It’s not everyday that a grassroots market force is able to bring multi-billion dollar financial firms to the table to talk about their environmental investment practices. So is this latest Goldman Sachs policy a landmark one? Is it the best of the policies reached even compared to Citigroup, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase?

Absolutely. Goldman Sachs is the first investment bank to adopt an environmental policy. It goes further than the JP Morgan policy (released last April) and sets the bar for an industry that before had nothing to measure by.

"They are spending intellectual capital and energy on finding market-based solutions to environmental problems," said Michelle Chan-Fishel, program manager for green investments at Friends of the Earth. Jonathan Lash, president of the World Resources Institute, was more blunt. "Goldman has given us things to measure them by," he said.

Goldman will shape the market of tomorrow and has committed to making sure the needs of the environment we depend on are included in this market. This ties back to the UN Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, a 2 year scientist laden research project that bascially said unless we as a global society change the way we deal with poverty and the environment we’re screwed. It also shows that Goldman is willing to take steps in the right direction when it comes to investing in a sustainable future and flexing it’s financial muscle for the earth in more than just its own sector.

However, there is always more ground to cover. This is the new high-bar for the financial investment sector but we’ll be looking for their competitors (in typical market fashion) to one up them when it comes to company policies. Progress is inevitable but it requires a nudge every now and again…and sometimes a shove.