Smokend Info Blog

When Henry Kravis and George Roberts founded Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in the 70’s with the support of the First Chicago Corporation, the firm’s focus was in leveraged buyouts. More recently, however, in the hope of making the businesses in their portfolio more environmentally aware, they have set up a unique project that has totally transformed the method by which business concerns and environmental groups work. KKR’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged a year ago, with the intention of making green business practices an acknowledged principle. They wanted to tackle fundamental green issues, for instance deforestation, soil contamination, unrestricted water consumption, and toxic chemicals. Eco-efficiency (a term first endorsed by the WBCSD) constitutes their mission’s framework, through applying green policies such as improving fuel economy through vehicle fleet maintenance, waste reduction and reducing the waste of resources. The Green Portfolio Project was initially well received, but the management didn’t even realize the full benefits of the project until Ken Mehlman, the head of the project and global public affairs, evaluated the program after its first year in operation.

Outmatching everybody’s expectations, Ken realized that applying eco-efficiency not only cut back on ecological impact, but also increased the the net profit from all their business concerns as well. At the time of writing, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman have managed to get well-nigh every associated business actively taking part in eco-efficiency techniques. If you look at the fact that this group of business concerns is worth $86,000,000,000, you can see what a challenge this actually is. Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co with the Environmental Defense Fund with the assistance of Ken Mehlman are further expanding the original project. The Climate Corps Program set up by the Environmental Defense Fund is an example of this, it promotes cost-effective, green techniques to students taking an MBA.

In recent months, Ken Mehlman has been collaborating closely with KKR to produce analytic tools which companies can employ to measure and oversee a number of resources. Programs like these permit employees see how they are impacting on the environment and identify any areas which might need to be assessed again. Henry Kravis, the KKR, and the Environmental Defense Fund are genuine pioneers when it comes to promoting green business techniques. So, in conclusion, these systems have made ecologically friendly business techniques not only viable, but commercially desirable, and their novel ideas are setting a new standard in today’s community.

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