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The Robeco Capital Growth Funds have not been registered under the United States Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, nor or the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended. None of the shares may be offered or sold, directly or indirectly in the United States or to any U.S. Person (within the meaning of Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”)). Furthermore, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (Robeco) does not provide investment advisory services, or hold itself out as providing investment advisory services, in the United States or to any U.S. Person (within the meaning of Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act).

This website is intended for use only by non-U.S. Persons outside of the United States (within the meaning of Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act who are professional investors, or professional fiduciaries representing such non-U.S. Person investors. By clicking “I Agree” on our website disclaimer and accessing the information on this website, including any subdomain thereof, you are certifying and agreeing to the following: (i) you have read, understood and agree to this disclaimer, (ii) you have informed yourself of any applicable legal restrictions and represent that by accessing the information contained on this website, you are not in violation of, and will not be causing Robeco or any of its affiliated entities or issuers to violate, any applicable laws and, as a result, you are legally authorized to access such information on behalf of yourself and any underlying investment advisory client, (iii) you understand and acknowledge that certain information presented herein relates to securities that have not been registered under the Securities Act, and may be offered or sold only outside the United States and only to, or for the account or benefit of, non-U.S. Persons (within the meaning of Regulation S under the Securities Act), (iv) you are, or are a discretionary investment adviser representing, a non-U.S. Person (within the meaning of Regulation S under the Securities Act) located outside of the United States and (v) you are, or are a discretionary investment adviser representing, a professional non-retail investor. Access to this website has been limited so that it shall not constitute directed selling efforts (as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) in the United States and so that it shall not be deemed to constitute Robeco holding itself out generally to the public in the U.S. as an investment adviser. Nothing contained herein constitutes an offer to sell securities or solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities in any jurisdiction. We reserve the right to deny access to any visitor, including, but not limited to, those visitors with IP addresses residing in the United States.

This website has been carefully prepared by Robeco. The information contained in this publication is based upon sources of information believed to be reliable. Robeco is not answerable for the accuracy or completeness of the facts, opinions, expectations and results referred to therein. Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this website, we do not accept any responsibility for damage of any kind resulting from incorrect or incomplete information. This website is subject to change without notice. The value of the investments may fluctuate. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 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. For investment professional use only. Not for use by the general public.

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04-29-2025 · Insight

Stewardship Report 2024: Staying the course on sustainability

Sustainability has always held different meanings for different people. As a global asset manager, Robeco is increasingly seeing significant variations in regional approaches to sustainability – particularly in climate investing – reflecting the diverse markets that we serve.

Read the full report here


    Authors

  • Peter van der Werf - Head of Active Ownership

    Peter van der Werf

    Head of Active Ownership

  • Michiel van Esch - Head of Voting

    Michiel van Esch

    Head of Voting

Summary

  1. Robeco remains committed to sustainable impact and generating alpha

  2. Engagement and voting activities outlined in 2024 Stewardship Report

  3. Human rights, labor practices and biodiversity core to active ownership

In this evolving landscape, we have witnessed several large asset managers exit from the Climate Action 100+ Initiative, an exodus of North American banks and asset owners from net-zero alliances, and a potentially changing emphasis on sustainability in the new UK Stewardship Code.

However, in the interest of our clients, Robeco is staying the course when it comes to sustainability and stewardship, focusing on our key SI topics of climate change, biodiversity, social issues, corporate governance and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We strive to balance our clients’ goals of return, risk, and sustainability by attentively listening to their objectives and customizing our solutions accordingly. That is the main message of the annual Stewardship Report detailing all Active Ownership activities in 2024.

“We continue to actively engage with investee companies around key sustainability risks, impacts and opportunities, and as such we support them in building future-proof business models,” says Mark van der Kroft, Chief Investment Officer, in the introduction to the report.

