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Please read this important information before proceeding further. It contains legal and regulatory notices relevant to the information contained on this website.

The information contained in the Website is NOT FOR RETAIL CLIENTS – The information contained in the Website is solely intended for professional investors, defined as investors which (1) qualify as professional clients within the meaning of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), (2) have requested to be treated as professional clients within the meaning of the MiFID or (3) are authorised to receive such information under any other applicable laws. The value of the investments may fluctuate. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Neither Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. nor any of its affiliates guarantees the performance or the future returns of any investments. If the currency in which the past performance is displayed differs from the currency of the country in which you reside, then you should be aware that due to exchange rate fluctuations the performance shown may increase or decrease if converted into your local currency.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management UK Limited (“RIAM UK”) markets the Funds of Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (“ROBECO”) to institutional clients and professional investors only. Private investors seeking information about the Robeco Funds should consult with an Independent Financial Adviser. ROBECO will not be liable for any damages or losses suffered by private investors accessing the website.

RIAM UK is an authorised distributor for ROBECO Funds in the UK and has marketing approval for the funds listed on the website, all of which are UCITS Funds. ROBECO is authorised by the AFM and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Many of the protections provided by the United Kingdom regulatory framework may not apply to investments in ROBECO Funds, including access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and the Financial Ombudsman Service. No representation, warranty or undertaking is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information on this website.

If you are not an institutional client or professional investor, you should therefore not proceed. By proceeding, please note that we will be treating you as a professional client for regulatory purposes and you agree to be bound by our terms and conditions.

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Sustainable Investing

Sustainable technology

Sustainable technology is the application of industrial and digital solutions to enhance environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. It spans diverse fields, including solar panel construction, artificial intelligence in healthcare, fintech digitalization, and recycling initiatives.


The first sustainable technology was arguably the construction of dams in ancient times to retain water in areas where it was scarce. The oldest known is the Jawa Dam in what is now modern Jordan that was built in the 4th millennium BC to irrigate dry land and make it suitable for farming.1

The most modern use of sustainable technology could be said to be the use of artificial intelligence to detect cancers or other human ailments that cannot be found using standard data or scanning, along with satellites than can detect deforestation from space.

Wind and solar have scaled up faster than any other sources of electricity in history - Global electricity generation, by technology (TWh)

Wind and solar have scaled up faster than any other sources of electricity in history - Global electricity generation, by technology (TWh)

Source: Wind and solar generation data from Ember annual electricity data, nuclear, gas, coal and hydro generation data from Pinto et al. (2023).
This graphic is based on a chart by Nat Bullard https://www.nathanielbullard.com/presentations
Global electricity generation technology expansion by technology (TWh), showing the time it has taken for key technologies to grow from 100 TWh to 1,000 TWh. Source: Ember.

Addressing climate change through sustainable technology

Due to the urgency in needing to tackle advancing climate change, much of the focus on sustainable technology has been on its environmental and biodiversity applications. These include:

  • Solar and wind power, using photovoltaic panels and wind turbines the size of skyscrapers. Percentage of renewable energy globally. Wind and solar have expanded from 0.2% of the global electricity mix in 2000 to 13.4% in 2023, according to Ember.2

  • Green hydrogen, in which hydrogen is created through electrolysis using energy from renewable sources (otherwise there is no net gain) and is seen as an alternative fuel for heavy transport. The global green hydrogen market was valued at USD 7.7 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to grow by more than 40% a year from 2024 to 2032.3

  • Carbon capture and storage, through technology that grabs emissions from industrial processes before they can enter the atmosphere. It remains in its infancy, currently capturing only about 0.1% of global emissions a year.4

  • Spy-in-the-sky satellites, such as the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellite, launched in 2014 as part of the Copernicus scientific program, in orbit around the Earth which can spot deforestation in palm oil plantations and also spot oil spills.

