What You Need to Know about Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. And the Environmental Defense Fund
March 7th, 2010Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was founded by Henry Kravis and his business partner George Roberts in the 70’s with assistance from the First Chicago Corporation. Pushing beyond, hoping to make the companies in their portfolio have less environmental impact, KKR have set in motion a unique enterprise which has changed the method by which businesses and environmental activists function.
When Henry Kravis from KKR and the non-profit environmental advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together in 2008 green issues in the business world became a hot topic. Their goals include encouraging their affiliated companies to tackle environmental menaces like toxic emissions as well as any absurd consumption of water resources. Eco-efficiency (the phrase was initially submitted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development WBCSD) governs the framework for their mission, utilizing green policies like waste reduction, maximum use of renewable resources and fuel economy. Successful though it was the companies who were taking part did not even realize the range of the program’s benefits until Ken Mehlman, the head of the program and global public affairs, reviewed the project when it had been up and running for a year. Ken Mehlman who graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1988, has served as director of the White House Office of Political Affairs from 2000 through 2005, was appointed to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council in 2007 and currently serves as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations Climate Change Task Force, and the board of directors at the National Endowment for Democracy, noticed that eco-efficiency was not just cutting impact on the environment, but additionally it was helping to save companies a great deal of money. To date, KKR and Ken Mehlman have well-nigh all of their companies actively engaged in eco-efficiency techniques. When you consider that the group is worth eighty-six billion USD, you can see what an enormous achievement this really is.
The initial project now encompasses new enterprises. To illustrate, KKR linked up with the EDF’s Climate Corps Program which teaches MBA interns how to introduce cost efficient, planet friendly principles. In recent months, Ken Mehlman has been cooperating closely with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to develop metrics and analytical tools that a range of businesses can use to measure and manage resources. Programs like these allow management see how they are progressing and identify any underlying issues.
Henry Kravis, the KKR, and the Environmental Defense Fund truly are visionaries when it comes to raising awareness of green business techniques. These innovations have set a benchmark for firms in every industry and demonstrated that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.
