KKR Portfolio Companies Get New Green Solutions Platform

As Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues continue to grow in importance for mainstream investors, KKR’s pioneering environmental initiative provides the resources and tools necessary for its participating private equity portfolio companies to determine materiality and the means to measure it.

Elizabeth Seeger (Washington, D.C.) is a Director on KKR’s Public Policy and Affairs team where she helps oversee the management of environmental and social responsibility issues and opportunities across KKR's portfolio, including through KKR’s newly relaunched Green Solutions Platform (GSP). Ms. Seeger was previously a Project Manager in the Corporate Partnerships Program of Environmental Defense Fund and a consultant with the Corporate Executive Board, where she advised companies across a broad range of industries in Europe and the United States. She is a 2013 Aspen Institute First Movers Fellow and is on the Standards Council of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. 

What was the call to action for KKR to pioneer the original environmental initiative - Green Portfolio Program (GPP)?

The Green Portfolio Program (GPP) was officially launched in 2008, but started back in 2007 when I was working at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). EDF’s goal at the time was to build a program that would enable private equity firms to implement and accelerate programs that could drive the most environmental benefits possible.

KKR is an active investor in the companies within our private equity portfolio and we have a relatively long investment period, often a 5-7 year investment hold. Thus, we help identify operational priorities and implement them over time. 

Continue reading on CSRwire >>

Kelly Eisenhardt is Co-Founder and Managing Director at BlueCircle Advisors, an environmental compliance and sustainability consulting and training firm based in Massachusetts (www.bluecircleadvisors.com.)  In her role at BlueCircle Advisors, she is responsible for providing business intelligence, strategy and implementation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk programs.  Her experience aligns well with her client’s needs for technology, compliance, and sustainability expertise by helping companies create and manage their corporate environmental and social responsibility programs. She specializes in strategy, planning, and reporting for Conflict Minerals, RoHS, and REACH. She is also a member of the Corporate Responsibility Association and participates in the Ratings and Rankings, as well as Responsible Supply Chain committees.