Responsible future and Philanthropy Insights

Responsible future · 25 Aug 2026

Power shift: investing in the electrification megatrend

A global shift toward electrification is gaining momentum. This megatrend is driven by a mix of industrial demand, technological advances and geopolitical risk. In this Q&A, PWM energy equity analyst Malik Zetchi shares his perspectives on where investors can find value in the electrification revolution.

Responsible future · 30 Apr 2026

Group Sustainability Report

The Pictet Group’s third Sustainability Report covers the 2025 calendar year and outlines the progress we made against our sustainability strategy.

Responsible future · 19 Jun 2025

Deploying battery-powered renewable energy

Singapore-based startup VFlowTech is on a mission to power the green transition, having spent years developing a low-cost energy storage system.

Responsible future · 19 Jun 2025

Creating AI powered sustainable alternatives to non-recyclable packaging

With a shared background in consumer goods, the founders of Hamburg-based startup one.five came together to tackle the global issue of reducing CO2 emissions caused by non-recyclable plastic packaging, and create sustainable alternatives.

Responsible future · 28 Apr 2025

Vaclav Smil — Innovation with grains of salt

Professor Vaclav Smil cautions about the hyperbolic claims being made for new headline-grabbing technologies.

Responsible future · 18 Nov 2024

Can laser-powered nuclear energy light up the future?

Munich-based startup Marvel Fusion is pioneering an alternative system to harness cheap, green nuclear power in a safer, more reliable way using laser technology – known as nuclear fusion.

Responsible future · 17 Oct 2024

Cities lead the way in building resilience to climate change

Suffering from amplified temperature rises, cities are serving as laboratories in the quest for innovative infrastructure solutions to environmental change.

Responsible future · 19 Aug 2024

Decarbonising the built environment

Founded by architects, Berlin-based startup Made of Air is targeting the problem of global carbon emissions produced by building materials by developing a carbon-negative filler, made from waste biomass, for industrial-use façade panels.

Responsible future · 24 Jul 2024

Creating sustainable water and energy solutions

Joining the family manufacturing and export business at home in Kolkata was a transformative move for Preeyam Budhia – and for rural Indian women too. After first forging an independent path, the management graduate created a new green vertical within Patton Group, designing efficient products for accessing fresh water in more remote areas.

Responsible future · 10 Jul 2024

Humanising the fashion supply chain

Upon realising the true human cost of cheap labour in the fashion industry, Marianne Hughes launched her startup, Kno Global – focusing on the wellbeing of garment factory workers while also providing real-time supply chain data to brands and businesses globally.

Responsible future · 28 Jun 2024

Transforming the world’s water usage

The average person in the developed world uses three times as much water as is sustainable. Mehrdad Mahdjoubi, who has created a circular shower system that recirculates water as you wash, believes that innovative design – not behaviour change – is the best way to curb consumption.

Responsible future · 24 Apr 2024

Clearing the waterways with litter-picking bots

With his fleet of emission-free marine bots, Clearbot founder Sidhant Gupta is efficiently and sustainably cleaning up the waterways of Asia. As he prepares for global expansion, he explains why autonomy is key for making a real difference in this area.

Responsible future · 07 Mar 2024

Scaling regenerative agriculture

Berlin-based startup Klim is one of a growing number of companies accelerating the regenerative agricultural movement, working with farmers and companies, in order to decarbonise food supply chains and improve soil health.

Responsible future · 07 Feb 2024

Curtailing carbon with direct air capture

As scientists and engineers race to develop new ways to reduce global carbon emissions, Mission Zero Technologies is one startup that wants to remove gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere by deploying its innovative direct air capture technology.

Responsible future · 01 Feb 2024

Capturing CO2 utilising the world’s oldest species

Danish startup Algiecel has developed a technology that turns excess carbon dioxide into ingredients for feed, cosmetics and dietary supplements using microalgae. Not only are they sustainable and nutritious, these ancient photosynthesising organisms are set to become a billion-dollar industry.

Responsible future · 18 Jan 2024

China expert Zak Dychtwald on the country’s generational divides

Responsible future · 17 Jan 2024

Tamira Snell - Studying the future for a living, you get used to uncertainty

The Copenhagen-based futurist explains how an open mindset and an exploratory approach can improve decision-making and make us better equipped to deal with a range of “potential plausible futures”.

Responsible future · 11 Jan 2024

Eloa Guillotin, co-founder and CEO of Beyond Aero

Flying into the future with hydrogen power.

Responsible future · 29 Nov 2023

Infrastructure innovations: Reimagining the cities of today in a greener future

The drive to make cities more sustainable involves refurbishing existing assets, building more sustainably, and reimagining urban areas that were developed amid the very different conditions, lifestyles and concerns of the 19th and 20th centuries. Achieving success is crucial to the campaign to tackle climate change, since real estate accounts for around 37% of global carbon emissions.

