South Pole

At South Pole, we work with businesses and governments across the globe. We help realise deep decarbonisation pathways across industries, based on a thorough understanding of climate risks and opportunities in specific sectors, as well as the highest emission reduction standards.

Our Purpose: We act today for a better tomorrow

Financing the goals of the Paris climate agreement calls for a fundamental shift in the global economy. Our success hinges on re-allocating capital at scale, unlocking substantial investments, being nimble and seizing opportunities.

Our Vision: Climate action for all

The moral case for climate action is clear - failing to meet the climate and sustainable development challenge would push hundreds of millions of people into poverty, with devastating social and economic consequences globally. Moreover, millions of new green jobs are already being created through climate actions across sectors. Climate and human development are sides of the same coin. South Pole strives for a world where businesses, governments and communities make climate action the new normal.

Our Mission: We accelerate the transition to a climate-smart society

Our team of over 500 social entrepreneurs globally are developing innovative solutions tailored to the needs of specific organisations and entire sectors. We are always on the pulse of the rapidly changing climate policy and regulatory environment. Understanding the big picture is important to us and to our clients. So is identifying and implementing actions on the ground with lasting positive impacts on the environment, communities and thereby business.

Our Story:

In 2006, five young social entrepreneurs got together and founded South Pole. From the beginning, diversity, partnership and entrepreneurship have been key values for the company – and these three values continue to drive the success of South Pole today.

South Pole has always stood for one, shared belief: that our economy and society can only thrive if businesses can embed sustainability and the environment into the heart of their activities.

Unique perspectives working together as one:

As graduates of the prestigious Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), each one of the five founders had a unique perspective on ways to confront climate change; from promoting renewable energy, and protecting forests, land and water, to market-driven initiatives for companies and investors. They quickly discovered that their different perspectives could work together as one.

After successfully founding the non-profit 'myclimate' they decided to position climate change as a business opportunity for visionary companies, and South Pole was born.

Drawing their motivation from the belief in a sustainable world, the founders built a fast-growing enterprise with a truly global reach. Our employees, heralding from over 30 different nationalities, have interdisciplinary backgrounds, as well as degrees from top universities and experience in both the public and private sectors.

Our Impact:

At South Pole, our mission is to accelerate the transition to a climate-smart society. We believe that a more prosperous future is within reach, but only if everyone plays their part today.

We've helped organisations big and small play their part since 2006, with meaningful climate action being central in everything we do. To see just one example of the positive impact we've created with partners and clients, visit our projects page.

But we also need to walk the talk. That's why we've built a robust sustainability policy into our business strategy. Driving sustainability both on the inside and the outside helps achieve our vision of climate action for all.

What are we doing at South Pole?

South Pole is a proud member of the UN Global Compact and our sustainability policy guides day-to-day operations to ensure our environmental and social impact is consistently managed and optimised. We have set a science-based emissions target in line with 1.5°C global warming scenarios, which has been validated by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi). However, we know that climate action is a team sport, which is why we've also signed the SBTi's Business Ambition for 1.5°C and the UNFCCC's Race to Zero initiatives to connect with like-minded organisations and to inspire others to join us.

We've committed to ensuring that, within the next 20 months, all of our default pension providers across our 18 global offices are sustainable. We're also on the road to global B Corp certification. In 2020, our entities in the USA and Australia became certified B Corps. During 2021, we will do the same in the UK, Netherlands, and German offices.