Ken Mehlman of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. And the Environmental Defense Fund — the Avant-Garde in Business and Ecology
When Henry Kravis and George Roberts launched Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in 1976 with the assistance of the First Chicago Corporation, their main business was in highly leveraged transactions. Recently they have assembled a unique venture which centers not only on optimizing ROI, but likewise on the ecological impact of the companies they buy.
When Henry Kravis from KKR and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined forces in 2008 environmental issues suddenly turned into a mainstream topic. Their objectives include encouraging their affiliated firms to oppose environmental threats like deforestation as well as any inflated water consumption. Eco-efficiency (a term originally endorsed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) makes up their mission’s framework, utilizing policies like fuel economy, increasing the durability of products and reducing the dispersion of toxic chemicals. Even though the program was a colossal success, managment simply didn’t understand how far reaching the effects were until Ken Mehlman, the person in charge of the Green Portfolio Project, carried out the review of the first year.
Ken Mehlman who practiced environmental law for Akin Gump Stauss Hauer & Feld from 1991 to 1996, has also served as legislative director to Texas 21st Congressional District Representative Lamar S. Smith, was the appointed Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2005 to 2007, is a trustee of Franklin & Marshall College and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and serves as a member of the board of directors at the National Endowment for Democracy, the Council on Foreign Relations Climate Change Task Force, and the Senior Advisory Committee of the Harvard University Institute of Politics, learned that the Green Portfolio Project was not merely helping to maintain the local environment, but it was also saving business concerns a great deal of money, and therefore the program became virtually an instant hit. Virtually all of the commercial concerns linked with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman nowadays are actively involved in eco-efficiency principles. Still, with a current portfolio worth $86,000,000,000, you can be sure this was no easy achievement. The Green Portfolio project now encompasses new ventures. The Climate Corps Program established by the Environmental Defense Fund is just one of these ventures, it campaigns for planet friendly principles to MBA interns.
Moreover, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with KKR to create metrics and analytical tools that all sorts of businesses can employ to measure and oversee resources. This type of information is invaluable as businesses may without very much effort study their daily procedures and ascertain where any problems may be solved while simultaneously tracking their progress.
The business world has been changed by the ground-breaking work of these groups. These developments have set a high standard for businesses in every sector and illustrated that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.