Our experiences during the last 36 years have proven to us that our most important assets are our partnerships. Engaging thoughtfully with key stakeholders ensures that our approach is both sound and informed by a broad range of insights and experiences. Our focus on stakeholder engagement has been a central part of our philosophy from the beginning and is a capability that we continually are working to strengthen.
Our partners and stakeholders include a wide range of groups and individuals, including the management and employees of the companies in which we invest, the individuals and institutions that invest alongside us, the communities affected by our investments, non-governmental organizations — including unions — and our own employees who work hard to achieve results. It is also important to us that we engage and build positive relationships with groups that represent the communities and the environments we affect, as well as with the governments and regulators of the countries in which we operate. Protecting and enhancing these relationships over the long term is critical to smart investing and creating long-term, sustainable value.
How KKR Engages with Stakeholders
- Ongoing efforts to increase transparency and engagement as part of our endorsement of the ILPA principles
- Investment alongside our partners with more than $5.5 billion of our and our employees’ own money invested in or committed to investments, making KKR its own largest investor
- ESG round tables with KKR private equity portfolio companies
- Dialogue and engagement with regulatory authorities and policymakers by KKR and portfolio companies regarding societal needs, industry trends, and regulatory trends
- Pre-investment assessments of relationship between workers and management, including, where relevant, organized labor and work councils
- Meetings and webinars with functional leads on emerging issues and proven practices
- Ongoing, deep engagement through the boards of directors and through operational initiatives throughout the portfolio companies
- Survey of employees to measure engagement, satisfaction, and improvement opportunities Semi-annual review and development discussions based on 360-degree feedback
- Ongoing leadership development and other critical skills-based training programs
- Communication of our ESG efforts to employees through targeted internal communications and regular updates from KKR leadership
- Specific ESG training programs for investment professionals and Capstone executives
- Partnerships with external thought leaders
- Consultations with external experts on specific ESG issues in the private equity pre-investment and investment phases
- ESG round tables with KKR private equity portfolio companies
ESG Round Tables
In 2010, we began bringing together a number of our European private equity portfolio companies, limited partners, and thought leaders from outside of our portfolio to discuss the challenges and lessons learned in each of our efforts to integrate the management of ESG issues in our businesses. These events, which became known as our ESG round tables, are a unique way to bring partners from along the investment value chain together to identify ways that we can better work together.
In June 2011, we expanded our ESG round table by adding a half-day working session with representatives of our portfolio companies. In this session, we explained our commitment to responsible investment, reviewed our resources available to support their efforts, and heard from an expert on emerging best practices in board-level management of sustainability issues. During the second half of the day, we were joined by a number of limited partners and expanded our discussion to how we can all work together across the investment life cycle. Our round tables have set the foundation for many successful partnerships and we will continue to convene these events with our portfolio companies and the investor community in 2012.
