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When Henry Kravis and George Roberts established Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in the mid 70’s with the assistance of the First Chicago Corporation, the firm’s focus was in highly leveraged transactions. However, they have put together a groundbreaking green project that centers not solely on ramping up ROI, but also on how environmentally friendly each of the firms in their portfolio are.

Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the New York based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together in 2008, hoping to make environmentally sound business practices an accepted idea. Their corporate mission is to encourage companies in avoiding operations which may destroy the environment like depletion of the ozone layer not to forget any outrageous water consumption. Eco-efficiency (the phrase was originally endorsed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) denotes their mission’s framework, utilizing green techniques like increasing the durability of products, fuel economy and using clean energy. Although the project was an enormous success, people simply didn’t understand how far-reaching the consequences were until Ken Mehlman, the person responsible for the project, finished the first annual review.

Only at that point did Ken learn that the project wasn’t solely reducing their environmental impact, but in addition it was helping to save companies a large amount of money, making the program virtually an instant hit. Virtually all of the businesses affiliated to KKR and Ken Mehlman today are engaged in eco-efficiency. Seeing that the entire portfolio is valued at 86 billion USD, you can see what an accomplishment this actually is. The original program has now expanded to encompass new ventures. To illustrate, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co linked up with the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps Program that instructs MBA students how to promote financially astute, green techniques. In recent months, Ken Mehlman has been cooperating closely with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to formulate a series of metrics and other relevant products that firms can utilize to measure a wide range of resources. With this information available, companies can assess their day-to-day procedures and find out where they can improve while simultaneously seeing their progress. Henry Kravis, the KKR, and the Environmental Defense Fund are true trailblazers in the business community. In conclusion, the work of these organizations has made green business techniques not only viable, but commercially desirable, and their radical ideas are setting a new standard in the competitive business world of today.