building infrastructure, and handling resource constraints.