Water, sustainable infrastructure and climate-screened real estate as well as waste management and recycling are our top themes. We’re hyper-focused on climate right now.   I absolutely believe over the next few years in asset management all we’re going to be talking about is artificial intelligence, blockchain and climate, and the intersection of those things. For example, investment in blockchain in tracking fisheries and the ocean environment is super-interesting right now, because people are going to get more concerned about that.   In the Fiji they are already relocating 43 communities because of climate change, and they are starting to use blockchain to track illegal fishing because of damage to the reefs and fish stocks and the economy. They’re issuing blue bonds — borrowing to fund projects that help the marine environment — for the first time this year. We’re going to see this new wave of climate awareness — even President Trump now is saying that climate change is not a hoax. The Australian fires are indicative of what is going to be top of people’s minds this decade. Between Greta Thunberg and all the kids, this is not going away.   On the high end, we’re going long water and desalinization and short water projects that don’t address the infrastructure. Investment firm Water Asset Management runs a strategy we are following closely. We don’t have any choice — our infrastructure is falling apart, so being thoughtful about that and doing that sustainably is going to be one of the biggest stories of the decade.   We also want to be short mortgage exposure to high-risk climate areas in flood zones. Moody’s just bought California-based climate risk analytics company Four Twenty Seven. We’re going to see the un-priced premium of climate risk in mortgages start to get priced in, so you have an opportunity in the market right now to be really picky about your bond portfolio.   On the private side, we’re seeing one incredible idea after another on both sides of recycling and waste management —  how to create packaging more sustainably and how to recycle it. Companies such as circular economy investor Closed Loop Partners and recycling specialist TerraCycle are going to take off. Big companies are going to be facing pressure on how to create products that make them look better.   Another way to play: California wines are actually a really good investment as wildfires grow. There is risk going forward that the pricing gets out of whack. Luckily a lot of the vineyards have escaped damage, but that’s really a temporary thing. In the last few fires, Sonoma got decimated. In Australia the vineyards are more and more at risk, so owning wine right now as the production gets more limited is a great investment.     Director, Rumah Group   Responsible investing has always been a mainstay at our family office, but with the environmental crisis escalating, breaking out of our comfort zone of equity and property has never felt so meaningful. What’s looking extremely exciting is the alternative-protein space. It’s a rapidly growing ecosystem changing the way food is produced by offering earth- and animal-friendly alternatives to meat lovers.   Alternative proteins are already disrupting the food industry. With increased awareness of the crippling effect of meat production on the environment, as well as increasing concerns around the impacts of factory farming on human health and animal welfare, consumer habits are gradually shifting and making the case for business investment.   From low-tech and high-tech plant-based meats that actually taste and feel like meat, to cultured meat (real meat grown without animals), to protein from microalgae — one has a diverse menu of opportunities to choose from. If these alternatives are able to compete on flavor, texture and convenience then scale and time have the potential to reveal investments that will perform on a global level.   As an avid scuba diver and freediver, my pick is cultivated seafood. Not only is seafood a less mature market segment, but it also offers an avenue to address overfishing — a grave threat to the ocean. Depending on your risk appetite and the players involved, one might consider backing an alternative protein start-up like Singapore-based Shiok Meats Pte., or perhaps a venture accelerator fund like Big Idea Ventures. Regardless of how you choose to invest, having a clear strategy to diversify your portfolio and manage risk is key. The international non-profit organization Good Food Institute is a good place to find out more — their team compiles industry reports, white space opportunities and other resources for investors.   Another way to play: My primary objective is to ensure that our family is climate positive over our lifetime and investing in carbon sinks is one way to manage our carbon footprint while keeping assets on our balance sheet. I’ve been researching blue carbon ecosystems, where mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and tidal marshes capture and hold large amounts of carbon in plants and sediment. Protecting blue carbon ecosystems also offers other benefits such as supporting healthy fisheries; providing livelihoods for locals; improving water quality; as well as protecting coasts from storm surges and erosion. If not blue carbon, a reforestation project in an emerging economy where biodiversity can be promoted and excess carbon credits can be sold would be my pick. Organizations such as Conservation International and New Zealand-based Ekos help create bespoke carbon projects to meet investor needs.     Founder and chairman of Tiger 21; Chairman, MUUS & Co.   The ocean offers a virtually unlimited source of renewable energy. Our family’s private investment company, MUUS & Co., is committed to deploying capital for sustainable energy producers and next-generation technologies that will shape the future of energy. We are currently investing in proven technology developed to produce energy from the power contained within ocean waves.   Ocean technology offers the chance to power floating computer centers with the added benefit of free cooling provided by the seas — eliminating two of the growing sources of carbon emissions (the power for the computers, and the power needed to cool the computer centers to allow the computers to function properly). The same ocean wave-produced energy can be used to power seaborne floating factories that produce low-cost renewable fuels, nutrient-dense food and minerals. The potential of harnessing carbon-free energy from the ocean is boundless and positioned to be a major clean power source in the future.   