Fred Krupp, president of the environmental advocacy group Environmental Defense, is considered an inconvenient man by some people. He's been criticized by other environmental advocacy groups for being overly friendly to corporate America and by pro-business organizations for not being friendly enough in his efforts to apply market-based solutions to environmental and social problems. Whichever side of the argument they're on, few would disagree that he's highly effective in delivering on his goals. "Our watchword is finding the ways that work, meaning that we do whatever it takes to achieve environmental results," he says. "Often this means that we find ourselves working with some strange bedfellows, but for environmentalism to be effective, we have to wed social goals with markets that are here to stay."

A graduate of Yale with a law degree from the University of Michigan, Krupp spent several years in private law practice before joining Environmental Defense in 1984. He's served on the President's Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations in the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations and on the commissions on the environment established by presidents George H.W. Bush and Clinton.

Krupp and Environmental Defense wield enormous clout, as evidenced in recent headlines about their role in the $32 billion takeover of Texas electric utility TXU that resulted in the new management jettisoning plans to build coal-fired power plants. Some of that clout can be attributed to the organization's sheer size. Founded in 1967, Environmental Defense has about 500,000 members and a budget in excess of $70 million, which allows them to hire staff attorneys, engineers, scientists, and economists. The money for that hefty payroll comes from individual donations; Environmental Defense doesn't accept donations or payments from companies with which it works.

Why do wealthy donors choose to hand over the green to Environmental Defense rather than one of the many other environmental advocacy groups? "I asked one donor that very question," says David Yarnold, Executive Vice President, "and he told me that it's because Fred's humility inspires trust." In fact, Yarnold says, Krupp has been criticized for being too modest in situations where the organization should celebrate its accomplishments.

In 1990, Environmental Defense launched a corporate partnership program by working with McDonald's to help the chain reduce its solid waste. Key Environmental Defense staffers, including scientists, were trained in every aspect of McDonald's operations -- such as flipping hamburgers -- which resulted in 40 strategies for reducing waste and encouraging recycling. Since then, McDonald's has saved millions of dollars in packaging and disposal costs.

"The increasing interest of both consumers and government policy makers means that well-managed businesses are going to anticipate the rising demand for environmental performance," says Krupp. "All shareholders have an interest in investing in companies that anticipate economic, social, and regulatory trends."

Some corporate partnerships in the near future will likely stem from a new framework for regulation of greenhouse gases, which Krupp says is only a couple of years away. "It's too early to say how it will be done, but there will be some businesses that in a shortsighted way will be looking for handouts and subsidies using global warming as the excuse to feed at the trough," he says. "But there will be other, farsighted companies who believe that they have the strength and agility to produce what society needs. We're working hard toward our country making the right choice, using a real market system and unleashing creativity rather than returning to yesteryear's environmental policies."