Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was set up in the seventies and back then their main business was in highly leveraged transactions. However, aiming to make the companies they buy have less ecological impact, they have rolled out a unique venture that has entirely transformed the way business concerns and environmental activists operate.

Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined forces a year ago, with the mission of making green business practices a commonplace concept. Their company mission is to offer encouragement to their associated enterprises in opposing practices which may jeopardize the environment e.g. hazardous waste as well as any monumental water consumption. Eco-efficiency (a phrase first advocated by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) dictates the framework for their mission, employing environmentally friendly policies such as increasing the durability of products, reducing the dispersion of toxic chemicals and using clean energy. Regardless of the fact that the program was a huge success, people simply didn’t realize how far reaching the consequences were until Ken Mehlman, the head of the program and global public affairs, studied the profits for the first 12 months. Capping everyone’s expectations, Ken discovered that using eco-efficiency not only enhanced environmental responsibility, but also increased the the profit from all their business concerns too. To date, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman have succeeded in getting well-nigh every last firm in their portfolio involved in eco-efficiency principles. Still, when you consider that the group has a current portfolio valued at $86,000,000,000, you may be certain that this wasn’t a simple feat.

Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co with the EDF in association with Ken Mehlman have also developed the Green Portfolio project. To illustrate, KKR joined the EDF’s Climate Corps Program an organization which instructs MBA students how to put together and initiate cost-efficient, planet friendly techniques. KKR and Ken Mehlman have been creating a series of products that have the ability to manipulate various resources. With this information available, businesses can evaluate all of their everyday procedures and ascertain how they can resolve any issues while at the same time allowing staff to discover their ecological impact. The business world has been altered permanently by the efforts of these groups. These innovations have set a high standard for companies in every sector and proved that making profits need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.