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This research aims at assessing the environmental impact of the poultry supply chain from cradle to grave using case study research and also life cycle assessment (LCA). While a limited number of generic poultry production LCA studies have been published, fewer yet assess the whole process of a specific organisation, none comparing the increased impact of further processing. Our results show that irrespectively of the impact assessment method utilised, the process of producing portions is considerably higher in total environmental impact due to the extra raw material required to produce the same mass into retail. Our research contributes to the growing number of LCA studies and could be used by practitioners for comparison against national and international averages. From a theoretical point of view, this research provides new insights into the relationship between vertically integrated supply chains and environmental performance which has not been examined in the past.

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Private equity investing, especially in the middle market, has never been hotter. Market conditions are ideal, and fundraising is at historic levels. Despite this appearance, however, actual results suggest that something is wrong. Portfolio companies are not hitting their expansion targets, with many deals failing even to recover their initial investment. Making it on the “front end” by outsmarting the market or finding that truly undervalued company and watching it appreciate over time, may no longer work. The “leverage” game may very well be over; it is certainly not a safe bet going forward. Rather, to continue to bask in significant investment returns, private equity investors need to make it up on the “back end” by working their deals and, in many instances, anticipating and managing problems quickly. In short, the private equity investment model needs to change, with investors taking a more “active” role in improving the performance of their portfolio companies. There are several steps that investors should adopt which, when implemented, can help private equity investors enhance results and reach return targets.