Going Green – Ken Mehlman and Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. Show How It’s Done
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts in 1976 with the assistance of the First Chicago Corporation. Moving on, hoping to make the companies in their portfolio more environmentally aware and more profitable in the same stride, KKR have set up a groundbreaking proposal that has entirely transformed the method by which business concerns and environmental groups carry on their day-to-day business.
KKR’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit environmental advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined forces in 2008, intending to make green business operation a commonplace principle. Issues like hazardous waste and imprudent consumption of water resources are high on their agenda.
In order to implement these goals, they utilize eco-efficiency which uses techniques like using clean energy, recycling programs, and reducing the waste of resources. Although the project was an enormous success, people simply didn’t realize how significant the consequences really were until Ken Mehlman, the head of the Green Portfolio Project and global public affairs, carried out the first annual review. Much to everyone’s surprise, Ken learned that using eco-efficiency not only assisted in preserving the local environment, but was increasing the the net profit from all their companies besides. Virtually all of the firms owned by Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman nowadays take part in the Green Portfolio Project. And, with a current business portfolio with a value of $86 billion, you may be sure that this wasn’t a simple achievement.
The initial project has evolved far beyond its basic purpose and at present encompasses new and groundbreaking enterprises. For example, KKR linked up with the EDF’s Climate Corps Program an enterprise which instructs MBA students how to develop and initiate cost-efficient, green practices.
More recently, Ken Mehlman has cooperated closely with KKR to develop metrics which firms can employ to quantify and manage resources. Programs such as these let management to assess their progress and identify any practices that may need improving. Today’s business world has been altered permanently by the work of these people. These radical concepts have made going green simpler for companies in every industry and demonstrated that making profits need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.
