South Pole Group

South Pole Group is an international company founded in 2006 that specialises in sustainability solutions for both public and private organisations. The firm has sixteen offices in Europe, Middle East, Americas and Asia and operations in 25 countries and a portfolio of over 500 projects,^[1] centering on renewable energy, forestry, energy efficiency, waste management and methane avoidance. The company rebranded from its original name 'South Pole Carbon' to 'South Pole Group', reflecting its move beyond emission reduction project development, wholesale and retail: extended expertise now covers the key areas carbon credit solutions, renewable energy, sustainability advisory, and green finance. South Pole Group is at present one of the major global advisors for climate-related policies, sustainable supply chains, and climate impact assessment for investments.

History

The company started as a spin-off from the ETH Zurich (Swiss Institute of Technology). In 2006 the founders of myclimate joined with former World Bank officers, UNFCCC experts and McKinsey & Company consultants to found the company. Initially called South Pole Carbon, the company has rebranded to South Pole Group.

In 2010, South Pole Group opened its offices in India, where its first project Malavalli was the first project in the world to issue CDM Gold Standard credits.^[2] The same year, Swiss family office Corisol joined South Pole Group. In 2011, South Pole Group CEO Renat Heuberger and member of the board Christoph Sutter were named as Swiss Social Entrepreneurs of the Year by Schwab Foundation, WEF.^[3] In 2012, the firm acquired a major stake in Australia’s leading carbon offset retailer Climate Friendly.^[4] In 2015, the company rebranded from 'South Pole Carbon' to 'South Pole Group'.

The company

South Pole Group is an international company founded in 2006 that specialises in sustainability solutions for both public and private organisations. The firm has sixteen offices around the globe in Europe, Middle East, Americas and Asia and operations in 25 countries and a portfolio of over 500 projects,^[5] centering on renewable energy, forestry, energy efficiency, waste management and methane avoidance.

The firm initiated the first issuances of Gold Standard certificates worldwide,^[6] the first Social Carbon offset certificates in South-east Asia ^[7] and the first native species Voluntary Carbon Standard forestry project in South America.^[8] Between 2011-2015, the company was named Best Project Developer in Environmental finance's Voluntary Carbon Market Survey - a prestigious peer-voted award.^[9]

Sustainability Solutions

In addition to emission reduction project development, wholesale, and retail, the company's areas cover the key areas carbon credit solutions, renewable energy, sustainability advisory, and green finance. South Pole Group is at present one of the major global advisors for climate-related policies, sustainable supply chains, climate smart cities, and climate impact assessment for investments.

South Pole Group, in partnership with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in 2012 developed a carbon screening tool to unveil greenhouse gas emissions profiles of more than 40,000 publicly listed companies.^[10][11] South Pole Group MOVERS offers integration of monitoring and survey data into its Project Management Tool. Other pioneering solutions include the Climate Credit Card (by South Pole Group and Cornèrcard), which enables clients to carbon offset every credit card purchase they make.^[12]

Today, the company's solutions include:

• Carbon Credit Carbon Credits; Eco-Gas for public utilities and energy providers; Carbon Project Design; Insetting
• Renewable Energy Solutions: GoldPower; Guarantees of Origin (GoO); I-REC - the international REC standard; US RECS; Prime Power
• Green Finance: Portfolio advisory; Project Finance - match-making opportunities for investors and renewable energy projects; Cleantech direct investments
• Sustainability advisory: Climate policy; GHG Accounting; Investment Climate Impact Assessment; Communications and certification support; Monitoring, Reporting and Verification; Matchmaking facilities between finance and cities

Clients & Partners

South Pole Group serves clients in both the public and the private sector, such as DHL, who offers carbon neutral shipping,^[13] and Eneco Energie, who provides green sustainable energy.^[14]

The company partners also with numerous organisations, among them the WWF.^[15]

See also

• Climate change
• Carbon neutral
• Carbon offsets
• Emissions trading
• ICROA (Industry group of carbon offset providers)
• Mitigation of global warming
• Verified Carbon Standard

References