Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was set up by Henry Kravis and his business partner George Roberts in the seventies with some help from the First Chicago Corporation. But in the pursuit of making their portfolio of companies have less ecological impact, they have founded a remarkable green proposal which has totally changed the method by which businesses and environmental activists work. Environmentally friendly business processes became more broadly recognized in 2008 when Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the New York based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined forces. Their mission is to offer encouragement to firms in opposing environmental menaces like climate change as well as outrageous consumption of water resources.
Eco-efficiency (the phrase was initially used by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) is the method employed to achieve these goals, through utilizing policies such as maximum use of renewable resources, optimizing data centers for efficiency and fuel economy. The project was well received, however the management did not even understand the full advantages of the project until Ken Mehlman, the executive responsible for the project, reviewed the project following a year in operation.
Ken Mehlman who received a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1991, has also served as legislative director to Texas 21st Congressional District Representative Lamar S. Smith, was the appointed Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2005 to 2007, is also a trustee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Strong American Schools Foundation and presently serves as a member of the Senior Advisory Committee of the Harvard University Institute of Politics, and the executive leadership cabinet of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation, noticed that eco-efficiency wasn’t solely helping to protect the environment, but additionally it was helping to save business concerns a considerable amount of money, making the program virtually an immediate success. To date, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman have nearly all of their companies involved in eco-efficiency. When you look at the fact that the portfolio has a value of virtually 100.000,000,000 USD, you can see what an achievement this really was.
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co with the Environmental Defense Fund with the help of Ken Mehlman are further developing the original project. For example, KKR got together with the EDF’s Climate Corps Program a venture that instructs MBA interns how to introduce cost efficient, planet friendly principles.
Recently, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with KKR to create a series of metrics and analytic tools that business concerns can use to evaluate and oversee assorted resources. These metrics can measure an organization’s progress and identify any practices which may need to be focused on. Henry Kravis, the KKR, and the Environmental Defense Fund truly are pioneers when it comes ecologically friendly business practices. Their developments have made going green easier for businesses in every sector and illustrated that making profits need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.
