A Bit of a Rant Covering Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co
Saturday, March 6th, 2010Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was set up in 1976 and back then their focus was in ‘bootstrap’ buyouts. But in an outstanding effort to make the companies in their portfolio more ecologically aware and more profitable as well, KKR have founded an innovative green enterprise which has entirely changed the method by which businesses and environmental agencies carry on their everyday business.
Green business procedures went mainstream in 2008 when KKR’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged. They intends to campaign against a few all important matters affecting the environment, for instance depletion of the ozone layer, hazardous chemicals, steep water consumption, and hazardous waste. Eco-efficiency (the term was initially endorsed by the WBCSD) delineates their mission’s framework, by using ecologically friendly policies like reducing the dispersion of toxic chemicals, increasing the durability of products and improving fuel economy through vehicle fleet maintenance. Irrespective of the fact that the project was a tremendous success, people simply didn’t understand how extensive the results really were until Ken Mehlman, the man responsible for the program, examined the first year’s figures.
Much to everybody’s surprise, Ken discovered that this program not only increased environmental responsibility, but also increased the the net profit from each business too. To date, KKR and Ken Mehlman have managed to get nearly every associated business involved in eco-efficiency techniques. Seeing that this group of companies is worth 86 billion dollars, you can imagine what an accomplishment this actually is. The Green Portfolio project has evolved far beyond its basic remit and currently includes new and innovative enterprises. For example, KKR got together with the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps Program an enterprise which teaches students studying for an MBA how to encourage cost effective, green principles. More recently, Ken Mehlman has been cooperating closely with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to develop metrics and analytic tools which companies can employ to evaluate and oversee a number of resources. These systems can assess a company’s ecological impact and identify any underlying problems.
Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have encouraged all sorts of businesses to cut down their environmental impact. In conclusion, these systems have made green business practice not only viable, but commercially desirable, and their radical ideas are setting a new standard in today’s community.