Hired Guys

In the beginning, when Henry Kravis and George Roberts launched Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in 1976 with the help of the First Chicago Corporation, their specialty was in bootstrap buyouts. However, they have set up a novel project that focuses not alone on profitability, but also on the environmental impact of the companies they invest in. When Henry Kravis from KKR and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged a year ago green issues in the business community became major topic of dicussion. They wanted to oppose a few critical issues damaging the environment, such as resource depletion, global warming, imprudent water consumption, and toxic chemical use.

In order to achieve these goals, they utilize a formula termed eco-efficiency; this involves techniques like reducing the intensity of materials, waste reduction, and fuel economy. Irrespective of the fact that the project was a tremendous success, people simply did not recognize how significant the effects actually were until Ken Mehlman, the person in charge of the project, analyzed the figures for the first year. Ken who received a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1991, has served as field director for George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign, was appointed to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council in 2007 and serves as a member of the board of directors at the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Council on Foreign Relations Climate Change Task Force, learned that applying eco-efficiency was not just lessening impact on the environment, but it was also saving businesses a considerable sum of money, and so the program became almost an instant hit. At the time of writing, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman have almost all of their companies engaged in eco-efficiency. If you consider that this portfolio of businesses is worth virtually 100 billion USD, you may be certain this was no easy feat.

The two groups alongside Ken Mehlman are further extending the initial Green Portfolio project. For instance, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co got together with the EDF’s Climate Corps Program an organization which teaches interns studying for a Master’s in Business Administration how to design and start cost-effective, green techniques. In recent months, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with KKR to produce analytic tools that companies can employ to quantify and oversee a number of resources. This type of data is critical as any type of business can evaluate each of their everyday processes and ascertain precisely how any issues can be resolved while simultaneously tracking their progress. Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have encouraged all sorts of businesses to decrease their ecological impact. In conclusion, the work of these organizations has made green business techniques not only viable, but commercially desirable, and their radical ideas are setting a new standard in the high-pressure business world of today.