DuPont Sustainable Solutions buys ESG specialist KKS Advisors
In its second deal since going independent, DuPont Sustainable Solutions has acquired KKS Advisors, a boutique consultancy specialised in environment, social and governance.
Founded in 2013, KKS Advisors helps clients around the world with some of their most pressing sustainability challenges, including strategy, impact investing, SDG implementation, corporate reporting and environment, social and governance management. The firm works with investors, asset managers, general partners, corporations, foundations and NGOs.
Having built a market-leading reputation in the sustainability consulting industry, KKS Advisors has now decided to join forces with DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS), a 1,000 global consulting firm specialised in operations management and workplace safety. According to George Serafeim, co-founder and managing partner, the partnership marks the “next big chapter” for the firm’s team and clients.
“We founded KKS Advisors with the aim to help organisations around the world have more positive impact on society and the environment while improving their competitiveness. This merger will allow KKS to grow its impact globally, learn from the leading provider of operations and health & safety services, and make a difference in industries and organisations in need of transformation.”
Following deal closing, KKS Advisors will retain its name and brand, and will continue to be led by co-founder Serafeim – a well-known thought leader (100+ articles and delivered keynote speeches in 60+ countries) and academic (a Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School) in the ESG space.
For DuPont Sustainable Solutions, the bolt-on bolsters its capabilities in one of the industry’s fastest growing segments (sustainability), and equally important, enables the consultancy to inject sustainability expertise into its existing offerings to “now provide a truly integrated sustainability transformation solution to our clients,” explained Davide Vassallo, the firm’s Chief Executive Officer.
“We believe that managing risks and improving operations are fundamentally linked to sustainability and societal impact,” he said. “Our acquisition of KKS Advisors enables DSS to provide its clients with deeper insights, strategy expertise and integrated capabilities to develop and implement their ESG and sustainability plans so they can successfully protect people, improve operations and create a sustainable future.”
In the coming months, the team of KKS Advisors (20+ consultants) in Boston (US), London (UK) and Athens (Greece) will collaborate with DSS teams to develop joint offerings. “We look forward to working with DSS to help their clients find the value of incorporating ESG into their business models,” said Boston-based Serafeim.
Fellow co-founder Sakis Kotsantonis (based in London) added, “The next big chapter for KKS is starting through this partnership. We have a tremendous opportunity to help organisations around the world achieve more impact.”
The deal is DSS’ second transaction since it split from parent DuPont in September 2019, following the purchase of mining consultancy Lodestone Partners in March last year.
