Private equity firms are started to be seen as the new champions in social responsibility causes -and one of the firms that take the lead for a better, environmentally-friendly future is Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR). Extending its cost-effective environmental management program up to one fifth of its portfolio, KKR co-founder Henry Kravis said that their Green Portfolio Program highlighted that environmental and business performances could go along well. The private equity firm introduces their Green Portfolio Program, created a couple of years ago in partnership with Environmental Defense Fund, to several companies in the U.S. and outside the U.S. in a bid to reduce their impacts on the surrounding environments, including waste, paper, chemical use, water consumption and energy usage, among others.
KKR’s Managing Director and Head of Global Affairs, Ken Mehlman said in an interview that the buyout of Texas Utilities (TXU) was a classic example of where green was on both sides. He recalled the TXU buyout which was quite a historic one. TXU buyout was the largest buyout at the time and it involved environmental standard terms, set up by KKR and EDF. The EDF and the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) opposed TXU’s intention to construct 11 power plants powered by coal. At that time, KKR refused to proceed with the takeover until TXU was willing to adhere to the standards set up by EDF and the NRDC. KKR aimed to reduce TXU’s emission levels and increase in renewable energy investments.
Ken Mehlman continued, saying that the future was real sustainability. Concerning green initiatives, Ken Mehlman said that people would want to do green initiative projects because they thought it was the right thing to do and because it could save money. KKR also works with U.S. Food Service to find out how the company could improve their fuel efficiency of their fleet, saving money while improving the environment.
