Douglas Goldman believes there has been a shift within institutions like the World Bank towards caring about the environment. As a philanthropist, Goldman has served on the boards of dozens of local, national, and international organizations, including the Goldman Environmental Foundation which was founded by his parents in 1990. Since then, the Goldman Environmental Prize has been awarded annually to grassroots environmental heroes across the world.

Goldman currently serves on the board of the Goldman School of Public Policy and the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, the Harold Hartog School of Government and Policy at Tel-Aviv University, the Goldman Environmental Foundation, and the Goldman Prize Jury.