Altameroy Blog

When Henry Kravis and George Roberts established Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in the mid-seventies with some assistance from the First Chicago Corporation, the firm’s specialty was in bootstrap buyouts. Lately in the pursuit of making the businesses in their portfolio have less of a negative environmental impact, they have set up a unique venture that has completely transformed the method by which businesses and environmental agencies function. Green business practices went mainstream in 2008 when KKR’s Henry Kravis and the the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged. Issues like water pollution and unconscionable water consumption are a top priority in their corporate mission statement. Eco-efficiency (a term initially used by the WBCSD) is the technique leveraged to achieve these aims, through applying policies such as reducing the waste of resources, improving fuel economy through vehicle fleet maintenance and recycling programs. Simple and effective, however the companies who were involved did not even realize the full project’s benefits until the man responsible for the Green Portfolio Project, Ken Mehlman, evaluated the program when it had been operating for a year.

Ken Mehlman who received a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1991, has served as director of the White House Office of Political Affairs from 2000 through 2005, was appointed to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council in 2007 and presently serves as a member of the Senior Advisory Committee of the Harvard University Institute of Politics, the executive leadership cabinet of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation, and the board of directors at the National Endowment for Democracy, found out that using eco-efficiency wasn’t solely preserving the local environment, but additionally it was helping to save business concerns a substantial amount of money, making the program almost an immediate success. To date, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman have succeeded in getting virtually all of their firms involved in eco-efficiency principles. Seeing that this group of companies is worth almost one hundred billion USD, you can see what a feat this actually was. The two groups in association with Ken Mehlman are further expanding the original project. To illustrate, KKR joined the EDF’s Climate Corps Program a venture which teaches MBA students how to promote cost-efficient, ecologically friendly techniques. In addition, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with KKR to produce a package of analytical tools which all sorts of business organizations can utilize to evaluate and administer resources. This type of data is significant as any business may easily measure all of their daily activities and discover exactly how they can resolve any issues while at the same time allowing them to see how ecologically friendly they are. Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have encouraged all sorts of businesses to become more ecologically friendly. Their innovations have made decreasing their ecological impact less complicated for companies in every sector and established that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.

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You are certain to have seen mention of Mr. Naveen Jain in connection with him being the co-founder & CEO of Intelius, Inc. the leading information commerce market leaders. In addition to making the Forbes 400 Richest in America list in 2000, this eminently successful business leader has collected several reputable awards, most notably the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the WSA Industry Achievement Award, and the Albert Einstein Technology Medal, to name only a small selection. However things definitely develop further from there. That’s because Naveen Jain and his kin are by the same token as impassioned about philanthropy and will try to assist needy people whenever they are able to.

Children are truly humanity’s most precious resource. This enterprising man sees and treats young people as the principal core of his charity works and he uses any opportunity he gets to aid them. This is why he is always meticulously exploiting every opening available to him to aid them, whenever at all viable. In consequence, Naveen Jain, his family and the workers at Intelius give their time and efforts to many different charities like the Indian American Education Foundation, the Overlake Service League, and the University of Washington. Obviously they give a great amount of monetary assistance, but more importantly, they pledge their time and attention to the most disadvantaged and risk prone children. Furthermore, he supports the Children’s Hospital endeavoring to improve children’s health.

And since Jain is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology and XLRI Jamshedpur, it comes as no surprise that formal education holds a tremendously important status in his philanthropic outlook. This also includes movements and good causes that can range from neighborhood programs to the global. Therefore it only stands to reason that Intelius and its CEO are actively sponsoring deserving causes and organizations such as the Rotary Club, TreeHouse and United Way. Feeding the world’s starving constitutes yet another central objective for Jain and his family and it is of no interest at all to him whether it is a baby in Manchester or Washington D.C., or an elderly man in Iowa or Somalia needing help. While he is intensely conscious that the objective of feeding every hungry mouth in the world can look like an impossible task, he also believes that the unfeasible can actually become possible if each and every one of us labors in concert. If this CEO should really have his way, there will come a final close to privation and famine everywhere in the future.

One would believe that functioning as the leader of a wildly thriving company plus being a committed family man would provide him hardly any scope for donating and support. Regardless Naveen makes certain that all of his humanitarian endeavors can rely on as much help as he can feasibly donate. This entrepreneurial man is indisputably a lot more than any ordinary (though very successful) maverick of internet commerce. He is actually an exceptional citizen and a remarkable community advocate.

