Google Data

With a background in physics and sustainability, and a stint as a math teacher in Morocco, I never imagined I would end up at a technology company like Google. But as I approach my fifth anniversary here, I’ve been thinking back on all the projects I’ve been a part of as a member of the Energy team. One that I’m most proud of is a collaboration with the Google Finance team and the nonprofit Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) to put companies’ carbon disclosure ratings into Google Finance alongside financial data. Specifically, these ratings quantify how well a company measures and reports its greenhouse gas emissions, as well as to what degree it is aware of the risks and opportunities climate change poses to its business. The scores — which the Google Finance team just updated for 2011 — are listed as “Carbon Disclosure Rating” and appear in the “Key stats and ratios” box on the right side of a company’s Google Finance page:

There are two things that made this an exciting project for me. First, what started out as an idea in the mind of one Googler became a live feature in a product used by millions of people every day. And second, the launch of this feature in April 2010 marked the first time that individual investors could freely access this kind of information in conjunction with financial data.

Why would investors be interested in a company’s carbon disclosure rating? We thought it would be useful because a company’s emissions, as well as climate change more generally, can pose financial risks — and investors generally like to understand such risks. These risks can take several forms: from regulatory risks (e.g. legislation placing costs on carbon-intensive activities) to physical risks (e.g. sea-level rise threatening a company’s facilities) to market risks (e.g. consumers switching to another company’s products because they believe that company to be a better environmental steward). All of these factors (and others) go into CDP’s calculation of a company’s carbon score, so it can be a useful metric for investors.

As I begin my sixth year at Google, I’m excited that we’re making environmental information more universally accessible and useful, and I’m looking forward to the projects and challenges ahead.

Since we launched Google Finance in 2006, we’ve been excited about providing our users with the tools to monitor market changes, manage their portfolios, and make better investment decisions. And today, we’re excited to bring you real time quotes from the London Stock Exchange (LON), Deutsche Börse (FRA), and Borsa Italiana (BIT) to better track economic and financial developments in Europe.

We first introduced real time quotes to our site with the launch of free real time NYSE and NASDAQ quotes in 2008. Since then, we’ve bolstered our last sale coverage with real time data from stock exchanges in China, India, and now, UK, Germany, and Italy. These partnerships mark a big step forward in our mission to provide our users with the best information we can find.

So, go ahead — keep an eye out for Adidas, compare Barclays to RBS, see how Fiat has performed over time. You can do it all on Google Finance. In real time.  

Over the last few months, you might have noticed that Google products have been getting a new look. And starting today, Google Finance is joining the party! This means that over the next few days, you’ll begin to see a new look in Finance that brings you a more consistent and seamless experience with the other Google products you use.

Our philosophy for the new look and feel has been to bring the most important information to the forefront so you get to the content you want faster. Here’s a short list of the current changes that we’ve made:

• The stock quote is now more prominent
• More results is now a large clickable button on the right side of the page
• The Add to portfolio link has turned into an easy-to-find button next to the company name
• +1 button to easily share and recommend companies and stocks you’re interested in

While the most recent changes focus on the visual design, keep your eyes peeled for improvements to the navigation and functionality of Google Finance in the near future. If you’d like to share your thoughts on the changes, feel free to voice your opinions on our feedback form. We’re always striving to improve your online experience, and your suggestions are really helpful in moving our product forward.

Cheers,
The Google Finance Team

Old Google Finance Markets page