A brief history of Sustainserv

How it all began

Sustainserv was founded in 2001 by Bernd Kasemir, Matthew Gardner and Stephan Lienin. The three scientists met while working at some of the world’s leading universities: Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). Our company was originally a spin-off from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), a leading energy research institute that is part of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain. Sustainserv was founded in Zurich, with our U.S. office in Boston opening soon afterwards.

In the early years, we focused on the development and management of programs that promoted sustainable mobility and green buildings. Our first consulting projects for private companies aimed to make the concept of sustainability tangible for members of the business community.

Sustainserv receives GRI certification

In 2006, we began providing expert assistance with sustainability reporting in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. We became a GRI Certified Training Partner four years later in 2010. Since then we have trained several hundred people in sustainability reporting.

Collaboration with universities

From 2007 to 2019, we worked together with the world’s leading universities, and were honored to play a key role in the development of the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN). This network has become a global hub for sustainability initiatives in higher education.

No. 1 Reporting Services Provider

Our rapidly expanding expertise in sustainability reporting and excellent track record meant that by 2016 we had contributed to 200 reports worldwide. Corporate Register even named us the global number one Reporting Services Provider.

New offices in Germany and the US

To better serve our clients and expand our reach, we opened a new office in Frankfurt, Germany, and another in Nashville in the U.S. in 2019.

20-year anniversary

In 2021, we celebrated our 20-year anniversary. We are deeply proud of having played a significant role in ushering hundreds of companies around the world and in a wide range of industries to integrate ESG into their strategies, operations, and reporting. In conversation with the three founding partners, they look back together – and ahead.