Going Green - Ken Mehlman and Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. Set the Standard
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts in the 1970’s with the help of the First Chicago Corporation. However, in the pursuit of making the companies they take over more ecologically friendly, KKR have established a novel green project that has totally changed the way businesses and environmental agencies work. Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit environmental advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together last year, hoping to make green business operation an acknowledged idea. These companies wanted to oppose fundamental matters damaging the environment, including hazardous waste, toxic waste, enormous water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Eco-efficiency (a phrase initially advocated by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development WBCSD) is the routine applied to achieve these objectives, through applying ecologically sustainable techniques like reducing the dispersion of toxic chemicals, reducing the intensity of materials and improving fuel economy through vehicle fleet maintenance. Even though the project was a tremendous success, managment just didn’t recognize how far reaching the results were until Ken Mehlman, the person responsible for the program, studied the numbers for the first year.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Ken saw that applying eco-efficiency not only enhanced environmental awareness, but was also increasing the the net profit from each business organization as well. Up to now, KKR and Ken Mehlman have managed to get nearly all of their companies engaged in the project. When you consider that the group has a value of 86,000,000,000 dollars, you can see what a huge feat this is.
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co with the EDF with the assistance of Ken Mehlman have also developed the original project. To illustrate, KKR linked up with the EDF’s Climate Corps Program that teaches students studying for an MBA how to design and introduce cost effective, green practices. KKR and Ken Mehlman have been formulating metrics and other related products that have the ability to oversee various resources. Programs like these let management see how green they are and identify any problem areas.
Today’s business community has been altogether transformed by the work of Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund. These unique developments have set a high standard for companies in any sector and established that making profits need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.
