{"type":"document","data":{"id":"55329975-2025-4387-bfc0-c6d501fcbe82","localeString":"en-GB","publishDate":"2026-03-18T14:46:10.030+01:00","contentType":"onecms:productPage","hasMacro":false,"flexPageMetadata":{"afmBanner":false,"robotInstruction":{"noIndex":false,"noFollow":false},"description":"Sustainable investing simply means that you invest in a way that is future-proof. We'll gladly tell you all about it."},"mainHeaderZone":{"componentType":"productHeader","coreHeader":{"body":"This page is an English translation of the original Dutch version.*","headerImage":{"transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/9799b6b4-b768-4cc7-a729-ed7c025264f6/Young-girl-in-colorful-rubber-boots-plays-on-the-beach","type":"image","width":6623,"altTextEN":"\"\"","altTextNL":"\"\"","altTextFR":"\"\"","altTextDE":"\"\"","original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/3d9f555247b698a4/original/Young-girl-in-colorful-rubber-boots-plays-on-the-beach.jpg","extension":"jpg"},"title":"What is sustainable investing?","subtitle":"What is sustainable investing and what does ESG stand for?"},"backLink":{"textLink":{"url":"/en/personal/investing/sustainability","text":"Sustainable Investing at ING"}}},"flexZone":{"flexComponents":[{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Sustainable investing basics"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"<p>More people, pension funds and companies are investing more money in a sustainable way. That is, they select their investments partly based on sustainability features.</p><p>With sustainable investing, it is not only about financial return, but also about the positive impact your investments have on people, the environment and society. Sustainable investing simply means investing with the future in mind. You look not only at financial featucharacteristics, but also at non‑financial ones.</p><p>For these non‑financial features, you can think of investing in companies with good environmental and climate policies and good corporate governance. With sustainable investing, you also consider how companies treat their employees and society as a whole.</p>"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"What does ESG stand for?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"<p>Sustainable investing is also known by the abbreviation ESG. You can find this abbreviation, for example, in the names of sustainable investment funds. ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance — in other words: Environment, People and Society.</p>"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"How ING integrates sustainability into the investment process"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"<p>We put together the list of sustainable investments in two steps:</p><ol><li><strong>The negative screen:</strong> we exclude companies whose activities or behaviour we do not consider sustainable. For example, when they cause environmental damage or when the company has been convicted of corruption.</li><li><strong>The positive screen: </strong>here we look at the sustainable qualities of a company. This is called a ‘best‑in‑class’ method. In 2001, we developed the Non‑financial indicator (Nfi) for this purpose. It compares companies within their sector based on their policies across many sustainability aspects. Think of their sustainable performance or their policies on important sustainable aspects of business operations, such as environmental and personnel policies.</li></ol><p> </p>"},"textLinks":[{"url":"/en/personal/investing/sustainability/sustainable-investing-what-we-dont-invest-in","text":"Read more about how we select sustainable investments for Portfolio Management (Vermogensbeheer) in this article"}]},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Sustainable investment options"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"<p>As far back as the 1990s, we as a bank were a pioneer in the Netherlands in the area of sustainable investing. So it is not surprising that you can choose sustainability within all our investment options. These investment options are:</p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.ing.nl/particulier/beleggen/beleggen-bij-ing/zelf-op-de-beurs\">Self Invest</a> (Zelf op de Beurs) (Dutch Only), where you build and invest in your own sustainable portfolio. You can easily search for sustainable funds and trackers with, for example, search terms such as &quot;&quot;sustainable&quot;, &quot;ESG&quot;, or &quot;impact&quot;.</li><li><a href=\"https://www.ing.nl/en/personal/investing/investments-at-ing/easy-invest\">Easy Invest</a> (Eenvoudig Beleggen), a ready-made solution where you choose from one of the four ING Global Index Portfolio funds.</li><li><a href=\"https://www.ing.nl/en/personal/investing/portfolio-management\">Portfolio Management</a> (Vermogensbeheer), an investment option where we manage your invested assets (from €50,000). You invest based on a personal investment plan. Together with your advisor, you decide on your investment goal, which risk level fits best, and we discuss your sustainability preferences.</li></ul>"},"textLinks":[{"url":"/en/personal/investing/sustainability/the-options-at-ing","text":"Read more about our sustainable investing options"}]},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Useful links"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"<p></p>"},"textLinks":[{"url":"/en/personal/investing/sustainability/the-options-at-ing","text":"Sustainable investing at ING"},{"url":"/particulier/beleggen/duurzaam-beleggen/wat-levert-duurzaam-beleggen-op","text":"What can sustainable investing bring you"},{"url":"/en/personal/investing/sustainability/esg","text":"More about ING's sustainable investing policy"}]},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Good to know"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"<p>Investing involves risks and costs. You may (partially) lose your investment amount. Read more about the<a href=\"https://www.ing.nl/en/personal/investing/investments-at-ing/risks-of-investing\"> risks of investing  and how to limit them</a>. </p><p><span><span><span><span>Visit <a href=\"https://www.ing.nl/en/personal/investing/sustainability/esg\">ing.nl/ESG</a> to see exactly how ING includes sustainability.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>*This translation is intended for the customer’s convenience only. In the event of any inconsistency between the English translation and the original Dutch version, the original Dutch version shall prevail.</span></span></span></span></p>"}}]}}}