When Henry Kravis and George Roberts founded Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) in the 1970’s with help from the First Chicago Corporation, their specialty was in highly leveraged transactions. But pushing further, aiming to make their acquisitions greener, they have set in motion a groundbreaking green enterprise that has changed the method by which businesses and environmental agencies work. Environmentally sound business practices became major topic of dicussion last year when KKR’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged. Issues like toxic chemicals and unsustainable consumption of water resources are a top priority in their corporate mission statement. Eco-efficiency (the phrase was first pitched by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) is the technique deployed to achieve these objectives, through employing policies like reducing the waste of resources, recycling programs and waste reduction. Although the program was an enormous success, no-one understood how important the consequences actually were until Ken Mehlman, the head of the program and global public affairs, finished the review of the first twelve months.

Beating everybody’s expectations, Ken saw that utilizing eco-efficiency not only enhanced environmental awareness, but was also increasing the profitability of all their businesses too. Virtually all of the firms affiliated to KKR and Ken Mehlman today apply eco-efficiency. Seeing that the group has a value of virtually $100 billion USD, you can be certain that this was no easy feat.

These two organizations with the help of Ken Mehlman are further developing the original program. The Climate Corps Program established by the EDF is an example of this, it promotes cost-efficient, green procedures to MBA interns. KKR and Ken Mehlman have taken the time to create metrics and analytical tools that manipulate various resources. With this information available, companies can evaluate all of their daily activities and find out where they can solve any problems while simultaneously allowing staff to see their impact on the environment.

Henry Kravis, the KKR, and the Environmental Defense Fund are innovators when it comes to developing green business techniques. So, in conclusion, these systems have made green business techniques not only viable, but commercially desirable, and their novel ideas are setting a new standard in today’s business community.