Our Operational Impact

Responsible environmental and social risk management is essential to minimizing our operational impact and complements our core business activities.

Our Operational Impact

Responsible environmental and social risk management is essential to minimizing our operational impact and complements our core business activities.

Managing our impact on our environment and communities is central to our operations and supply chain strategy. Each year, we aim to minimize our operational impact by implementing initiatives across energy management, physical workplace footprint consolidation, emissions reduction, renewable energy and carbon credit procurement, water and waste management, small business engagement, and responsible sourcing and supply chain management. As a firm, we recognize the importance of engaging with and supporting the local communities where we live, work, and operate.

We manage environmental, social and economic performance, and pollution prevention through ongoing review and update of our management systems to meet regulatory requirements and respond to emerging environmental and social considerations. Read more about our efforts in the latest Goldman Sachs Sustainability Report, third-party verification statements, and in the sections below.

Operational Impact Dimensions

Our 2025 Operational Goals

We have leveraged our 2025 operational goals to enhance how our workplaces and facilities utilize smart, sustainable solutions. In addition to seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification or equivalent for all new buildings, we certify all our operationally-controlled workplaces to ISO 14001, and all our onsite events to ISO 20121 and source renewable electricity equivalent to 100%¹ of our global consumption.  

Our 2025 goals aim to further improve our performance across a range of areas, including energy management and direct renewable electricity sourcing.  

¹The firm sourced renewable electricity equivalent to 100% of global electricity consumption. Ninety-six percent of this is in line with RE100 market boundary criteria and requirements for firms joining prior to 2021.

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Emissions Reductions

Our operations and supply chain decarbonization program focuses on operational and supply chain initiatives to prioritize direct emissions reductions, build resilience, and further optimize our established efficiencies.

Since 2009, we have reduced our operational emissions² by 53%, despite a significant increase in employee headcount over the same timeframe, resulting in a 67% reduction per full-time employee (FTE). The primary factors driving these reductions were the consolidation of the physical footprint of our workplaces and enhanced optimization of building energy use. We have further minimized the operational impact of our global electricity consumption by procuring renewable electricity, resulting in an additional 41% reduction using a market-based approach.³ Beyond our own operational emissions reductions, we support our suppliers’ sustainability efforts that impact our supply chain emissions. Additionally, to offset unabated emissions from our operations and business travel, we annually procure third-party verified carbon credits.

² Total emissions here include Scope 1 and Scope 2 (location-based).

³ Market-based Scope 2 emission calculation method reflects the GHG emissions associated with the electricity that a company has specifically chosen to purchase, typically through contracts or instruments like Environmental Attribute Certificates, whereas the location-based Scope 2 emission calculation method uses the average emissions intensity of the power grid where the company’s facilities are located.

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Responsible Sourcing & Supply Chain Management

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