US Foods Announced as 2017 Winner of KKR’s Eco-Innovation Award Back to Press Releases

US Foods Announced as 2017 Winner of KKR’s Eco-Innovation Award

November 2, 2017

Serve Goodproducts address key issues around food sustainability

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that US Foods, one of the largest foodservice distributors in the United States, is the winner of KKR’s second annual Eco-Innovation Award. US Foods won the award for its Serve Good product line, comprised of sustainable food and non-food products that are responsibly sourced or contribute to waste reduction. Receiving the Eco-Innovation Award’s 2017 Honorable Mention was cloud services company OVH for its data center efficiency technology, which reduces energy use and related environmental impacts by incorporating air flow and water cooling in place of air conditioning.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171102006548/en/

US Foods CEO Pietro Satriano with the Serve Good Team (Photo: Business Wire)

US Foods CEO Pietro Satriano with the Serve Good Team (Photo: Business Wire)

Launched in 2016, KKR’s Eco-Innovation Award recognizes a current project by one of KKR’s portfolio companies that is an innovative, environmentally beneficial solution creating business value. The award builds on KKR’s Green Solutions Platform (GSP) – a global effort to support KKR portfolio companies that are driving meaningful business and environmental benefits – in which US Foods has participated since 2008. As part of today’s announcement, KKR has also released program updates for 13 of the portfolio companies participating in the GSP, three of which are entirely new participants.

US Foods offers more than 260 Serve Good products to address key sustainability issues in the food industry, including organic, non-GMO, sustainable seafood, animal care, waste reduction, or responsible disposables. The product line allows restaurants to serve quality food while also considering the environmental impact of their offerings. In this way, the Serve Good products are also designed to demonstrate business value, through increased customer loyalty and revenue.

As the winner of the Eco-Innovation Award, the company will receive a financial prize to enhance its broader environmental initiatives and expand the scope of the Serve Good program, as well as relevant and customized project enhancement support from KKR and KKR Capstone.

“At US Foods, we strive to source and deliver delicious foods while also considering the environmental and social impact of our offerings. As demand for sustainable foodservice products continues to grow, we remain committed to providing our customers with an array of innovative offerings to help them succeed,” said Stacie Sopinka, vice president of product development and innovation, US Foods. “We are honored to be recognized by KKR for these efforts and appreciate the years of partnership.”

Nate Taylor, KKR Member and Head of the Americas Consumer Retail team, added, “We are proud to be a partner to US Foods for many reasons, and are particularly excited about the company’s dedication to engaging with its customers and its supply chain to deliver the best products possible.”

“We received a number of award submissions from companies around the world that are doing really important and innovative work to drive both business and environmental benefits. Congratulations to US Foods, and also to OVH, on this recognition and, most importantly, on their significant efforts in eco-innovation,” said Elizabeth Seeger, Director at KKR and a leader of the GSP.

The award process included evaluation and scoring by an Expert Judging Committee. This committee included leaders representing corporate and non-profit expertise across regions including from KKR and KKR Capstone; nonprofit partner organizations Environmental Defense Fund and BSR (Business for Social Responsibility); as well as from Walgreens Boots Alliance, and SolarReserve. Evaluation criteria used by judges to analyze submissions included business value, environmental sustainability, and eco-innovation.

For more on KKR’s Eco-Innovation Award, the winning project, and the selection process, visit www.green.kkr.com/award.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and, through its strategic partners, hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside its partners’ capital and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. L.P.(NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About KKR Capstone

KKR Capstone is an operational team of highly experienced industry executives and functional specialists. The team works exclusively for KKR and its portfolio companies on the ground in partnership with management teams to create sustainable improvements. With offices in the Americas, Asia and Europe, KKR Capstone has the capacity, capability, and scale to support complex, global businesses. KKR Capstone is not a subsidiary or affiliate of KKR.

About US Foods

US Foods is one of America’s great food companies and a leading foodservice distributor, partnering with approximately 250,000 restaurants and foodservice operators to help their businesses succeed. With nearly 25,000 employees and more than 60 locations, US Foods provides its customers with a broad and innovative food offering and a comprehensive suite of e-commerce, technology and business solutions. US Foods is headquartered in Rosemont, Ill. and generates approximately $23 billion in annual revenue. Visit usfoods.com to learn more.

About OVH

OVH is a global provider of hyperscale cloud, which offers businesses a benchmark for value and performance in the sector. Founded in 1999, the group manages and maintains 27 datacentres in 12 sites across 4 continents, deploys its own global fibre optic network, and manages the entire supply chain for web hosting. Running on its own infrastructures, OVH provides simple, powerful tools for businesses, revolutionising the way that more than 1 million customers work across the globe. Respect for individuals’ right to privacy and equal access to new technologies are central to the company’s values. For OVH, “Innovation is Freedom.”

About the Green Solutions Platform

The Green Solutions Platform (GSP) is KKR’s global effort to identify, support, and highlight environmental initiatives at KKR portfolio companies across three areas: eco-efficiency, eco-innovation, and/or eco-solutions. The program 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. The GSP – launched in 2008 as the Green Portfolio Program – has included approximately 50 reporting companies. For additional information about the program and individual company results, please visit green.kkr.com.

Media:
KKR
Kristi Huller or Cara Major, 212-750-8300
media@kkr.com
or
US Foods
Sara Matheu, 847-720-2392
sara.matheu@usfoods.com

Source: KKR



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