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Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was founded in the 1970’s and in those days the company’s specialization was in ‘bootstrap’ buyouts. But recently they have launched a remarkable project which concentrates not solely on how much profit they can produce, but also on the ecological impact of the companies they acquire. When Henry Kravis from KKR and the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged a year ago environmental matters went mainstream. These companies intended to fight critical green issues, including greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion, steep consumption of water resources, and hazardous emissions.

To achieve this, they apply eco-efficiency, this involves concepts such as increasing the durability of products, optimizing data centers for efficiency, and reducing the waste of resources. Although the program was a tremendous success, no-one understood how fantastic the consequences actually were until Ken Mehlman, the person responsible for the program, studied the first year’s figures. Ken Mehlman who graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1988, has also served as field director for George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign, managed the 2004 re-election campaign for President Bush and serves as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations Climate Change Task Force, the board of directors at the National Endowment for Democracy, and the executive leadership cabinet of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation, found out that eco-efficiency was not simply preserving the environment, but additionally it was helping to save business concerns a remarkable amount of money, making the program almost an instant success. Almost all of the commercial organizations associated with KKR and Ken Mehlman today apply eco-efficiency. Considering that this group of businesses is worth $86,000,000,000, you can see what a feat this actually was. The original program is expanding to include new ventures. The Climate Corps Program set up by the Environmental Defense Fund is just one of these ventures, it campaigns for financially sound, environmentally friendly principles to MBA interns. KKR and Ken Mehlman have taken the time to formulate metrics that quantify and manipulate various resources. These systems let a business organization see how they are progressing and identify any underlying issues.

Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have made going green easier for companies large and small. Their developments have made going green simpler for companies in every industry and established that making profits need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.

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