Transmission Wire

When Henry Kravis and George Roberts founded Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in 1976 with the support of the First Chicago Corporation, their focus was in highly leveraged transactions. Recently they have set up a unique proposal that centers not alone on profitability, but in addition on the ecological impact of the companies they control.

When Henry Kravis from KKR and the independent Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined forces just a year ago green issues all of a sudden became a mainstream concern. The coalition intends to tackle a few fundamental issues hurting the ecology of the planet, such as greenhouse gas emissions, hazardous chemicals, high consumption of water resources, and hazardous chemical use. Eco-efficiency (a phrase initially propagated by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development WBCSD) is the method deployed to achieve these aims, through using policies such as maximum use of renewable resources, using clean energy and reducing the intensity of materials. Successful though it was the KKR and EDF did not understand the totality of the program’s advantages until the person in charge of the program, Ken Mehlman, assessed the program following its first year in operation. Only then did Ken Mehlman observe that the Green Portfolio Project was not solely helping to maintain the local environment, but it was also helping to save a colossal range of companies a substantial sum of money. These days, KKR and Ken Mehlman have nearly all of their firms involved in the Green Portfolio Project. And, with a 2009 portfolio worth 86,000,000,000 USD, you can be certain that this was no easy achievement. The two organizations alongside Ken Mehlman are expanding the initial project. The Climate Corps Program established by the Environmental Defense Fund is just one of these, it promotes ecologically friendly business techniques to students studying for a Master’s degree in Business Administration. Furthermore, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to develop analytical tools which all kinds of companies can employ to measure resources. These systems can assess a company’s progress and discover any problem areas.

Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have encouraged all sorts of businesses to cut down their environmental impact. Their fresh ideas have set a benchmark for business organizations in any industry and proved to the world that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.