Responsible future · 17 Nov 2023

Onego Bio’s marvellous protein

Sustaining the demand for eggs globally is increasingly challenging – with high-carbon farming methods, animal welfare concerns and avian flu outbreaks. That’s why Onego Bio, a Finnish foodtech startup, has developed an alternative animal free egg white for use as an ingredient by the food industry.

Responsible future · 25 Oct 2023

Shining a light on metabolic health

A Helsinki-based startup aims to address a little known yet global epidemic through its holistic health app and wearable blood-sugar sensors. But Veri is not aimed at biohackers, rather it harnesses tech as a preventative tool for the increasing number of people at risk of diabetes.

Responsible future · 20 Oct 2023

The Future of Europe | Podcast

Responsible future · 16 Oct 2023

Transforming the future of cancer diagnosis

Cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide – and while this is only set to increase, the number of pathologists continues to decrease. That’s where the Singapore-based healthtech startup Qritive steps in, with its AI-driven analysis that allows for more rapid and precise diagnoses and a global reach.

Responsible future · 03 Oct 2023

Foreign investment the key to Southeast Asia’s energy transition

Southeast Asia has a key role to play in the global energy transition, provided it can attract the foreign investment needed to exploit its abundance of renewable resources and manufacturing potential.

Responsible future · 26 Sep 2023

Saving peatlands while growing trees

As the deadline looms on the UK government’s ban on peat products, finding an eco-friendly peat-free alternative is no longer a luxury but a necessity for the forestry and growing sectors. Scotland-based agritech startup SilviBio offers a solution.

Responsible future · 13 Sep 2023

Forest & Whale is the design studio leaning into longevity and circular thinking

The husband-and-wife team struck out on their own to create more sustainable and meaningful products and services. Here, they talk us through their considered projects and explain why they’re optimistic about the future.

Responsible future · 25 Aug 2023

When it comes to renewable hydrogen, Kobe City is forging ahead

The city’s mayor describes how his hometown recovered from a devastating earthquake and how it is looking to build a greener, more equitable and more resilient future.

Responsible future · 25 Aug 2023

Saving the bees with robotic hives

The survival of bees is vital to our own survival. Yet the rate at which bee colonies collapse is worryingly high, thanks to climate change. Now, the startup Beewise is helping reduce this number with the first remotely controlled AI-driven beehives.

Responsible future · 25 Aug 2023

Fairmat has invented a new, more sustainable way to recycle advanced materials

Benjamin Saada set up a company that used carbon- fibre composites. Then he saw how the materials were disposed of at the end of their life cycle and he vowed to find a better solution.

Responsible future · 21 Aug 2023

The mayor of a Danish seaport on fostering the global energy transition.

Jesper Frost Rasmussen, the mayor of Esbjerg on Denmark’s North Sea coast, discusses both his ambitions for the future and the challenges standing in his way.

Responsible future · 26 Jul 2023

Investing in nutrition leads to impact on both human and planetary health

Mayssa Al Midani is a lead investment manager at Pictet Asset Management, focused on nutrition. She talks us through why our global food system is at a pivotal point and highlights some of the solutions she feels will be most transformative.

Responsible future · 19 Jul 2023

Vaclav Smil on overhyped inventions, category errors and missed opportunities.

Vaclav Smil has built his considerable reputation on always cleaving to facts in the face of hype and hysteria.

Responsible future · 10 Jul 2023

Managing global food waste with AI

With his high-tech AI-driven rubbish bins, Rayner Loi is helping the hospitality industry significantly reduce and manage food waste – which amounts to billions of tonnes globally each year.

Responsible future · 03 Jul 2023

Passing on a passion for education

In an increasingly competitive global education market, additional tutoring for schoolchildren has become the norm. But it has not always been accessible or affordable. With his edtech startup, GoStudent, Felix Ohswald aims to unlock the full potential of every child.

Responsible future · 30 Jun 2023

How microscopic microbes can help us tackle the world’s biggest challenges

The CEO of bioscience company Chr. Hansen walks us through the company’s commitments and plans for the future, including an ambitious merger.

Responsible future

Changing the face of mental healthcare in Asia | Theodoric Chew

Theodoric Chew launched his mental healthcare platform, Intellect, at the best and worst possible time – just as Covid hit. Now, its success is not only helping millions of people globally, but it is challenging the deeply rooted stigma of mental healthcare in Asia.

Responsible future · 06 Jun 2023

Re-imagining the future: the case for engagement

In recent years, innovation across all sectors has seen enormous progress. Nevertheless, the scale of today’s climate challenge calls for still greater change.

Responsible future · 23 May 2023

Thinking aloud on taking responsibility

Dina de Angelo shares her thoughts on how responsibility is becoming increasingly inherent in the choices clients make – and how ideas about responsibility are influenced by gender, ethnicity, personal experience, and generational differences. The future of investing is changing, but the human aspect matters more than ever.

Responsible future · 14 Mar 2023

Agritech: Can cutting edge innovations solve the global food crisis?

With AI, drones, robotics and precision agriculture, the sector is innovating like never before, at a time when the world needs to rethink how it feeds a growing population.