Goldman Sachs and Linux Foundation partner democratize climate data via OS-Climate platform

05 February 2021 | Abigail Opiah

Goldman Sachs has joined Linux Foundation's push to democratise climate data through the building of the OS-Climate platform.

The investment bank and financial services company is expected to provide expertise in climate risk, product development, and financial reporting that will result in “better tools to help companies, asset managers, and investors consistently evaluate progress against decarbonisation goals”.

OS-Climate is a non-profit platform hosted by the Linux Foundation for the development of open data and open source analytics for climate risk management and climate-aligned finance and investing.

The membership currently consists of a global coalition of Allianz, Amazon, Federated Hermes, Microsoft, and S&P Global. 

Goldman Sachs will be the first founding US bank member and the first Premier member of OS-Climate.

David Solomon, Goldman Sachs Group CEO said, “The world needs comprehensive data to meaningfully address climate change, and this diverse coalition is attacking a key shortcoming of so many efforts to make progress.”

“As corporates seek to integrate climate considerations into their business activities, they realize that the cost, the availability and quality of data, and analytical tools to make sound decisions is lacking.

“More widely available data, and collaboratively developed analytics, will help companies measure progress against decarbonisation goals and investors assess the physical and transition risks to which the industry is exposed.”

The company said the OS-Climate platform will leverage the Linux Foundation’s governance, licensing, and collaboration structures to coordinate climate data and tool development across a range of stakeholders. 

As a founding board member, Goldman Sachs said it will support efforts to enhance OS-Climate’s data and analytics tool suite.

“The cost and complexity of data and analytics for climate-aligned finance require systematic collaboration and resource sharing across hundreds of users and contributors,” said Truman Semans, Executive Director of OS-Climate. 

“We are delighted Goldman Sachs will help lead this collaboration through OS-Climate, allowing investors, banks, regulators, companies, and civil society to deliver climate solutions with more speed and innovation than any one organisation could achieve alone.”