Our Sustainability Journey

We believe that sustainability has evolved from aspirational ideals to commercial solutions. We formalized our tradition of environmental stewardship in 2005, when we established the Environmental Policy Framework. We remain dedicated to its core tenet: committing our people, capital and ideas to develop market solutions that address environmental challenges.
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Download Highlights of our 10-year Milestones

2019: Announcing The Formation Of The Sustainable Finance Group

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2018: Our Commitment to Eliminating Plastics

The firm is on track to remove 85% of the plastics we consume by the end of 2019. In addition to replacing plastic bottles and straws, this effort includes plastic film presentation covers and bindings.

2017: Sustainable Finance Innovation Forum

We hosted the 2017 Sustainable Finance Innovation Forum to discuss the latest market developments and innovations that are defining the next frontier of sustainable economic growth.

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2016: Clean Energy Impact Report

After achieving our initial goal of financing and investing $40 billion in clean energy, we put the number in context as we look ahead to our expanded target: $150 billion by 2025.

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2015: Updated Environmental Policy Framework

In 2015, we updated our Environmental Policy Framework to build on our decade-long progress and establish a roadmap for ongoing environmental leadership and sustainable economic growth.

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2014: Innovative Green Bond Transactions

We led several innovative transactions to expand the green bond market – from the first century green bond and the first green energy market securitization to the first Latin America renewable project green bond.

2013: Financings and Summit to Tackle Water Challenges

We structured several public-private partnerships to finance much needed water infrastructure and hosted a summit focused on financial solutions in the water sector.

2012: Clean Energy Financing & Investment Target

During a time when the clean energy markets were volatile, we established a target to deploy $40 billion of capital to advance the clean energy sector over the following decade. In 2015, we expanded our target to $150 billion by 2025.

2011: Signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing

Through GSAM, we joined a global network of investors to advance our commitment to environmental, social and governance integration across our investment platform.

2010: Clean Technology and Renewables Group

We established a group within Investment Banking to lead the growing clean energy sector. We have been the leading financier helping clean energy scale up globally.

2009: Committing to Carbon Neutrality

We established a new goal to achieve carbon neutrality in our operations by 2020 by adopting a carbon reduction framework. In 2015, we expedited our commitment by five years and will be carbon neutral starting from 2015 onwards.

2008: Goldman Sachs Asset Management SUSTAIN Product

We launched a global equity product to create investment opportunities that meet sustainability criteria.

2007: Global Investment Research Creates GS SUSTAIN Program

We launched GS SUSTAIN at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit. GS SUSTAIN incorporates ESG criteria into the fundamental analysis of companies to identify long-term outperformers.

2006: Center For Environmental Markets

We launched the Center for Environmental Markets with three partnerships focused on researching market solutions and informing policy to address climate change. Since then, we have contributed $13 million to additional partnerships and pilot projects focused on clean energy, energy and resource efficiency, to water.

2005: Environmental Policy Framework

Our original Environmental Policy Framework articulated our conviction that a healthy environment is a foundation for a strong and sustainable economy and our commitment to leveraging market solutions to address critical environmental challenges.