Goldman Sachs | Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures Report 2021

“As a financial institution, we believe we can achieve the greatest impact in advancing the climate transition by partnering with our clients across our business. Whether it’s by developing new sustainability-linked financing solutions, offering world-class strategic advice, or co-investing alongside our clients in cutting-edge clean energy companies, we’re constantly innovating and expanding new commercial capabilities to help our clients accelerate their transition."

- David Solomon
Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs

Our Approach to Climate

The firm’s approach to accelerating climate transition is focused on those areas where Goldman Sachs can have a material impact, including working with clients to decarbonize their businesses and help drive progress towards net zero ambitions, engaging partners and broader stakeholders for impactful innovation and collaboration, and managing the firm’s own climate related risks.

In our latest Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) report, Accelerating Transition, we share an interim roadmap for how we aim to deliver on our long-term commitment to align with a net zero by 2050 pathway.

We describe how we are leveraging the full breadth of our business to help drive the low-carbon transition efforts of our clients through the development of new commercial capabilities and innovative climate solutions

We also acknowledge that in addition to opportunities, the impacts of climate change present risks that have the potential to impact our business in a variety of ways. We are continuously assessing and managing the risks posed by climate change to our business through proprietary models that leverage the latest science and industry best practices on stress testing, and are further integrating climate into our firmwide business and risk practices more broadly

Introduction to New Interim Business Goals for 2030

We remain committed to support the goals of the Paris Agreement, which includes aligning our business with a net zero by 2050 pathway. In this year’s TCFD report: Accelerating Transition, we share an initial set of targets for 2030 for three sectors: Oil & Gas, Power and Auto Manufacturing*, representing sectors where we see opportunities to partner with our clients to help drive decarbonization in the real economy.

*Focused on light duty vehicle auto manufacturing, including both cars and light trucks for passenger and commercial uses

Our Commitment

Our commitment is underpinned by the following core principles:

Real Economy Impact

We are committed to partnering with our clients, investors and the public sector to support the goals of the Paris Agreement. At the same time, we recognize that there are substantial gaps between the benchmark 1.5°C aligned scenarios and the current state of policies, commitments and technologies.
We present ranged interim targets that are consistent with the ambition of the Paris Agreement but highlight where these gaps remain material. We will continue to advocate for the system level change that is required to address these gaps.

Client Solutions

We recognize that our clients will require a diverse set of advice, capital and financing solutions to measure, manage and execute on their decarbonization strategies, and are leveraging the capabilities across our business to support them in this effort.
We have taken a similarly holistic approach to our 2030 targets, including both direct and facilitated financing activities. Our approach also considers the role of low-carbon finance, which we view as an important way that we can support the provision of capital to companies who are taking important steps to reduce their emissions.

Materiality

We have prioritized three sectors for this first iteration of targets: Oil & Gas, Power, and Auto Manufacturing, based on their materiality to global emissions and to Goldman Sachs’ own business, and the availability of sufficient relevant data to engage with clients in a meaningful way.

Sustainable Growth

We have chosen to set targets on a physical emissions intensity basis. This approach allows us to normalize for company size and scale of production, is designed to reduce volatility as a result of short-term changes in production levels, and enables us to support growth in businesses that are emissions-efficient

For further information on our initial set of targets for 2030, please
refer to our TCFD report: Accelerating Transition

See How We’re Accelerating Transition

We believe the most meaningful role we can play in the global climate transition is to help drive decarbonization in the real economy in partnership with our clients. Learn more about how we are helping to advance the climate transition.