Harch
Harch Inc. is a Tokyo-based digital media and consulting company operating nine sustainability-focused web brands (Zenbird, IDEAS FOR GOOD, Circular Economy Hub, etc.) and providing Sustainable Business Design and Circular City Design services to Japanese enterprises and municipalities, with European operations in Paris and London.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Harch does
Harch Inc. (ハーチ株式会社) is a Tokyo-headquartered digital media and sustainability-consulting company founded in December 2015, operating a portfolio of nine web-media brands spanning sustainability, circular economy, sustainable travel, lifestyle, finance, English learning, and craft beer. Its flagship media properties — Zenbird (English-language Japanese sustainability), IDEAS FOR GOOD (social innovation), Circular Economy Hub, Circular Yokohama, Livhub, and Life Hugger — generate revenue primarily through advertising and sponsorship, supplemented by paid memberships (Circular Economy Hub reader membership ¥1,000/month, newsletter ¥1,500/month), event tickets (¥2,000), and digital guidebook sales (¥2,200 per city). The company also sells professional services to two principal customer segments: enterprises seeking sustainability transformation under its Sustainable Business Design offering, and Japanese municipalities advancing circular-economy policy under its Circular City Design offering. Harch Europe, with hubs in Paris and London, extends the brand and content operations into European markets and has produced a series of paid Sustainable City Guidebooks (Amsterdam, Paris, London, Vienna). Distribution is augmented by partnerships including Forbes JAPAN content syndication, Mitsubishi Estate's MAGNET exhibition space, and DMO KYOTO. In April 2023, Harch obtained B Corporation certification with a score of 101.3, and on June 29, 2026, the company is merging with Future Sessions Inc. and renaming the combined entity Artiql Inc. (アーティクル株式会社). The company's underlying technology consists of standard digital publishing platforms and content management systems for its media properties; no proprietary AI/ML or platform infrastructure is disclosed.
Harch firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Harch
- Legal name
- ハーチ株式会社 (Harch Inc.)
- Website
- https://harch.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Harch Inc. is a Tokyo-based digital media and consulting company operating nine sustainability-focused web brands (Zenbird, IDEAS FOR GOOD, Circular Economy Hub, etc.) and providing Sustainable Business Design and Circular City Design services to Japanese enterprises and municipalities, with European operations in Paris and London.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Harch industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sustainability Media and Consulting
- NAICS
- Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Circular Economy & Sustainable Products (Reuse, Repair, Upcycling) (BPAGALAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cause/Sustainability & Purpose-Driven Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAL), PR, Reputation Management & Earned Media Platforms (BPAMALAO)
Keywords
Where Harch is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices3 records
Markets served
Harch business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Media advertising and sponsorship: Revenue generated from advertising and sponsored content across Harch's six owned media platforms (Zenbird, IDEAS FOR GOOD, Circular Economy Hub, Circular Yokohama, Livhub, Life Hugger) which reach broad audiences interested in sustainability and social innovation.
- Sustainable Business Design consulting for enterprises: Professional services providing comprehensive support to enterprises seeking to transition toward sustainable business models, including research, experience tours, training, engagement programs, business design, service design, experience design, UX design, content marketing, media promotion, and impact evaluation.
- Circular City Design for municipalities: Policy development, implementation, evaluation, and communication services for municipalities seeking to advance circular economy and circular city initiatives.
- Paid membership services: Subscription-based membership services including Circular Economy Hub paid membership (community membership, reader membership) providing premium content, events, and networking access. Also includes IDE AS FOR GOOD Business Design Lab membership.
- Digital products and publications: Sale of digital guidebooks and reports such as the European Sustainable City Guidebook series, European Circular Economy Policy and Case Study Report 2022.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Circular Economy Hub general admission |
| Subscription | Monthly | Circular Economy Hub community membership |
| Subscription | Monthly | Circular Economy Hub reader membership |
| Subscription | Monthly | Circular Economy Hub newsletter subscriber |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Sustainable City Guidebook digital publication |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels11 records
Harch product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Harch operates a portfolio of nine owned digital media platforms focused on sustainability, circular economy, and social innovation, including Zenbird, IDEAS FOR GOOD, Circular Economy Hub, Circular Yokohama, Livhub, and Life Hugger. The company complements these media brands with professional consulting services: Sustainable Business Design for enterprises and Circular City Design for municipalities, supported by paid membership programs and digital guidebook publications.
Product overview
Harch is a digital media company operating multiple sustainability-focused media platforms. The portfolio includes 9 core media brands: ZENBIRD (sustainable Japan in English), IDEAS FOR GOOD (social innovation worldwide), Circular Economy Hub (circular economy specialized), Circular Yokohama (local circular economy), Livhub (sustainable travel/experiences), Life Hugger (sustainable lifestyle), HEDGE GUIDE (finance/investment), English Hub (English learning), and My CRAFT BEER (craft beer). Supporting services include IDEAS FOR GOOD Business Design Lab (corporate sustainability consulting) and Sustainable Experience Design Lab. The company also runs initiatives like Climate Creative, CIRCULAR STARTUP TOKYO, and CIRCULAR CITY TRANSITION GUIDE. Regional operations include Harch Europe. Services are offered to both corporate and municipal clients for sustainable business and circular city design.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- IDEAS FOR GOOD: Web magazine curating ideas for making society better, covering technology, design, and social innovation globally
- Zenbird
- Circular Economy Hub
- Circular Yokohama
- Livhub
- Life Hugger
- HEDGE GUIDE
- English Hub
- My CRAFTBEER
Companies that use Harch
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Harch technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Harch partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.coreCollaboration on IDEAS FOR GOOD Museum exhibition project utilizing Mitsubishi Estate office spaces. The project showcases social innovation ideas from around the world through physical exhibitions in Mitsubishi Estate buildings, including the MAGNET space at Mitsubishi Estate headquarters.
