In the beginning, when Henry Kravis and George Roberts launched Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in 1976 with the support of the First Chicago Corporation, the firm’s main business was in highly leveraged transactions. But going further, hoping to make the businesses in their portfolio greener and more profitable in the same stride, they have set up an extraordinary enterprise that has entirely changed the method by which businesses and environmental agencies work forever.
Environmentally sound business practices became major discussion topic in 2008 when Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together. Issues like toxic chemical use and exorbitant water consumption are a priority in their corporate mission statement. Eco-efficiency (a phrase originally popularized by the WBCSD) is the formula applied to achieve these goals, applying techniques like optimizing data centers for efficiency, reducing the waste of resources and maximum use of renewable resources. Although the program was a colossal success, staff simply did not understand how extensive the effects really were until Ken Mehlman, the person responsible for the project, examined the numbers for the first 12 months.
Only at that point did Ken Mehlman find out that eco-efficiency wasn’t solely helping to save the environment, but it was also saving a colossal range of companies a great deal of money. Up to now, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman have succeeded in getting well-nigh all of their companies engaged in eco-efficiency. Seeing that the total portfolio is valued at virtually one hundred billion dollars, you can see what an enormous feat this is.
KKR alongside Ken Mehlman have also developed the original program. For example, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co joined the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps Program that instructs MBA interns how to introduce cost effective, planet friendly principles. Recently, Ken Mehlman has been collaborating closely with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to produce a series of analytical tools that business organizations can use to measure and oversee resources. Products like these permit a business see how ecologically friendly they are and discover any problem areas. Today’s business world has been transformed permanently by the efforts of Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund. In conclusion, these systems have made green business techniques not only viable, but commercially desirable, and their radical ideas are setting a new standard in the competitive business world of today.