Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was set up in the mid seventies and initially their main business was in ‘bootstrap’ buyouts. However, aiming to make the companies they purchase greener and more profitable in the same stride, KKR have set in motion a novel green enterprise that has fundamentally transformed the way businesses and environmental activists operate.

When Henry Kravis from KKR and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged last year environmental matters went mainstream. Key environmental matters like soil contamination and absurd consumption of water resources are an all-important part of their corporate mission. Eco-efficiency (a term originally introduced by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development WBCSD) is the technique leveraged to achieve these goals, using techniques such as increasing the durability of products, waste reduction and reducing the intensity of materials. The Green Portfolio Project was successful, but the firms who were involved did not even understand the entirety of the project’s advantages until Ken Mehlman, the man in charge of the Green Portfolio Project, evaluated the program subsequent to its first year in operation. Much to everybody’s surprise, Ken found that this program not only reduced the impact on the environment, but was also increasing the profitability of all their businesses as well. To date, KKR and Ken Mehlman have succeeded in getting almost every associated organization involved in eco-efficiency. And, when you consider that the group has a 2009 portfolio worth $86,000,000,000, you may be sure this was not a simple accomplishment. The initial project now includes new initiatives. For instance, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co joined the EDF’s Climate Corps Program an organization which teaches students studying for an MBA how to encourage cost-efficient, earth friendly techniques. KKR and Ken Mehlman have been developing a series of metrics and analytic tools which can quantify and oversee resources. This type of info is invaluable as companies can measure their day to day procedures and ascertain precisely how they can solve any problems while simultaneously tracking their progress.

Henry Kravis, the KKR, and the Environmental Defense Fund really are visionaries in the world of green business. Their visionary ideas have set a benchmark for organizations in every sector and established that making profits need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.