Clayton, Dubilier & Rice – Shi Ting (Jessica) Koh – 2024

Summary

Jessica Koh worked on benchmarking portfolio companies in data quality, decarbonization maturity, and sustainability practices, contributing to actionable insights for portfolio companies.

Goals

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), a private investment firm based in New York, enlisted Jessica Koh as an EDF Climate Corps Fellow to analyze sustainability data from their portfolio companies. Her goal was to generate insights to enhance both the sustainability performance and business objectives of these companies.

Solutions

During her time with CD&R, Jessica completed three key projects:
• Data Quality Assessment: Jessica evaluated the quality of emissions data, categorizing companies based on factors such as the readiness of data assurance processes and the presence of decarbonization strategies and board oversight.
• Decarbonization Maturity Benchmarking: She utilized the Private Markets Decarbonization Roadmap (PMDR) to benchmark portfolio companies against peers/competitors in terms of GHG emissions reporting and decarbonization target-setting ambitions.
• Landscape Study of Peers’ Sustainability Practices: Finally, Jessica analyzed sustainability reports from key peers/competitors to extract insights on industry trends and best practices.

Potential Impact

Jessica’s work laid the foundation for the next phase of engagement with portfolio companies, providing CD&R with benchmarks and insights that we believe will drive the enhancement of sustainability practices. We believe this approach can help to generate long-term value and strengthen the competitive positioning of these companies, aligning with the firm’s broader investment strategy.