CREM

What CREM does

CREM is a Swiss non-profit association (association à but non-lucratif) founded in 1987 by the Ville de Martigny and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), headquartered in Martigny, Valais. It operates as an independent energy transition advisory body serving communes, enterprises, and individuals across French-speaking Switzerland (Romandie), with occasional reach into German-speaking Switzerland through its events calendar. Its core purpose is to provide neutral, expert guidance on energy efficiency, renewable energy production, and CO2 reduction to public-sector and private-sector stakeholders navigating Swiss and cantonal energy regulation.

The association's service portfolio spans nine documented offerings. Advisory services on energy transition provide tailored consulting to communes and enterprises. Energy Data Management handles municipal energy datasets for monitoring and strategic planning. The Cellule de veille (Watch Cell) produces a legislative compilation of principal federal and cantonal energy laws across six cantons — Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel, Valais, and Vaud — accessible only to members. Energy Delegate Services assign dedicated engineers to implement client energy strategies. Supporting offerings include a recurring curated press review, thermal file verification for construction permits (Contrôle des dossiers thermiques), a member-exclusive virtual library of hundreds of articles and proceedings, and an events calendar. Distribution is delivered through a dedicated member portal (membre.crem.ch), direct consulting engagements, and a public-facing Blog de l'énergie (up to five articles per month). No mobile app, public API, or proprietary software product is in market; CREM operates as a consultancy and association rather than a software vendor.

CREM's go-to-market is community-led and membership-based. It acquires members through its founding-partner network (Ville de Martigny, EPFL, HES-SO Valais-Wallis), member referrals, and events. Revenue is generated exclusively through annual membership fees paid by communes, enterprises, and individuals, making it a subscription/recurring model with no transactional component. The customer base of 90+ member organizations spans Public Administration (Martigny, Lausanne, Neuchâtel, Montreux), the Energy sector (Alpiq, ENERGIE 360°, DransEnergie, FMV, Gaznat, Viteos), and academia/research (EPFL, HES-SO Valais-Wallis, Idiap). Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Marketing occurs through the website, blog, email newsletters, webinars, and member events rather than paid acquisition. As a non-profit, CREM has no shareholders, funding rounds, or acquisition activity; governance is provided by a committee chaired by Blaise Larpin (President) with François Maréchal as Vice-president.

Name

CREM

Legal name

CREM

Website

https://crem.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CREM is a Swiss non-profit association founded in 1987 by the City of Martigny and EPFL, delivering energy transition advisory, legislative monitoring, and energy data management services to communes, enterprises, and individuals across French-speaking Switzerland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Martigny

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: CREM generates revenue through annual membership fees from communes, enterprises, and individuals. Members receive access to consulting services, the virtual library, legislative monitoring, press reviews, event calendars, and energy data management support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CREM is a non-profit association founded in 1987 by the City of Martigny and EPFL that provides expert advisory services on energy transition to communes, enterprises, and individuals in French-speaking Switzerland. The association offers energy data management for municipalities, monitoring of energy legislation across six cantons, energy delegate services, press reviews, thermal file verification, and curated educational resources through a virtual library and energy blog. CREM relies on a network of specialized engineers and consultants to deliver its services to members under an annual membership model.

