WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management of Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs received the WELL Health-Safety Rating across 9.4mm square feet of all 84 of our operationally-controlled facilities, representing 99% of our people spaces, an evidence-based third-party designation by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) to verify that a space has taken the necessary steps to prioritize the health and safety of their staff and visitors. With the pandemic highlighting the critical role that buildings play in supporting people’s health, safety and well-being, the firm pursued this certification to certify that our spaces provide best-in-class cleaning and sanitization, emergency preparedness, health service resources, air- and water-quality management. The certification process was created by the IWBI Task Force on COVID-19, which was a group of nearly 600 experts across various industries and functions including public health, medicine, design, real estate, government and academia.
Universal Green Building Standards
Looking forward to 2025, we are committed to targeting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification or equivalent for 100% of new construction and major renovation projects. This expands on our year-end 2020 target, where we achieved 70% green building certification across our global real estate portfolio.
As a result of our consistent use of green building standards, approximately 71% of our global office space portfolio (over 7.4 million sq. ft.) has now achieved LEED or BREEAM certification. To date, our green building portfolio consists of 26 offices with 14 additional projects in the pipeline for LEED or equivalent green building certification.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) international standard for measuring building sustainability. Goldman Sachs’ green buildings standards help ensure that the design, construction and operation of our facilities support a healthy, more energy-efficient environment.
Key environmental features in our green portfolio include:
- Daylight Harvesting: Use of light sensors that respond to daylight by dimming the light
- Occupancy Sensors: Use of lights that turn on or off based on floor occupancy
- Under Floor Air Conditioning: Ability to adjust the amount of airflow at workstations, which reduces the need to cool the entire office space
- Sustainable Materials: Disclosing the use of materials that are non-toxic, sustainably produced and recyclable (e.g. Forest Stewardship Council certified wood) contribute to indoor environmental quality, less waste, and greater transparency
- Low Flow Water Fixtures: Use of modified fixtures to conserve water use in restrooms and pantries
- Bicycle Storage and Shower Facilities: Providing facilities that encourage our people to avoid driving and consider alternate forms of commuting to work
- Greenguard Certification: Use of furniture systems that promote good indoor air quality
We are committed to targeting 100% LEED Gold or equivalent building certification for all new construction and major renovation projects and to certifying 100% of our operationally controlled spaces to the ISO 14001 standard. As a result of our consistent use of green building standards, approximately 71% of our global office space portfolio (over 7.4 million sq. ft.) has now achieved LEED or BREEAM certification against our 2020 commitment of targeting 70%. In addition, 100% of our on-site events and facilities are certified to the ISO 20121 and ISO 14001 standards, respectively.
2025 Commitments around Green Buildings and Certified Management
- Continued commitment to target Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification or equivalent for new construction and major renovation projects
- Extend commitment to ISO 20121 Sustainable Event Management to include off-site events
See related article: HB Reavis workspace WELL certified at the Platinum level
We are committed to achieving green building certification for new construction and major renovation projects and investigating on-going certification for our operations and events.
Source: Goldman Sachs