In the beginning, when Henry Kravis and George Roberts launched Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in the seventies with the support of the First Chicago Corporation, their main business was in highly leveraged transactions. Pushing beyond, in an extraordinary endeavor to make the businesses they purchase more environmentally friendly and more profitable as well, they have established a remarkable green enterprise that has totally changed the way businesses and environmental activists carry on their everyday business. KKR’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined forces in 2008, intending to make environmentally friendly business practice a widely accepted concept. Issues like air pollution and absurd consumption of water resources rank high on their agenda. Eco-efficiency (the term was initially used by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) fashions their mission’s framework, using green techniques such as increasing the durability of products, optimizing data centers for efficiency and fuel economy. Even though the project was a huge success, people simply didn’t realize how incredible the results really were until Ken Mehlman, the executive in charge of the project, reviewed the profits for the first 12 months.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Ken realized that applying eco-efficiency not only increased environmental awareness, but was also increasing the profits from all their companies too. These days, KKR and Ken Mehlman have well-nigh every associated business actively participating in eco-efficiency principles. However, with a current portfolio estimated at 86,000,000,000 dollars, you may be certain that this wasn’t an easy accomplishment.

The original program has evolved beyond its initial remit and now encompasses new initiatives. For example, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co joined the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps Program which teaches MBA interns how to encourage cost efficient, environmentally friendly principles. Furthermore, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to produce analytic tools and other relevant systems which businesses can utilize to quantify and oversee various resources. These metrics can evaluate an organization’s progress and identify any underlying issues.

Henry Kravis, the KKR, and the Environmental Defense Fund are trailblazers when it comes to raising awareness of environmentally friendly business techniques. These developments have made going green simpler for business organizations in every sector and shown the world that making profits need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.