The Story of Ken Mehlman of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and the Environmental Defense Fund
In the beginning, when Henry Kravis and his partner George Roberts established Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in the 1970’s with some support from the First Chicago Corporation, the company’s specialty was in highly leveraged transactions. However, in a drive to make the businesses in their portfolio more ecologically aware, KKR have set up a unique enterprise that has entirely changed the method by which businesses and environmental activists operate. KKR’s Henry Kravis and the the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together last year, intending to make green business practices an acknowledged principle. The coalition wanted to campaign against a number of big issues impeding the environment, which include deforestation, climate change, flagrant consumption of water resources, and hazardous chemicals. In order to attain this, they deploy a routine called eco-efficiency; this uses concepts like maximum use of renewable resources, improving fuel economy through vehicle fleet maintenance, and recycling programs. Simple and effective, yet the management did not even realize the full program’s advantages until Ken Mehlman, the head of the project and global public affairs, reviewed the project after its first year in operation.
Much to everybody’s surprise, Ken discovered that this program not only assisted in proctecting the environment, but was increasing the profits from all their businesses as well. At the time of writing, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman have managed to get well-nigh all of their companies involved in the Green Portfolio Project. When you consider that the whole portfolio is worth virtually one hundred billion dollars, you can see what an enormous accomplishment this really is.
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co with the EDF in association with Ken Mehlman have also extended the initial Green Portfolio project. The Climate Corps Program set up by the Environmental Defense Fund is just one of these projects, it advances financially shrewd, green practices to MBA interns.
In recent months, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to create a package of metrics that companies can utilize to measure and manage a number of resources. These systems permit management to measure their progress and identify any practices that might need improving.
Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have encouraged all sorts of businesses to go green. These developments have set a high standard for organizations in any sector and established that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.
