Kris Waters shares a practical roadmap for translating investment recovery results into enterprise value that earns leadership attention and support.

Based on a presentation by Kris Waters, CMIR, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability, PetSmart.

Kris Waters is no stranger to the Association and the IR sector. As a Certified Manager of Investment Recovery and former President of the Association she brings a wealth of knowledge and know-how from two decades of experience from Cox Communications and Cox Enterprise. During that tenure, she built and scaled IR and sustainability programs that ultimately delivered over $400 million to the bottom line and helped the organization achieve zero waste to landfill without “funny math.”

Now leading Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability at PetSmart, she has shifted from telecom and utilities to retail – a change that required tucking away her operator hat and focusing on strategy, storytelling and building a different sustainability program from the ground up. That transition from vastly different industries was certainly a challenge. But here’s the secret to her success – the language required to secure funding, resources and executive support remained consistent.

It’s a secret she’s happy to pass along.

Kris shared a compelling perspective on how IR professionals can elevate their impact by translating operational results into enterprise-level value through strategic storytelling. She offered a clear, practical roadmap for making IR value visible enterprise-wide. Her expertise centers on one theme; the data doesn’t change by audience, but the entry point does and from there – your story has both credibility and relevance.

IR’s visibility problem: the elephant in the room

It can’t be overstated that IR professionals already generate significant value. The challenge is not the work itself, but how that work is perceived across an organization. Different departments have different needs and priorities. For example, finance sees proceeds, operations see equipment moved, sustainability sees waste and emissions reductions and compliance sees evidence and risk mitigation. So, the real problem is that each of those functions sees only a portion of the value that it’s adding. The result? The executive decision-makers rarely see the full picture.

This fragmentation makes it harder for IR teams to secure resources, expand programs or influence strategic decisions, even when their contributions are impressive and substantial.

Think of those blind men describing an elephant: each ‘sees’ only the part they can touch.

The IR discipline, however, is consistent regardless of whether the asset is a transformer, a packaging line or a server. The core questions never change: What is the next best use? How do we protect value? How do we control risk? How do we document the benefit?

The real trick, she argued, is telling the story in a way that resonates with each audience.

Activity metrics are not storytelling metrics

IR pros can sometimes get lost in the activity reporting as a measure of their productivity. And while that’s valuable and important for managing your resources within your team and among your vendor partners, it doesn’t tell the complete value story. Many IR teams rely heavily on activity-based KPIs – units processed, loads moved and auctions completed. While these are essential for internal management, they do not communicate enterprise value.

She urged professionals to shift toward external-facing KPIs that align with leadership priorities focusing on net revenue, cost avoidance, reuse value, risk reduction, environmental impact (materials and emissions) and EPR compliance and contributions.

These metrics connect IR work directly to capital allocation, margin improvement, resilience, and license to operate – terms executives use to make decisions.

Strategic storytelling: Starts with entry points

Kris outlined a practical, easy-to-implement communication strategy that speaks the language of your audience. The facts don’t change by audience, but the entry point does. Lead with what they are accountable for as entry points into your story. This is translation, not spin. For example:

• CEO: enterprise value, resilience, license to operate
• Finance: margin, capital efficiency, net revenue
• Compliance: control, evidence, reliability
• Sustainability: materials, emissions, auditable data

She encouraged IR leaders to hold key stakeholder meetings in their value language at least biannually, like operational planning or quarterly business review (QBR) processes. Those are great opportunities to showcase your value in the ways that matter most to your audiences. Bonus points if you can bring it into an existing forum, so you leverage the credibility of an established stage. Once you enter through their doorway, you can connect the rest of the IR value story behind it.

More internal audiences…more entry points

Finance: Finance always believes the number that it can reproduce. So usually that’s going to be net proceeds, avoided cost and recovery rates. Gross sales figures may look impressive, but credibility comes from net proceeds. Cultivate strong relationships with finance partners and ensure cost-avoidance baselines are well documented.

Procurement and Operations: Early visibility is crucial. If IR is not ready to redeploy an asset when procurement is preparing an RFP, the opportunity disappears.

Sustainability: Reducing waste through reuse has a much higher emissions and waste benefit than even responsible recycling. IR teams should share both financial and environmental impacts, especially as packaging-related Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees escalate across states.

