The Story of Henry Kravis of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co & the Environmental Defense Fund
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was established by Henry Kravis and George Roberts in the seventies with the support of the First Chicago Corporation. Recently they have established an unusual venture which concentrates not simply on optimizing ROI, but also on how ecologically friendly each of the corporations in their portfolio currently are. KKR’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together last year, with the intention of making green business practice an accepted idea. Their goals include encouraging their affiliated enterprises to avoid environmental threats such as climate change not to forget any absurd water consumption.
Eco-efficiency (the phrase was initially popularized by the WBCSD) dictates their mission’s framework, by applying green policies such as fuel economy, reducing the intensity of materials and improving fuel economy through vehicle fleet maintenance. Even though the project was an enormous success, staff simply didn’t understand how extensive the consequences were until Ken Mehlman, the man responsible for the project, reviewed the first year’s figures. Only at that point did Ken observe that utilizing eco-efficiency was not only helping to save the local environment, but additionally it was helping to save business concerns a great deal of money, making the program almost an immediate success. Just about all of the firms affiliated to Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman now are involved in eco-efficiency principles. Considering that the total portfolio has a net worth of nearly 100 billion USD, you may be sure that this was no easy achievement. The initial program now encompasses new initiatives. The Climate Corps Program founded by the Environmental Defense Fund is an example of this, it advances cost-efficient, green practices to MBA interns.
In addition, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to create a series of metrics and other relevant systems that businesses can employ to evaluate and oversee resources. These products can track an organization’s ecological impact and identify any areas which might need improving. Today’s business community has been changed permanently by the ground-breaking work of these people. In conclusion, the work of these organizations has made green business techniques not only viable, but commercially desirable, and their revolutionary ideas are setting a new standard in today’s business community.