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In all likelihood you may have heard about Mr. Naveen Jain’s name as the CEO & co-founder of Intelius, Inc. the predictive intelligence service company. As well as gaining his place on the Forbes list “400 Richest in America” 2000, this eminently successful entrepreneur has been bestowed an assortment of notable awards, foremost the Albert Einstein Technology Medal, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the WSA Industry Achievement Award, to cite only three. But that is positively not where it ends. That’s because Jain and his relatives are by the same token as passionate about philanthropy and will attempt to assist others as often as they are able to. There can be no doubting the fact that our young ones are veritably our world’s treasured resource and its future. Naveen Jain also sees them as being at the very core of his enterprises, and he makes the best of any chance available to help them. This, too, is why he is meticulously using every opening he can to offer support if it is doable. So, Naveen Jain, his relatives and the staff at Intelius, Inc. give their time to various charitable agencies for example the University of Washington, United Way, and the University Preparatory Academy. Naturally, they will provide a great amount of material aid, but most importantly, they pledge their time and care to the most needy and endangered children. Furthermore, he is sponsoring the Children’s Hospital striving to meliorate child health. Because Naveen Jain is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology and XLRI Jamshedpur, it is not at all astounding that professional training also constitutes a crucial hub in his humanitarian activities. This includes movements and charitable foundations that are local, state, and nationwide. In doing this Intelius and its CEO are funding voluntary organizations and charities,like, for example the Vedic Cultural Center, Hopelink and the Rotary Club.

Getting foodstuffs to the underdogs of the world is another central objective to Naveen Jain and those around him and to him, it makes not a iota of difference. While he is intensely aware that the aim of feeding every destitute person in the world can appear to be an insurmountable task, he also recognizes that the unachievable can indubitably come to be realizable if each and every one of us toils together. If this entrepreneur really achieves his goals, there will be a definite end to poverty and famine in the world one day.

You may believe that as the man in charge of a very thriving market leading business and a dedicated spouse and parent would leave him no spare time for philanthropic acts. But he sees to it that each of of his philanthropic projects obtains all the support he can possibly marshal. This untiringly philanthropic entrepreneur is surely much more than just a business leader. He is (even more importantly) also a perfectly marvelous personality and a real community hero.

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Several of my related articles about PHPBB2, the open source program that helps webmasters create and maintain internet forums, touched on many of the technical aspects of the program. What you may not know is that PHPBB2 has a worldwide audience with the potential to reach more than half of the world’s population in their native language. Chalk it up to a combination of expert programmers and wonderful translators who have made this feat a reality. Without their hard work, the software’s reach would be quite limited. Let’s take a look at how translators have expanded PHPBB2 to the far corners of our world.

As with any software program, expanding it beyond one’s native language presents its own special challenges. Not only must you write the code correctly, but you must translate it into various world languages, many of which are distinctly different from others.

I am impressed by PHPBB2 as it has expanded the reach of forums well beyond English and Western speaking countries to Asia, Africa, and South America. Indeed, not a continent is not represented save for Antarctica. Then again, if penguins knew how to communicate on our level I am sure a program would be made up especially for them!

So, exactly who is represented? I am glad that you asked! The following is a complete list of 60…count ‘em 60 languages:

Afrikaans; Albanian; Arabic; Asturina; Azerbaijani; Basque; Bosnian; Breton; Bulgarian; Catalan; Chinese [simplified and traditional]; Croatian; Czech; Danish; Dutch; Esperanto; Estonian; Farsi; Finnish; French; Galician; German [simplified and formal]; Greek, Hebrew; Hungarian; Icelandic; Indonesian; Italian; Japanese; Korean; Kurdish; Lithuanian; Macedonian; Mongolian; Norwegian [2 dialects]; Polish; Portuguese [2 dialects]; Romanian; Russian [2 dialects]; Sakha; Serbian [2 dialects]; Slovakian; Slovenian; Spanish [2 dialects]; Swedish; Tatarish; Thai; Uighur; Ukrainian; Vietnamese; and Welsh. Yes, English is also one of the programs!

If you are one who favors international goodwill than you can appreciate as much as I do the many and varied languages as well as cultures represented because of PHPBB2. To further the software’s reach, PHPBB encourages the creation of additional translations. A knowledge base to help translators out in their quest is listed right online.

As I mentioned elsewhere, PHPBB2 is a free program one that virtually anyone around our wonderful planet can access and translate into their own language provided they have a computer and internet access. One has to think that this bit of goodwill can go very far. Let’s hope so…our world needs every bit of it!

Copyright 2005 — Matthew Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on a variety of topics including: advocacy, automobiles, aviation, business, Christian themes, family, news, product reviews, travel, writing, and more. Samples from his portfolio are available right online.

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