Green Business — Henry Kravis of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. And the Environmental Defense Fund
January 28th, 2010
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was set up in the mid-seventies and in the beginning their specialization was in highly leveraged transactions. However, in the pursuit of making the businesses they purchase greener, they have established an unusual project that has fundamentally changed the way businesses and environmental agencies work.
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the New York based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together last year, intending to make green business procedures a commonplace idea. Issues like greenhouse gas emissions and inflated consumption of water resources are an all-important part of their company mission. Eco-efficiency (a term originally promoted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development WBCSD) provides the framework for their mission, applying green policies such as reducing the intensity of materials, using clean energy and waste reduction. Simple and effective, even so the companies involved didn’t even realize the scope of the benefits of the program until the executive responsible for the project, Ken Mehlman, evaluated the project when it had been in operation for a year. Much to everyone’s surprise, Ken learned that this program not only decreased the overall impact on the environment, but also increased the profits from every last business organization as well. Almost all of the companies linked with KKR and Ken Mehlman at present are involved in eco-efficiency. All The Same, when you consider that the group has a 2009 business portfolio worth 86,000,000,000 dollars, you can be certain this was no easy see what a massive achievement this is.
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co with the help of Ken Mehlman are expanding the original program. For instance, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co linked up with the EDF’s Climate Corps Program that instructs interns studying for an MBA how to put together and start cost effective, green techniques. Furthermore, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to produce metrics and analytical tools which companies can employ to quantify and manage resources. This type of data is critical as businesses may easily study their day-to-day operations and find out precisely how any issues can be resolved while at the same time seeing their progress. Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have made decreasing their environmental impact less painful for companies all over the country. Their developments have set a benchmark for companies in any sector and proved that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.