Kris further highlighted how different industries prioritize different lead metrics. Their sector-specific entry points would include the following – all framed by the IR discipline:

Healthcare: continuity and controlled disposal

Tech & Telecom: data privacy and residual value

Utilities: reliability and field availability

Oil & Gas: disciplined claim boundaries and closure economics

And the most important activity of the year?

Stakeholder mapping! Waters stressed that IR leaders must invest time in understanding stakeholder goals, pain points and decision criteria. Mapping these perspectives (much like negotiating a contract) helps IR teams tailor their KPIs, storytelling and requests for resources.

Today, sustainability is heavily scrutinized, and some skeptical audiences may respond best to messages framed around waste less/buy less, reuse more and reduce liability.

Sustainability can be a favorable outcome even if it isn’t a priority to the decisionmakers you’re addressing.

It’s bigger than you think: the whole value enchilada

Kris reminded the audience that IR value is far more comprehensive than simple resale. A complete value equation includes:

• Net revenue
• Cost avoidance
• Reuse value
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance
• Risk reduction
• Material and emissions impact

Extended Producer Responsibility: IR opportunity alert

Complex EPR regulations are expanding rapidly and increasing cost centers for packaging, textiles, batteries and plastics. Several states have already implemented EPR laws with materials being categorized differently across states.

IR teams have a great opportunity to play a critical role by:

• Capturing secondary/tertiary packaging reuse data
• Supporting sustainability and compliance teams with auditable evidence
• Advocating for reusable packaging solutions that reduce fees/material costs
• Reducing/reusing to deliver stronger regulatory and emissions benefits than recycling alone, making IR a strategic partner in EPR compliance.

Avoided emissions vs. inventory emissions

She cautioned IR leaders to avoid overstating environmental impact. Corporate greenhouse gas inventories follow strict boundaries under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP). Avoided emissions from reuse or recycling do not automatically reduce Scope 1, 2, or 3 inventories, and should be reported separately from a corporate inventory.

Reuse can still lower inventory emissions indirectly, for example through fewer purchased goods (Scope 3 Category 1) or less waste generated (Scope 3 Category 5).

IR needs to:

• Understand how sustainability teams calculate emissions
• Align on what counts toward corporate targets
• Provide auditable, transaction-level evidence (weight tickets, chain-of-custody records, vendor documentation)

One IR project, multiple outcomes

During Waters’ time at Cox Communications, they faced a supply constraint on CableCARDs, required for set-top boxes under FCC rules in effect from 2007 to 2020. Her team saw an opportunity; harvest reusable cards from retired units. The results?

• $20 million saved
• 500,000 assets reused
• 25,000 pounds avoided landfill
• 248 metric tons of CO₂ avoided emissions

This single project extended asset life, protected capital budgets, reduced environmental impact and strengthened supply resilience. It also unlocked additional funding for the IR program providing proof that well-told IR stories drive investment.

Moreover, IR leaders should move beyond activity metrics (“we recycled 800 tons”) and toward business consequences such as dollars recovered/avoided and risks/emissions reduced.

“Coolest jobs in the world”

Kris reminded the attendees that they (and every IR professional) has one of the coolest jobs in the world. Whether working in healthcare, government, manufacturing, mining, retail or telecom, IR teams uniquely contribute value to a company. You don’t just manage surplus – you unlock hidden value, protect your organization and help build a more sustainable world. Every day, your work turns challenges into opportunities and waste into worth. Few roles deliver such a powerful combination of financial impact, environmental stewardship and operational excellence. Just consider some of the many ‘cool ways’ your role supports your organization: IR can:

• strengthen local and national economies
• reduce waste and emissions
• improve operational efficiency
• enhance corporate resilience
• document clear, measurable/auditable wins
• contribute to the circular economy
• become the organization’s expert on hidden value
• create a healthier planet for future generations

Now, how cool is all of that?

Frequently Asked Questions

Source: Adapted from ASSET 2.0, Vol 3 2026 Post-Show Issue (pages 5–8), published by the Investment Recovery Association. Based on a presentation by Kris Waters, CMIR, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability, PetSmart.

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