Definition:

"Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs) are technologies that have the potential for significantly improved environmental performance relative to other technologies. ESTs protect the environment, are less polluting, use resources in a sustainable manner, recycle more of their wastes and products, and handle all residual wastes in a more environmentally acceptable way than the technologies for which they are substitutes. ESTs are not just individual technologies. They can also be defined as total systems that include know-how, procedures, goods and services, and equipment, as well as organizational and managerial procedures for promoting environmental sustainability. This means that any attempt to provide an assessment of investment into ESTs on either a global or national level must incorporate ways to track funding flows into both hard and soft technologies."

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"The sectors deemed to be ESTs through historical research include:

• Air pollution control,
• Wastewater management,
• Solid and Hazardous waste management,
• Renewable Energy,
• Environmentally Preferable Products,
• Water Supply & Sanitation,
• Energy Storage & Distribution,
• Land & Water Protection & Remediation."