  • Biotechnology and enzymes to improve the diets of farm animals such as cows and other livestock which generate so much methane from passing gas that they account for an estimated 11% of global emissions. 5


AI has applications in healthcare, education and science, including using machine learning for climate change mapping. The digitalization trend is particularly prominent in financial technology which is transforming payment systems and ecommerce. Touch payments such as putting bank cards on phones received a boost during Covid as it removed the need to hand cash. It does have a flipside, however, in that the data centers needed to process fintech are big users of energy.

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Reducing resource use

The circular economy theme has been growing as the world gradually moves away from the take-make-waste model of extracting resources to produce goods that are then mostly discarded. The circular model focuses on technology that can aid recycling, extend product life and reduce wasteful packaging. New technologies include developing biodegradable plastics and longer-life batteries.

Sustainable technology for social use includes innovations such as ride-sharing platforms which encourage people to share taxis and embrace carpooling rather than make separate trips. Knowledge-sharing platforms can also assist in making workplaces more inclusive, or in cybersecurity that makes online transactions safer and cuts crime.

Applications in governance include technologies that strengthen business conduct and improve shareholder relations. The use of hybrid and virtual voting systems during Covid, when in-person gatherings were briefly banned due to social distancing, was an innovation that was kept after the pandemic was over.

More about Circular Economy


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Robeco aims to enable its clients to achieve their financial and sustainability goals by providing superior investment returns and solutions.

Important information This disclaimer applies to any documents and the verbal or written comments of any person in presentations or webinars on this website and taken together is referred to herein as the “Information”. The services to which the Information relate are NOT FOR RETAIL CLIENTS - The information contained in the Website is solely intended for professional investors, defined as investors which (1) qualify as professional clients within the meaning of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), (2) have requested to be treated as professional clients within the meaning of the MiFID or (3) are authorized to receive such information under any other applicable laws and must not be relied or acted upon by any other persons. This Information does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any financial product, and may not be relied upon in connection with the purchase or sale of any financial product. You are cautioned against using this Information as the basis for making a decision to purchase any financial product. To the extent that you rely on the Information in connection with any investment decision, you do so at your own risk. The Information does not purport to be complete on any topic addressed. The Information may contain data or analysis prepared by third parties and no representation or warranty about the accuracy of such data or analysis is provided.
In all cases where historical performance is presented, please note that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and should not be relied upon as the basis for making an investment decision. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Neither Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. nor any of its affiliates guarantees the performance or the future returns of any investments. If the currency in which the past performance is displayed differs from the currency of the country in which you reside, then you should be aware that due to exchange rate fluctuations the performance shown may increase or decrease if converted into your local currency. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (“Robeco”) expressly prohibits any redistribution of the Information without the prior written consent of Robeco. The Information is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use is contrary to law, rule or regulation. Certain information contained in the Information includes calculations or figures that have been prepared internally and have not been audited or verified by a third party. Use of different methods for preparing, calculating or presenting information may lead to different results. Robeco Institutional Asset Management UK Limited (“RIAM UK”) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. RIAM UK, 30 Fenchurch Street, Part Level 8, London EC3M 3BD (FCA Reference No:1007814). The company is registered in England and Wales under Ref No. 15362605.

In all cases where historical performance is presented, please note that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and should not be relied upon as the basis for making an investment decision. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Neither Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. nor any of its affiliates guarantees the performance or the future returns of any investments. If the currency in which the past performance is displayed differs from the currency of the country in which you reside, then you should be aware that due to exchange rate fluctuations the performance shown may increase or decrease if converted into your local currency. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (“Robeco”) expressly prohibits any redistribution of the Information without the prior written consent of Robeco. The Information is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use is contrary to law, rule or regulation. Certain information contained in the Information includes calculations or figures that have been prepared internally and have not been audited or verified by a third party. Use of different methods for preparing, calculating or presenting information may lead to different results. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. is authorised as a manager of UCITS and AIFs by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets and subject to limited regulation in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority. Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority are available from us on request.