Investments like these have extraordinary risks, because this is a very early stage technology. Even the best ideas can fail from any number of problems a small company will encounter along the way to commercializing a new and bold technology. There are a few public companies that have tried to use the power of the waves to light buoys and for other uses, but we believe this new technology approach we are investing in has far greater potential in the future.   My family office is investing with another family office that also focuses on carbon-free power solutions. Our strategy was to provide seed funding, based on our assessment of the enormous potential and the team behind a company in this area, and then wait for larger entities, with deeper scientific capability and deeper experience in bringing new technologies to market to validate the initial findings and concept.   We have to be realistic about the risks and size our investment accordingly. Typically, even with a very high degree of excitement, it would be wise to keep allocations to investments like this to well under 1% of overall assets, and maybe aggregate 10 or 20 such investments in a separate portfolio that probably, in total, remains well under 10% of a well-balanced portfolio.   Another way to play: I’ve been collecting handmade Japanese dolls (Ningyo) for many years. For centuries, the Japanese have been creating intricate and extraordinary Ningyo that can be as much as 1 meter tall. These are museum-quality dolls that can be 300 years old, made of ceramics, with eggshell faces and some of the most beautiful materials for their kimonos. In Japan these dolls have a long tradition for the Boys’ and Girls’ Day holidays. After World War II, the Boys’ Day dolls fell out of fashion and exceptional pieces could be acquired at relatively moderate prices. The better antique dolls are quite rare and can be worth up to $100,000 or more. When displayed, they can take the viewer’s breath away.     Portfolio Manager in the Responsible Global Equities team, BMO Global Asset Management   For a long time, we have not invested in solar despite the fact that it’s growing fast. We just don’t have enough confidence in the quality of companies to justify it. The low barriers to entry have, for the main, allowed further competition into the market, driving down pricing and, in turn, profitability.   That said, we are still benefitting from the rapid deployment of energy in renewable resources and one company we like is Orsted. This is an interesting one because it used to be Danish Oil and Natural Gas. Starting a decade ago, the company reoriented away from fossil fuels and embraced the development and maintenance of offshore wind farms. It already holds a quarter of the global market in offshore wind and provides power to about 9.5 million people. Its target is 30 million by 2025.   We are also taking a look at suppliers to wind farm operators, particularly those providing turbine blades. One name we are watching is Vestas Wind Systems, a Danish company that makes wind turbines. We haven’t invested yet because of the potential for increased competition, which in the past has undermined prices and reduced profitability. If there is a shakeout in the space we would likely have a more positive outlook.   What we really like to see in the wind sector is how much capacity a company has coming online. Orsted is currently producing 5.6 gigawatts of electricity but it has 15 gigawatts in development. While the company is already offshore in Europe, it’s made acquisitions in the U.S. that could be a springboard for growth in that market. Naturally, you’re going to get some pushback from local communities but they tend to have a lot more to say about onshore wind farms than offshore ones. So based on Orsted’s record and what they’re bringing to market we have confidence it should continue to win further bids and grow profitability. And there will be regulatory pressure globally for more energy from renewable sources so that provides a tailwind for Orsted.   Another way to play: In my time away from the office I’m a beekeeper. I manage two hives at my family’s home in west London with about 60,000 bees. I’m also a member of a local beekeeping association where we talk things through. Recently we’ve been working together to prepare for the Asian hornet, which has come across from France and can rapidly annihilate entire beehives. With colony collapse disorder and issues around pollination, I feel this is a way to support local ecology. Beekeeping also helps me think about issues around pesticides and farming practices that impact local biodiversity, and we engage with our portfolio companies on those issues. Every summer my bees do pay a dividend — a load of honey.     Co-chairman and CEO, Asia Philanthropy Circle;  Chairman, the Lien Foundation   We have often been told to reduce, reuse and recycle, in that order of priority. We can agree to that, but we still cannot stop waste production completely. In fact, changing people’s behaviors is especially hard. So waste volumes continue to rise, and existing methods of waste management and recycling are woefully inadequate to address the growing mountain of trash.   It is hence critical to invest in new technologies for solid waste value capture that substantially reduce the effort to sort and clean products, while at the same time result in much higher-value end products.   Imagine one integrated engineering technique that effectively treats unsorted waste — combining biological treatment methods to remove organic waste first, and then a mixture of thermal and chemical techniques to turn carbon-based waste into fuel oil, high-value carbon-based materials and valuable gases, and re-utilizing the minimal resultant ash and slag in construction materials. The value of the outputs must significantly exceed the cost of production and must be easy to scale close to the source of the feedstock. I think we are much closer to such a breakthrough today and I would invest $1 million towards such an effort, in collaboration with other funders.   Another way to play: I am invested in an impact fund, called Garden Impact, which has a sustainable development theme, and a sub-focus on researching and commercializing sustainable construction materials. There are many great ideas but a lack of top-notch entrepreneurs to grow them. So I am going upstream to be more hands-on to help identify, develop and mentor promising social entrepreneurs to take on much more ambitious efforts. This would have a much great impact than passively investing.