The Growth of Environmentally Sound Business
November 26th, 2009Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was launched by Henry Kravis and George Roberts in the 1970’s with help from the First Chicago Corporation. But they have set up a remarkable green proposal which concentrates not solely on how much money they can make, but likewise on the environmental impact of the companies they purchase.
Green business practice went mainstream a year ago when Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit environmental advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined forces. Issues like hazardous emissions and excessive consumption of water resources are a priority in their company mission statement. Eco-efficiency (the term was initially coined by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development WBCSD) comprises their mission’s framework, through using ecologically friendly techniques like reducing the dispersion of toxic chemicals, improving fuel economy through vehicle fleet maintenance and optimizing data centers for efficiency. Although the project was an enormous success, staff simply did not understand how incredible the effects were until Ken Mehlman, the executive responsible for the Green Portfolio Project, examined the numbers for the first 12 months. Only at that point did Ken Mehlman notice that utilizing eco-efficiency was not only preserving the local environment, but it was also helping to save a colossal range of companies a great deal of money, and therefore the project was almost an immediate hit. At the time of writing, KKR and Ken Mehlman have succeeded in getting nearly every associated business actively involved in eco-efficiency. Still, with a 2009 business portfolio estimated at 86,000,000,000 dollars, you can be sure this wasn’t a simple see what an enormous feat this is. The Green Portfolio project has now broadened to encompass new ventures. The Climate Corps Program founded by the Environmental Defense Fund is an example of this, it promotes ecologically friendly business principles to interns studying for an MBA.
KKR and Ken Mehlman have been formulating metrics and other related products that evaluate and manipulate various resources. This type of info is critical as businesses may easily measure all of their day to day activities and ascertain where they can solve any problems while at the same time allowing staff to find out their ecological impact.
Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have encouraged all sorts of businesses to go green. In conclusion, the work of these organizations has 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.













