Henry Kravis of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. And the Environmental Defense Fund — Groundbreakers in Environmentally Aware Business
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was established in the seventies and orginally their focus was in highly leveraged transactions. Moving on, aiming to make their portfolio companies and acquisitions have less of an ecological impact, KKR have set in motion a remarkable project which has transformed the way business concerns and environmental activists function. When Henry Kravis from KKR and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged last year green matters went mainstream. They aims to oppose key issues damaging the environment, for instance deforestation, toxic emissions, unreasonable water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. To implement this, they deploy a routine known as eco-efficiency; this uses down-to-earth techniques like reducing the waste of resources, reducing the intensity of materials, and recycling programs. Efficient though it was the management did not even realize the full program’s benefits until the head of the project and global public affairs, Ken Mehlman, evaluated the program when it had been functioning for a year. Much to everyone’s surprise, Ken saw that this program not only decreased the overall impact on the planet, but was also increasing the profitability of every business organization as well. Almost all of the firms held by KKR and Ken Mehlman now actively participate in the Green Portfolio Project. Considering that this group of companies is worth virtually $100 billion dollars, you can imagine what an accomplishment this actually was.
The Green Portfolio project has now expanded to include new initiatives. The Climate Corps Program set up by the EDF is a great illustration of this, it heightens awareness of ecologically friendly techniques to MBA interns.
More recently, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to develop analytical tools which companies can employ to quantify and oversee resources. This type of data is invaluable as companies can measure their day to day procedures and ascertain how any issues can be resolved while simultaneously permitting staff to determine their ecological impact. The business community has been altered forever by the ground-breaking work of these individuals. These fresh developments have made decreasing their environmental impact less complicated for business organizations in every sector and shown the world that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.
