The History of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co & the Environmental Defense Fund
February 21st, 2010Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was established in the mid-seventies and initially the company’s specialization was in highly leveraged transactions. However, they have put together an innovative green enterprise which focuses not simply on profitability, but likewise on how environmentally aware each of their companies are.
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the independent Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged last year, with the mission of making green business practice a commonplace concept. Their goals include encouraging their associated firms to tackle procedures which may endanger the environment e.g. toxic waste as well as colossal water consumption. Eco-efficiency (a term initially propagated by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) is the method employed to achieve these goals, employing ecologically sustainable techniques such as increasing the durability of products, reducing the dispersion of toxic chemicals and using clean energy. Even though the program was a colossal success, no-one understood how extensive the effects were until Ken Mehlman, the head of the Green Portfolio Project and global public affairs, looked over the profits for the first year.
Only at that point did Ken learn that the program wasn’t solely helping to maintain the local environment, but it was also saving business concerns a significant amount of money, and consequently the project turned into almost an instant hit. Virtually all of the companies affiliated to Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman today apply eco-efficiency. Seeing that the group has a net worth of 86,000,000,000 dollars, you can see what an achievement this actually is.
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and the Environmental Defense Fund in association with Ken Mehlman are extending the initial project. For instance, KKR got together with the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps Program that teaches interns taking a Master’s in Business Administration how to promote cost-efficient, green principles.
Lately, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to produce a package of systems which firms can employ to evaluate and oversee a variety of resources. This type of info is crucial as any business can evaluate all of their everyday activities and identify where they can resolve any issues while simultaneously permitting staff to view how far they have progressed. Henry Kravis, the KKR, and the Environmental Defense Fund really are innovators when it comes ecologically friendly business practices. These innovations have made reducing their ecological impact less problematic for companies in any sector and proved that making profits need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.

