Green Portfolio Program Announces over $160 Million in Savings

(New York, NY – June 3, 2010) Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today announced that the Green Portfolio Program has achieved $160 million in savings after just two years.

The Green Portfolio Program, launched in 2008, harnesses innovation to improve financial and environmental performance of KKR’s portfolio companies. The program focuses on several key environmental performance areas (KEPAs), including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, waste, water, forest resources, and priority chemicals.

“Today’s impressive results clearly link good environmental practices with superior business performance,” said Tom Murray, Managing Director for Corporate Partnerships at EDF. “They also illustrate the important role that KKR and the private equity sector can play in driving widespread industry change by implementing environmental best practices across multiple companies.”

To date, eight portfolio companies are reporting performance and have adopted innovations that have resulted in avoiding over $160 million in operating costs, 345,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions, 8,500 tons of paper, and 1.2 million tons of waste.

Dean Nelson, Head of KKR Capstone, said “We continue to create value in the KKR portfolio while improving our environmental stewardship. Most importantly, the portfolio companies and the communities in which they operate are benefiting from this effort, which is evident in the expansion of the program within the companies as well as across the portfolio.”

Since inception, the program has expanded to include approximately 20 percent of the companies in KKR’s global private equity portfolio, including: Accellent Inc., Biomet Inc., Dollar General Corporation, First Data Corporation, HCA Inc., Lehigh Phoenix (a division of Visant), Oriental Brewery, PRIMEDIA, Sealy Corporation, SunGard Data Systems Inc., Tarkett, and U.S. Foodservice.

Today’s results reflect the reports of the first eight companies to enroll in the program. The newest four companies are in the process of evaluating their KEPAs and setting metrics.

“These results reinforce the value of our approach – both for the environment and the bottom line. All along, our goal was for KKR portfolio companies to share and implement best practices that improve environmental and business performance. Despite the fact that this is a long-term commitment, today’s news shows that the work between EDF and KKR is already producing results,” said Ken Mehlman, Global Head of Public Affairs, KKR.

Each of the reporting companies adopted specific environmental innovations and calculated the estimated avoided costs and environmental impacts based on measured improvements in efficiency. For more insight into methodology, please visit http://green.kkr.com/results.htm. Company results below are aggregated to include both 2008 and 2009 performance:
 

COMPANY

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

FINANCIAL IMPACT
Accellent, one of the largest providers of fully integrated outsourced manufacturing and engineering services to the medical device industry, reduced energy use and GHG emissions from its manufacturing facilities. 6,600 metric tons avoided GHG emissions $785,000 avoided costs
Biomet, a leading designer and manufacturer of orthopedic medical devices, reduced GHG emissions from its manufacturing facilities. 10,500 metric tons avoided GHG emissions $2.1 million avoided costs
Dollar General, a general merchandise retailer, reduced GHG emissions and waste from its operations, including stores, distribution centers, transportation network and office space. - 160,000 metric tons avoided GHG emissions
- 10.8 million cubic yards of avoided waste		 $106 million avoided costs
HCA, one of the leading healthcare services organizations in the United States, reduced energy use and GHG from its hospital facilities.* 32,500 metric tons avoided GHG emissions $4.7 million avoided costs
PRIMEDIA, a leading provider of online, print and mobile platforms that provide consumers with tools and information they need to find a place to live, reduced its use of forest resources. 8,500 tons of paper avoided $7.5 million avoided costs
Sealy Corporation, North America’s No. 1 mattress brand, reduced waste from operations, improved delivery fleet efficiency and decreased related GHG emissions, and reduced GHG emissions from its manufacturing plants.* - 14,000 metric tons avoided GHG emissions
- 2.9 million lbs of waste avoided		 $12.1 million avoided costs
SunGard, one of the world’s leading software and technology services companies, improved efficiency and reduced GHG emissions from its data center facilities.*  20,700 metric tons avoided GHG emissions $3.8 million avoided costs
U.S. Foodservice, one of the country’s premier foodservice distributors, reduced GHG emissions from its delivery fleet and reduced energy use and GHG emissions from its distribution centers. 101,000 metric tons avoided GHG emissions $22.3 million avoided costs

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Uses a 2008 baseline for some or all of the results.

Additional details on the Green Portfolio Program and specific company initiatives can be found at http://green.kkr.com and www.edf.org/greenreturns.

One of the world’s leading international nonprofit organizations, Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org) creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships. With more than 3 million members and offices in the United States, China, Mexico, Indonesia and the European Union, EDF’s scientists, economists, attorneys and policy experts are working in 28 countries to turn our solutions into action. Connect with us on Twitter @EnvDefenseFund