Protecting the Environment — Henry Kravis and Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. Show How to Do it
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was set up in the seventies and in the beginning their focus was in leveraged buyouts. Lately, in the hope of making their acquisitions have less environmental impact, they have established an exceptional green project which has fundamentally transformed the method by which businesses and environmental agencies operate.
KKR’s Henry Kravis and the independent Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged a year ago, hoping to make environmentally sound business practices a mainstream idea. Issues like hazardous emissions and absurd consumption of water resources are an important part of their company mission. Eco-efficiency (a phrase first advocated by the WBCSD) is the routine applied to achieve these goals, employing green techniques like improving fuel economy through vehicle fleet maintenance, reducing the waste of resources and fuel economy. Even though the program was an enormous success, people just didn’t recognize how incredible the results were until Ken Mehlman, the head of the Green Portfolio Project and global public affairs, reviewed the figures for the first 12 months.
Surpassing everybody’s expectations, Ken saw that practicing eco-efficiency not only lessened the impact on the environment, but also increased the profitability of all their businesses besides. Nearly all of the companies affiliated to KKR and Ken Mehlman at present practice eco-efficiency. And, with a 2009 business portfolio with an estimated value of eighty-six billion dollars, you may be sure this was no easy see what a massive achievement this is.
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and the EDF alongside Ken Mehlman are further developing the initial project. The Climate Corps Program administered by the EDF is one of these enterprises, it raises awareness of earth friendly business principles to interns taking a Master’s in Business Administration. KKR and Ken Mehlman have been creating a series of metrics and analytic tools that manipulate resources. These metrics can measure an organization’s progress and discover any areas which might need improving.
Today’s business community has been transformed by the efforts of these organizations. In conclusion, the work of these organizations has made green business practice not only viable, but commercially desirable, and their novel ideas are setting a new standard in the business world of today.
