Originally, when Henry Kravis and his business partner George Roberts founded Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in the 1970’s with the support of the First Chicago Corporation, the firm’s main business was in highly leveraged transactions. But recently they have set up a unique enterprise which centers not just on maximizing profit margins, but additionally on how environmentally friendly each of their companies are.

KKR’s Henry Kravis and the independent Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together a year ago, with the intention of making environmentally aware business practice a widespread principle. They wants to tackle critical green issues, including greenhouse gas emissions, toxic emissions, unreasonable water consumption, and deforestation. In order to achieve this, they apply eco-efficiency, this uses concepts such as recycling programs, reducing the intensity of materials, and using clean energy. Even though the program was a huge success, no-one realized how important the results were until Ken Mehlman, the head of the project and global public affairs, carried out the first annual review. Capping all expectations, Ken learned that eco-efficiency not only served in preserving the environment, but also increased the profits from all their companies as well. These days, KKR and Ken Mehlman have virtually every associated business involved in eco-efficiency techniques. Seeing that the group has a value of nearly one hundred billion USD, you can see what an enormous achievement this really is. The original Green Portfolio project now encompasses new opportunities. For example, KKR joined the EDF’s Climate Corps Program which teaches students studying for a Master’s degree in Business Administration how to introduce cost-effective, green practices. In recent months, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to formulate a package of metrics which firms can use to evaluate and manage resources. This type of info is invaluable as any business may without much effort assess their everyday activities and identify where they can solve any problems while simultaneously tracking their progress. Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have encouraged all sorts of businesses to become more ecologically friendly. Their unique concepts have made going green simpler for firms in every industry and proved that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.