- Yokohama Community Design LabcorePartnership for operating Circular Yokohama platform and various circular economy initiatives in Yokohama. Includes coordination agreement for circular city transition support.
- YADOKARI Inc.coreJoint office operations for qlaytion gallery at Hoshiten qlay, a circular economy promotion base in Yokohama. YADOKARI develops the space while Harch operates the gallery.
- DMO KYOTO (Kyoto City Tourism Association)minorLife Hugger serves as a media partner for DMO KYOTO, supporting sustainable tourism promotion in Kyoto.
- REnato LabcoreTaiwan's leading circular design firm. Co-hosted the public seminar 'Dear CCO: Chief Circular Officer role design project' in Taipei with Circular Economy Hub to advance circular economy knowledge sharing.
- 大丸有SDGs ACT5 (Daikanyama SDGs ACT5)minorCollaboration for Marunouchi Street Park events and IDEAS FOR GOOD Museum booth exhibitions promoting circular economy and resource circulation awareness in Tokyo's Marunouchi district.
- Nagano Forest Association (長野森林組合)minorCarbon offset partnership through afforestation. Harch offsets CO2 emissions from server usage by planting trees in Nagano (21 trees in FY2021, 49 trees in FY2022, 200 trees in FY2024).
- Archetype VenturesminorMentor participation in CIRCULAR STARTUP TOKYO program, providing expertise for circular economy startup ecosystem development.
- Kamakura Investment Management (鎌倉投信)minorMentor participation in CIRCULAR STARTUP TOKYO program through Shunpaku Fund, supporting circular economy startup ecosystem development.
- Naka Dai Holdings (株式会社ナカダイホールディングス)minorMentor participation in CIRCULAR STARTUP TOKYO program, contributing circular economy expertise to startup ecosystem.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Harch competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Greenz: Greenz is a Japanese digital media outlet covering sustainability, circular economy, and social innovation — directly overlapping Harch's content verticals (Circular Economy Hub, IDEAS FOR GOOD, Life Hugger) for a Japanese audience interested in ethical living and circularity.
- GreenBiz: GreenBiz is a business-focused sustainability media and events company serving enterprise sustainability professionals, analogous to Harch's enterprise-facing Sustainable Business Design consulting combined with content marketing across Circular Economy Hub and Zenbird.
- Sustainable Brands: Sustainable Brands operates a global sustainability media platform and conference series, directly comparable to Harch's combination of editorial coverage (Circular Economy Hub) and event-driven community engagement (Climate Creative, Refuturing, IDEAS After Talk).
- Yeeb: Yeeb operates a multi-brand portfolio of niche Japanese digital media properties — directly comparable to Harch's strategy of running nine distinct sub-brands (Zenbird, IDEAS FOR GOOD, Circular Economy Hub, Livhub, Life Hugger, etc.) with shared back-office infrastructure.
Broad incumbents
- IDEO: IDEO is an established global design and innovation consultancy that includes sustainability and circular-economy practice areas, comparable to Harch's Sustainable Business Design and Circular City Design professional services offerings for enterprise and municipal clients.
- Forbes JAPAN: Forbes JAPAN is a leading Japanese business media outlet and existing content partnership partner for Harch's Circular Economy Hub — comparable as a broader business-media incumbent that distributes sustainability content and operates adjacent earned-media channels.
Others
- IDEAS FOR GOOD (operating partner: YADOKARI): YADOKARI operates co-living, multi-habitation, and regional-revitalization media and projects in Japan — directly comparable to Harch's Livhub platform on sustainable travel, workation, and multi-habitation, and a listed operational partner on the qlaytion gallery in Yokohama.
Emerging players
- Climate Focus: Climate Focus is a climate-policy and sustainable-finance advisory firm that combines original research, consulting, and convening, comparable to Harch's blend of impact reporting, Sustainable Business Design consulting, and Climate Creative thought-leadership programming.
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation: The Ellen MacArthur Foundation produces authoritative circular-economy content, research, and programs — overlapping with Harch's Circular Economy Hub editorial mission and CIRCULAR STARTUP TOKYO circular-economy ecosystem-building work.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Harch social profiles
Digital presenceHarch compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Harch financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Harch leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Harch subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Harch funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Harch M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Harch
What does Harch do?
Harch operates a portfolio of nine owned digital media platforms focused on sustainability, circular economy, and social innovation, including Zenbird, IDEAS FOR GOOD, Circular Economy Hub, Circular Yokohama, Livhub, and Life Hugger. The company complements these media brands with professional consulting services: Sustainable Business Design for enterprises and Circular City Design for municipalities, supported by paid membership programs and digital guidebook publications.
Is Harch a public or private company?
Harch is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Harch founded?
Harch was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Harch based?
Harch is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Harch make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Media advertising and sponsorship is the primary driver. The others are sustainable Business Design consulting for enterprises, circular City Design for municipalities, paid membership services and digital products and publications.
Who are Harch's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Greenz, GreenBiz, Sustainable Brands and Yeeb. Broad incumbents are IDEO and Forbes JAPAN. IDEAS FOR GOOD (operating partner: YADOKARI) is listed as an others. Emerging players are Climate Focus and Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Does Harch have an API?
No public API is recorded for Harch.
What industry is Harch in?
Harch's product category is Sustainability Media and Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAF, Circular Economy & Sustainable Products (Reuse, Repair, Upcycling), with a secondary code of MPAAAAAL, Cause/Sustainability & Purpose-Driven Creative Agencies. Its NAICS code is 5418 and its SIC code is 2721.