Environmental Leader

Newsweek reports that when Goldman Sachs advised Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group on its purchase of TXU Corp., it urged them to strike a compromise with environmentalists: First, cut plans for all but three of 11 coal-fired plants TXU intended to build. Second, invest $400 million in energy-saving initiatives, like wind power.

“Goldman’s willingness to make the environment a key component of the deal” helped broker a truce, says Fred Krupp, president of the advocacy group Environmental Defense.

Goldman has been making internal moves towards green policies too, according to the article. For instance, it has established a formal policy that bars the firm from bankrolling projects that “significantly convert or degrade a critical natural habitat.” Goldman committed to avoiding business with illegal loggers, and the firm has pledged a seven percent cut in indirect greenhouse-gas emissions from its offices.

In addition, the firm chauffeurs executives in hybrid cars and is building a new $2 billion, ecofriendly headquarters in Manhattan.