Eco-Efficiency: Making a Profit without Damaging the Earth
When Henry Kravis and George Roberts set up Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in the seventies with some assistance from the First Chicago Corporation, the company’s main business was in leveraged buyouts. But they have assembled a unique green enterprise that centers not solely on how lucrative a business is, but also on the environmental impact of the companies they purchase.
KKR’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit environmental advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged in 2008, with the mission of making green business practice a commonplace idea. Their company mission is to encourage companies to resolve environmental threats like hazardous emissions and any extreme water consumption. To accomplish this, they utilize a procedure labeled eco-efficiency which calls for concepts such as reducing the waste of resources, maximum use of renewable resources, and fuel economy. Effective though it was the management did not realize the full project’s advantages until Ken Mehlman, the executive in charge of the project, evaluated the numbers from the project when it had been functioning for a year.
Ken Mehlman saw that utilizing eco-efficiency was not just lessening ecological impact, but in addition it was helping to save business concerns a great deal of money. To date, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman have virtually every associated company actively taking part in the project. When you think about the fact that the group is worth $86,000,000,000, you can see what an enormous feat this is.
The initial Green Portfolio project has evolved far beyond its initial purpose and now encompasses new opportunities. For instance, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co linked up with the EDF’s Climate Corps Program a venture that teaches students taking a Master’s in Business Administration how to design and start financially strong, planet friendly principles. In recent months, Ken Mehlman has been cooperating closely with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to formulate a variety of metrics that firms can use to evaluate different resources. These products allow staff see how they are impacting on the environment and identify any problem areas. Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have made cutting back their environmental impact easier for companies large and small. These innovations have simplified the process for companies in every sector and illustrated that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.
