One family, one mission Saving the Planet

Victorinox and the TOPtoTOP Climate Expedition

For over 20 years, the TOPtoTOP climate expedition has traveled our planet to the world’s most remote regions, conducting research, learning from locals and educating children on how to live a sustainable life.

Victorinox has been at their side for more than a decade. Just like Victorinox founder Karl Elsener, the expedition team has had the courage to follow their vision despite all obstacles. We also share their philosophy: Victorinox has always felt an obligation to treat resources responsibly. Our commitment to families is yet another trait that we share with TOPtoTOP. Just as Victorinox is a family-owned business, the TOPtoTOP core team is made up of Dario and Sabine and their children.

Get to know their fascinating story and see what they have learned.

Discover the expedition

How it all started

Dario, a Swiss climatologist and mountain guide, and his wife Sabine, a certified nurse, founded the TOPtoTOP climate expedition in 1999. While researching glaciers, Dario realized their rapid decline was due to rising global temperatures. This motivated Dario and Sabine to dedicate their life to helping and educating people on how to respect nature and protect it for future generations. And they are not alone in their efforts: accompanying them are their six children – who were all born during this expedition – in addition to various experts and volunteers who come and go along the way.

What they do

The TOPtoTOP climate expedition has traveled over 125,000 nautical miles to more than 100 countries, where they have completed over 100 projects. Examples include installing solar panels and desalinating water on remote islands, reforesting coastal areas to prevent erosion and supporting communities in cleaning up the accumulation of plastics in global waters. Dario, Sabine and their children have given presentations to more than 150,000 pupils in hundreds of schools on every habitable continent. They also collect data and do field research for several research institutes.

Why they do it

“Climate change is a reality, we see it around the world,” Dario says. These changes have devastating consequences. But TOPtoTOP also sees opportunity here. As Sabine says, “Never before have we had the opportunity to all work together as a big global family. Climate change is about connection, solidarity and the changes we all can make to help each other and our planet. And that’s what drives us.” How they do it? “We like to think small,” Dario explains with a smile. “Because change starts with one child, one school, one village at time.”

Follow their journey

Would you like to know the current position of the TOPtoTOP climate expedition and its boat, Pachamama? Follow its path on this real-time map. See where the team is now and all the places they’ve been.

Sustainability Tips

“Actually, we often learn from our hosts how to live more sustainably,” says Dario. “Wherever we go, we discover the amazing ways that people live in harmony with nature. From west to east, north to south, whether in big cities or tribal villages – we have learned so much.”

A look behind the scenes

The TOPtoTOP climate expedition is more than a non-profit organization with a mission to inspire people to act and live sustainably. Its core team is a family living amazing adventures on a breathtaking journey. Take a look at their daily life on board and in the villages around the world by following them on Facebook and Instagram.

The power of family

When the expedition started, it was just Sabine and Dario. As we write this article in early summer 2021, they have six children: Salina, born in 2005 in Chile; Andri, born in 2006 in Patagonia; Noé, born in 2009 in Australia; Alegra, born in 2011 in Singapore; Mia, born in 2015 in Switzerland; and Vital, born in 2017 in Iceland.

“If the kids didn’t like it, we wouldn’t continue,” says Dario. But they really do enjoy it. So much so that they actively participate in teaching. “When we started, we thought it would be too hard to do all these things with small children,” Sabine says. “But actually, the opposite is true: they give us the will to go even further, teach even more, try even harder.” This is part of the reason why Victorinox is so closely linked with TOPtoTOP.

When Carl Elsener started his cutler business in 1883, it was his mother Victoria who gave him the courage to follow through. And to this day Victorinox is owned and led by the Elsener family. They hold together as a strong unit, in good and in not-so-good times. Together with its mission and vision, the close family ties of the TOPtoTOP crew is what continues to convince Victorinox to keep supporting this climate expedition.