Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was established in the mid seventies and in the beginning the firm’s focus was in ‘bootstrap’ buyouts. However, aiming to make the companies they buy more ecologically friendly, KKR have launched a novel green project which has fundamentally changed the method by which business concerns and environmental activists work.
When Henry Kravis from KKR and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together a year ago green issues went mainstream. Important issues like greenhouse gas emissions and ecologically unsustainable consumption of water resources rank high on their list of goals.
Eco-efficiency (a phrase first advertised by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) stipulates their mission’s framework, through employing policies like optimizing data centers for efficiency, waste reduction and using clean energy. Even though the program was an enormous success, no-one understood how far reaching the results were until Ken Mehlman, the executive responsible for the program, carried out the first annual review. Outdoing everybody’s expectations, Ken realized that the program not only cut back on ecological impact, but was also increasing the profits from all their businesses as well. At the time of writing, KKR and Ken Mehlman have almost every associated business organization involved in eco-efficiency. When you think about the fact that the whole portfolio is valued at almost $100 billion USD, you can see what a challenge this actually was. The Green Portfolio project has evolved beyond its primary purpose and these days encompasses new initiatives. For example, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co joined the EDF’s Climate Corps Program that instructs interns studying for a Master’s in Business Administration how to promote cost-efficient, environmentally friendly principles.
KKR and Ken Mehlman have been formulating a variety of analytical tools which manage various resources. These metrics allow a company to measure their progress and identify any underlying problems.
Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have encouraged all sorts of businesses to go green. So, in conclusion, these systems have made green business techniques not only viable, but commercially desirable, and their novel ideas are setting a new standard in the business world of today.