Product overview

CREM is a non-profit association founded in 1987 by the City of Martigny and EPFL, operating as a consultancy and advisory organization rather than a software product company. The organization provides a suite of professional services focused on energy sustainability in urban settings: advisory services on energy transition, energy data management for municipalities, a legislative compilation of energy laws, energy delegate assignments, press reviews, thermal file control, an events calendar, and a members-only virtual library. CREM also maintains a public energy blog for knowledge dissemination. The services are delivered through membership to public entities, enterprises, and individuals seeking support with energy efficiency, renewable energy production, and CO2 emissions reduction.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advisory Services on Energy Transition Expert advisory on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and CO2 reduction delivered by CREM's network of specialized engineers and consultants to communes, enterprises, and individuals in French-speaking Switzerland.
• Energy Data Management for Municipalities Data management service that supports Swiss municipalities in collecting, organizing, and analyzing energy data to inform local energy planning and efficiency initiatives.
• Legislative Compilation (Recueil Législatif / Cellule de Veille) Ongoing monitoring and compilation of energy legislation across six cantons of French-speaking Switzerland, delivered through CREM's Cellule de veille, providing members with timely updates and structured access to regulatory changes.
• Energy Delegate Services (Délégué à l'Énergie) Provision of dedicated energy delegate expertise to communes and enterprises that require ongoing, embedded support for energy transition projects and regulatory compliance.
• Thermal File Control (Contrôle des Dossiers Thermiques) Verification and control service for thermal dossiers submitted by members, ensuring regulatory compliance and technical accuracy in building energy performance documentation.
• Press Review Curated press review service that aggregates and summarizes energy-related news for CREM members, providing a regular digest of relevant industry and policy developments.

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Ville de MartignyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1987Founding partner and host city of CREM. Co-founded the association in 1987 to advance energy transition in the Martigny region and beyond.
• EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1987Founding academic partner providing research expertise and credibility to CREM's energy transition mission since 1987.
• HES-SO Valais-WalliscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing technical expertise and student resources for energy projects.
• TéléverbierminorOthersEnterprise member from the Valais energy sector participating in CREM's network.
• Satom SAminorOthersIndustrial enterprise member from Valais region.
• Alpiq SAminorOthersLeading Swiss energy company as enterprise member of CREM network.
• FMV (Forces Motrices Valaisannes)minorOthersValais hydroelectric energy producer as enterprise member.
• ENERGIE 360° SAminorOthersRenewable energy services company as enterprise member.
• ViteosminorOthersEnergy services company as enterprise member.
• Gaznat SAminorOthersNatural gas association as enterprise member.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Romande Energie: Major Vaud-based energy utility serving western Switzerland with growing energy services and consulting offerings. Overlaps with CREM in serving Romandie municipalities on energy efficiency and renewable integration.
• Services Industriels de Genève (SIG): Municipal multi-utility of Geneva offering energy, water, and telecoms services with growing advisory offerings to public-sector clients. Overlaps with CREM's municipal energy advisory and is itself a CREM ecosystem participant via member relationships.
• ewz (Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich): Municipal utility of Zurich providing electricity, telecommunications, and energy services including public-sector advisory. Comparable in municipal-energy focus but operates at greater scale and as a regulated utility rather than a non-profit.
• EnergieSchweiz (Swiss Federal Energy Programme): Swiss federal energy programme under the SFOE that promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy nationally. Overlaps with CREM's mission but operates at national scale as a public-policy programme rather than a regional membership association.

Regional players

• Assembly of European Regions (AER): Independent European network of regional authorities. Comparable in convening sub-national governments around sustainability topics, though its scope is broader than CREM's energy-only mandate and its geography pan-European.

Others

• Ernst Basler + Partner (EBP): Swiss consulting firm with a strong energy, mobility, and environment practice serving public-sector clients. Thematically adjacent — competes for some of the same municipal advisory engagements but as a commercial consultancy rather than a non-profit association.
• CUREM – Center for Urban Energy, ETH Zurich: ETH Zurich research centre on urban energy systems. Comparable through academic credibility and urban-energy focus, but operates as a research and education entity rather than a membership-based advisory association.

Direct peers

• Energy Cities: European association of local authorities driving the energy transition. Closest comparable to CREM in mission and member-based non-profit structure, though operating at EU-wide scale across city governments.
• KEA Klimaschutz- und Energieagentur Baden-Württemberg: Regional German energy and climate protection agency providing advisory, data, and programme services to municipalities. Highly comparable in scope (cantonal/regional energy advisory) and structure (public-interest agency serving communes).
• Climate Alliance (Klima-Bündnis): European network of cities and municipalities committed to climate and energy transition. Comparable as a multi-stakeholder association serving local governments on energy and sustainability, with a similar member-supported model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/crem_martigny

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 CREM