Fri 29 Jan 2010
Business and the Environment – Ken Mehlman of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. And the Environmental Defense Fund
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Originally, when Henry Kravis and his business partner George Roberts set up Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in the 70’s with some help from the First Chicago Corporation, the firm’s specialty was in bootstrap buyouts. Recently they have put together an extraordinary proposal that focuses not alone on maximizing ROI, but in addition on the ecological impact of the companies they control. Environmentally aware business practice went mainstream last year when Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged. These companies intended to help resolve a few all important matters affecting the ecology of the planet, including resource depletion, hazardous chemical use, colossal water consumption, and toxic chemical use.
In order to attain this, they utilize a methodology dubbed eco-efficiency which makes use of concepts like using clean energy, recycling programs, and increasing the durability of products. Irrespective of the fact that the project was an enormous success, no-one understood how important the consequences were until Ken Mehlman, the head of the program and global public affairs, looked over the first year’s profits.
Knocking off all expectations, Ken found that this program not only enhanced environmental awareness, but also increased the profits from all their business organizations besides. Well-nigh all of the businesses linked with KKR and Ken Mehlman now participate in the Green Portfolio Project. If you think about the fact that this group of companies is worth almost 100.000,000,000 USD, you can see what an enormous feat this really is. KKR and the Environmental Defense Fund with the assistance of Ken Mehlman are further extending the initial Green Portfolio project. The Climate Corps Program administrated by the Environmental Defense Fund is a good example of this, it campaigns for eco-efficient business techniques to MBA interns. More recently, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with KKR to create metrics that a wide range of business concerns can use to evaluate assorted resources. This type of information is significant as any sort of business may without much effort study each of their day to day processes and find out how they can solve any problems while simultaneously permitting staff to find out their impact on the environment.
Today’s business community has been transformed permanently by the ground-breaking efforts of these organizations. These developments have set a benchmark for companies in every industry and proved that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.











