Going Green: with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. Leading the Way
In the beginning, when Henry Kravis and his partner George Roberts launched Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in the 1970’s with the help of the First Chicago Corporation, their main business was in “bootstrap” buyouts. But they have set up a novel venture which concentrates not solely on profitability, but in addition on how ecologically aware each of the corporations in their portfolio currently are. Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit environmental advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined forces in 2008, with the intention of making green business practices a widely accepted principle. These companies wants to campaign against serious green issues, for example deforestation, hazardous emissions, inordinate water consumption, and toxic emissions. Eco-efficiency (a phrase first introduced by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) is the methodology used to achieve these targets, employing green techniques such as optimizing data centers for efficiency, using clean energy and reducing the intensity of materials. The project was initially well received, but the companies who were involved did not realize the range of the benefits of the project until Ken Mehlman, the executive responsible for the program, reviewed the project when it had been up and running for its first twelve months.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Ken discovered that practicing eco-efficiency not only raised environmental awareness, but also increased the profits from all their business concerns too. Up to now, KKR and Ken Mehlman have virtually every associated business taking part in eco-efficiency techniques. Considering that this portfolio of companies is worth $86,000,000,000, you can see what a huge achievement this is. The original program has evolved beyond its original purpose and today includes new and groundbreaking initiatives. The Climate Corps Program administered by the Environmental Defense Fund is a great example of this, it promotes eco-efficient business techniques to MBA interns.
In recent months, Ken Mehlman has cooperated closely with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to formulate metrics that business concerns can employ to measure assorted resources. With this information available, businesses may easily evaluate all of their everyday activities and discover how any issues can be resolved while simultaneously allowing staff to determine how far they have progressed. Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have encouraged all sorts of businesses to become more environmentally friendly. These developments have simplified the process for business organizations in every sector and illustrated that making profits need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.
