How Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. Works in Co-Ordination with the Environmental Defense Fund
When Henry Kravis and George Roberts founded Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in the 1970’s with the support of the First Chicago Corporation, their specialty was in bootstrap buyouts. However, they have established a remarkable enterprise that focuses not only on how profitable an enterprise is, but also on how environmentally aware each of the firms in their portfolio are. When Henry Kravis from KKR and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together last year green matters went mainstream. Their objectives include encouraging their associated firms in avoiding operations which may jeopardize the environment like greenhouse gas emissions as well as any high consumption of water resources. Eco-efficiency (the term was initially advocated by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development WBCSD) is the methodology leveraged to achieve these targets, through employing techniques such as reducing the dispersion of toxic chemicals, maximum use of renewable resources and reducing the intensity of materials. Even though the project was an enormous success, no-one realized how significant the results truly were until Ken Mehlman, the executive in charge of the program, looked over the first year’s profits. As if to knock off everyone’s expectations, Ken saw that this program not only assisted in proctecting the local environment, but was also increasing the profits from all their business organizations too. Up to now, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman have almost every associated business taking part in eco-efficiency. Seeing that the portfolio has a net worth of almost one hundred billion USD, you can see what a huge achievement this really is.
KKR with the Environmental Defense Fund alongside Ken Mehlman are further developing the Green Portfolio project. The Climate Corps Program administered by the Environmental Defense Fund is one of these, it raises awareness of eco-efficient principles to MBA interns. More recently, Ken Mehlman has worked closely with KKR to create a package of products that firms can employ to quantify a wide range of resources. These metrics let management see how ecologically friendly they are and identify any areas that may need improving. Today’s business community has been changed permanently by the work of these people. So, in conclusion, these systems have made ecologically friendly business practice not only viable, but commercially desirable, and their novel ideas are setting a new standard in the business world of today.