2024 key statistics

2024 key statistics

Source: Robeco, figures as at 31 December 2024

Improving risk and return profiles

“We believe that more sustainable corporate behavior results in an improved risk-return profile of our investments. We use our engagement and voting rights to strengthen corporates’ awareness and approaches toward responsible business conduct; one constructive dialogue at a time.”

“In 2024, we further strengthened our climate engagement program and climate voting policy, managing both risks and opportunities, to the benefit of our clients and long-term value creation. During the year, we concluded several of our climate engagements successfully, with most investee companies meeting the climate expectations.”

Collaborative engagements

Robeco also took part in collaborative engagements at over 20 of the Climate Action 100+ Initiative’s focus companies, either as a lead or a contributing investor. And in line with our ‘no deforestation’ commitment, we actively engage with companies in sectors that have a considerable negative impact on biodiversity.

Biodiversity-related considerations are also included in our voting guidelines. In 2024, we engaged explicitly on the topic of biodiversity loss with more than 30 companies as part of different engagement programs, either collaboratively or directly with the investee company.

Human rights and diversity

Protecting human rights is also an important topic which is incorporated into our three-year engagements and voting activities. In 2024, we successfully closed 57% of engagement cases in the ‘Labor practices in a post Covid-19 world’, focused on improving labor standards for workers in the gig economy, hospitality, and retail sectors.

In 2025, ‘Diversity and inclusion’ will be expanded into a broader human capital management theme that addresses a wider range of workforce topics relevant to investee companies.

Driving positive change

“As we move forward, Robeco remains committed to driving positive change and fostering sustainable practices,” Van der Kroft says. “Amid growing regional differences in the adoption of sustainability, our dedication to sustainable investing, combined with our strategic engagement and voting activities, ensures that we can continue to support our clients in achieving their long-term investment goals.”

Read the full report here


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Important information
The Robeco Capital Growth Funds have not been registered under the United States Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, nor or the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended. None of the shares may be offered or sold, directly or indirectly in the United States or to any U.S. Person (within the meaning of Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”)). Furthermore, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (Robeco) does not provide investment advisory services, or hold itself out as providing investment advisory services, in the United States or to any U.S. Person (within the meaning of Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act).
This website is intended for use only by non-U.S. Persons outside of the United States (within the meaning of Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act who are professional investors, or professional fiduciaries representing such non-U.S. Person investors. By clicking “I Agree” on our website disclaimer and accessing the information on this website, including any subdomain thereof, you are certifying and agreeing to the following: (i) you have read, understood and agree to this disclaimer, (ii) you have informed yourself of any applicable legal restrictions and represent that by accessing the information contained on this website, you are not in violation of, and will not be causing Robeco or any of its affiliated entities or issuers to violate, any applicable laws and, as a result, you are legally authorized to access such information on behalf of yourself and any underlying investment advisory client, (iii) you understand and acknowledge that certain information presented herein relates to securities that have not been registered under the Securities Act, and may be offered or sold only outside the United States and only to, or for the account or benefit of, non-U.S. Persons (within the meaning of Regulation S under the Securities Act), (iv) you are, or are a discretionary investment adviser representing, a non-U.S. Person (within the meaning of Regulation S under the Securities Act) located outside of the United States and (v) you are, or are a discretionary investment adviser representing, a professional non-retail investor.


Access to this website has been limited so that it shall not constitute directed selling efforts (as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) in the United States and so that it shall not be deemed to constitute Robeco holding itself out generally to the public in the U.S. as an investment adviser. Nothing contained herein constitutes an offer to sell securities or solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities in any jurisdiction. We reserve the right to deny access to any visitor, including, but not limited to, those visitors with IP addresses residing in the United States. This website has been carefully prepared by Robeco. The information contained in this publication is based upon sources of information believed to be reliable. Robeco is not answerable for the accuracy or completeness of the facts, opinions, expectations and results referred to therein. Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this website, we do not accept any responsibility for damage of any kind resulting from incorrect or incomplete information. This website is subject to change without notice. The value of the investments may fluctuate. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 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. For investment professional use only. Not for use by the general public.