Henry Kravis of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. And the Environmental Defense Fund — Groundbreakers in Ecologically Aware Business
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was founded in the 70’s and in those days the firm’s main business was in ‘bootstrap’ buyouts. Moving beyond, hoping to make the companies they take over have less of a negative ecological impact, they have set up a remarkable enterprise that has fundamentally changed the way businesses and environmental agencies work together, forever.
When Henry Kravis from KKR and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together last year environmental matters all of a sudden turned into a mainstream concept. They wants to oppose key green issues, such as global warming, climate change, disproportionate consumption of water resources, and toxic emissions.
Eco-efficiency (a term originally advocated by the WBCSD) is the technique applied to achieve these goals, by using policies such as reducing the waste of resources, reducing the dispersion of toxic chemicals and maximum use of renewable resources. Regardless of the fact that the program was an enormous success, no-one understood how incredible the effects truly were until Ken Mehlman, the person in charge of the Green Portfolio Project, studied the first year’s profits.
Ken who practiced environmental law for Akin Gump Stauss Hauer & Feld, has served as Chief of Staff for Texas 12th Congressional District Representative Kay Granger, was the appointed Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2005 to 2007 and presently serves as a member of the Senior Advisory Committee of the Harvard University Institute of Politics, and the executive leadership cabinet of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation, noticed that using eco-efficiency was not only lessening impact on the environment, but additionally it was saving firms a great deal of money, making the program virtually an immediate hit. Currently, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman have succeeded in getting almost every associated organization involved in the Green Portfolio Project. Seeing that this group of business concerns is worth 86,000,000,000 dollars, you can see what an achievement this actually was.
KKR alongside Ken Mehlman are expanding the original project. The Climate Corps Program founded by the Environmental Defense Fund is a good illustration of this, it raises awareness of planet friendly business techniques to MBA interns.
KKR and Ken Mehlman have made the effort to develop a series of analytical tools that administer various resources. Programs such as these permit staff see how they are progressing and discover any practices that might need to be focused on.
Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have made cutting back their ecological impact less painful for businesses large and small. Their revolutionary ideas have set a benchmark for firms in every sector and shown the world that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.
