What Polarstern GmbH does

Polarstern AG (formed through the 2019 merger of Polarstern GmbH, founded 2007, and Bruppacher & Partner AG, founded 1979) is a Swiss communications agency specializing exclusively in sustainability communications. The firm is headquartered in Luzern with a second office in Solothurn and is fully owned by co-managing partners Andreas Renggli and Jörg Bruppacher. Its core offering is organized around four service pillars — Strategy & Consulting, Corporate Design, Content Marketing, and Media Relations — supplemented by specialized practices in sustainability reporting (under OR 964, GRI, and TCFD frameworks), greenwashing prevention, and a Talent-Team program delivering reduced-rate services to SDG-aligned non-profits. The agency also operates coworking/event venues Villa Loreto (Solothurn) and Karli 41 (Luzern), and is piloting an AI-assisted sustainability reporting product.

Polarstern serves organizations across Swiss federal and cantonal government, financial institutions, large corporates, and academia. Marquee clients include the Swiss Federal Office for Energy (Bundesamt für Energie), Swisscom, Migros, Suva, BKW, Zweifel, Migros Bank, PostFinance, Luzerner Kantonalbank, Kanton Luzern, ETH Zürich, NZZ, SRG SSR, and Ricola. The BFE "Vorbild Energie und Klima" mandate has been held continuously since 2017, and several enterprise relationships trace back to 2007. Revenue is generated through professional services engagements — primarily project-based and retainer contracts — delivered by a small team of consultants in Switzerland. No external funding has been raised; the firm is independently owned and operated.

The business model is sales-led B2B, with client acquisition driven by referrals, networking, event presence (notably the Swiss Green Economy Symposium, where Polarstern organizes the Innovation Forum on Sustainability Communication), thought-leadership content (blog, downloadable guides, quarterly newsletter), and a dedicated greenwashing advisory web presence. Distribution is exclusively domestic (Switzerland), with website localization in German, French, Italian, and English signaling latent capacity for cross-lingual Swiss and DACH-region expansion. Polarstern is a member of Swiss Triple Impact and maintains a communication partnership with the Swiss Green Economy Symposium, embedding it within the Swiss sustainability policy and corporate ecosystem.

Name

Polarstern GmbH

Legal name

Polarstern AG

Website

https://polarstern.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Polarstern AG is a Swiss boutique communications agency specializing exclusively in sustainability communications, serving government agencies, financial institutions, and large corporations across Switzerland with strategy, sustainability reporting, greenwashing prevention, and content services. Founded 2007, headquartered in Luzern, privately held by its two co-founders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Communications Services

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (541820)

akta.pro primary industry

Carbon Neutrality/Claims Strategy & Communications (claims substantiation, greenwashing risk) (EUABAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Regulatory & Disclosure Strategy (CSRD/ESRS, ISSB/IFRS S2, SEC, TCFD) (EUABAKAH)

Keywords

• Sustainability communications
• Greenwashing prevention
• Sustainability reporting
• Corporate communications
• Media relations

Headquarters

HQ city

Luzern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Communication Services: Polarstern generates revenue by providing paid communication consulting services including strategy and consulting, corporate design, content marketing, and media relations to businesses and organizations seeking to communicate sustainability topics effectively.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Polarstern AG is a Switzerland-based B2B communications agency specialized in sustainability communications. It delivers four core service pillars — Strategy & Consulting, Corporate Design, Content Marketing, and Media Relations — alongside specialized offerings in sustainability reporting (GRI, TCFD, OR 964), greenwashing prevention, and a Talent-Team program for non-profits. Services are sold to government agencies, financial institutions, and large corporations in Switzerland on a project or retainer basis.

Product overview

Polarstern AG operates as a specialized sustainability communications agency offering four core service pillars: Strategy & Consulting, Corporate Design, Content Marketing, and Media Relations. These are supplemented by specialized offerings including Sustainability Reporting (Nachhaltigkeitsbericht), Greenwashing Prevention Services, a Talent-Team program for non-profits, and an emerging AI-assisted sustainability reporting pilot. The agency helps companies communicate credibly about sustainability while avoiding greenwashing, and assists with compliance with Swiss and international reporting standards (GRI, TCFD, OR 964).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy & Consulting (Kommunikationsberatung) Develops sustainability communication strategies and conceptual frameworks, and supports implementation and further development of existing strategies for organizations seeking to communicate sustainability credibly.
• Corporate Design Plans and creates refined visual identities that capture the essence of client companies' sustainability positioning and supports application of corporate design throughout all communication touchpoints.
• Content Marketing Answers target audiences' questions through sustainability-focused content marketing, telling client stories in the right format and across media to create added value and build trust.
• Media Relations (Medienarbeit) Supports clients in providing relevant media with well-crafted sustainability stories at the right time and in the right form, shaping which topics are taken up, slowed down or pushed.
• Sustainability Reporting (Nachhaltigkeitsbericht) End-to-end service for sustainability reports including situation analysis, report conception, text writing, editing, design of diagrams and infographics, layout, and accompanying communication materials, aligned with standards such as OR 964, GRI, and TCFD.
• Greenwashing Prevention Services Consulting services to help organizations avoid greenwashing, including workshops, strategic advice, analysis of sustainability communications, quick tests for greenwashing risks, and guidelines for credible sustainability communication.
• Talent-Team Program Reduced-rate communication services for non-profit organizations and projects aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals, delivered by supervised student talents studying communication, media studies, languages, or design, covering social media, content creation, website content, and simple graphic design.
• AI-assisted Sustainability Report (KI-gestützter Nachhaltigkeitsbericht)

Quantifiable outcome

• Polarstern managed communications for the Vorbild Energie und Klima initiative since 2017, involving federal administration and major Swiss public service companies.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Swiss Triple Impact (STI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Polarstern has been a member of Swiss Triple Impact since 2020, an organization that supports Swiss companies in developing a sustainability strategy based on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Polarstern regularly contributes to STI events and webinars.
• Bruppacher & Partner AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Polarstern GmbH (founded 2007, focused on sustainability communications) and Bruppacher & Partner AG (founded 1979, focused on marketing communications) merged retroactively effective January 1, 2019 to form Polarstern AG. The combined entity brings together 40 years of communication expertise. Andreas Renggli and Jörg Bruppacher serve as co-managing partners.
• Swiss Green Economy Symposium (SGES) / LifefairminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Polarstern has been a communication partner of the Swiss Green Economy Symposium (SGES) since 2019. SGES is organized by Lifefair, Switzerland's largest dialogue platform for sustainability. Polarstern supports SGES promotion on LinkedIn and organizes the Innovation Forum on Sustainability Communication.
• Agentur Guido von DeschwandenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolarstern collaborated with Agentur Guido von Deschwanden on the Migros Bank sustainability report project, specifically for design work to create a colorful, reader-friendly layout that differentiates the report from typical mandatory reading.
• Sustainability Consulting (Basel)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolarstern partnered with Sustainability Consulting from Basel as a specialist partner to develop a compliance checklist for the Suva sustainability report, ensuring compliance with OR, GRI, and TCFD requirements.
• DSAT.chminorOthersPolarstern used DSAT.ch as the basis for developing its privacy policy (Datenschutzerklärung), as noted on their privacy policy page.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/polarstern-ag
• Xx.com/polarsterngmbh
• Facebookfacebook.com/polarsterngmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Polarstern GmbH