Munich Startup: What does Pina Earth do? What problem does it solve?
Gesa Biermann: Pina Earth develops certified climate protection projects. Our goal is to make forests in Germany climate-resilient. Forests in the EU are severely threatened by climate change. To counteract this and future-proof our forests against increasing heat, storms, and drought, monocultures must be converted into mixed forests. This is a complex and costly process that must be undertaken by approximately two million forest owners in Germany alone.
To help finance this, we have developed a technology that reduces the additional CO2-reduction performance of the forest conversion measures was quantified. The additional CO2-We sell the reduction capacity in the form of CO2Certificates are issued to companies that can use them to make a regional climate contribution. The proceeds from the sale flow back to the forest owners to finance their conversion measures.
Finance forest protection projects with Pina Earth
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Gesa Biermann: Indeed not! Of course, our concept is certainly not new in its individual components: There is already CO2Certificates from other forest carbon offset projects. However, these are primarily located in the Global South, not regionally in Germany. Furthermore, these are not forest conversion projects, but rather, for example, 'REDD+ forest protection projects' (i.e., reductions in emissions from deforestation and forest degradation). And this is already prohibited by law in Germany. With our specially developed forest conversion methodology, we have created a new type of climate protection project that is tailored to the needs of our regional ecosystems and has never existed before.
Of course, forest conversion itself is not a new topic; it has been a concern for forest owners in Germany for years. With the increasing risks associated with climate change, it is now more important than ever to act. The 2022 Forest Condition Survey once again dramatically highlighted the effects of climate change: four out of five trees are diseased. Since 2018, over 500,000 hectares of forest in Germany have fallen victim to climate change. Three million hectares of forest must be converted in the coming years!
To make this possible, we are offering Pina Earth, a new source of income for forest owners to finance their conversion measures.
Founding with structure, but without a “eureka moment”
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Gesa Biermann: The original idea for Pina Earth did not originate in a romanticized "Eureka moment“that some people imagine. For us, it all started with the team and the consensus that we wanted to make a social contribution with our work.
To put this into perspective: A person devotes approximately 80,000 hours to their career in their lifetime. It was clear to us that we wanted to use this time to benefit society – beyond purely financial goals. After a structured brainstorming process and the evaluation of around 150 different social and environmental problems, we came up with the CO2Markets and the opportunities they offer for reconciling economic and ecological goals. We also learned how difficult it is for smaller forest owners to access this market. That's when we realized we wanted to solve precisely this problem.
Successful seed round with strong investors
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Gesa Biermann: Fortunately, not much has gone seriously wrong yet. Nevertheless, we had major challenges to overcome. Getting started with CO2Markets and certification are complex: To gain a deep understanding of this topic, we read every methodology available on forest carbon offset projects. These are thousands of pages of standard documents describing which criteria CO2-certificates must be met.
This was somewhat laborious, but at the same time, it provided an important foundation upon which we are now building. From this intensive work, we derived rules and software features that ensure the quality of our certificates. It was also a personal challenge for me to lead fundraising for the first time. We received a lot of support from other founders and mentors, and were able to close a very successful seed round with strong investors.
Successfully acquired several project areas
Munich Startup: How are things going?
Gesa Biermann: We have already acquired several forest project areas in various parts of Germany and are proud that they have now been inspected and certified by TÜV Nord Cert. This was definitely a major milestone. Our forest conversion projects currently cover over 1,000 hectares in Germany. At the same time, we are entering the pilot phase under the Forest Climate Standard and developing the first projects under a regional standard for certifying ecosystem services.
Since we operate in a two-sided market with Pina Earth, the buyer side should not be neglected. This year, we have entered into several partnerships with platforms and marketplaces to market our projects not only directly but also through strong multipliers. This has enabled us to already transfer initial revenues to forest owners to finance their forest conversion measures. For further insights, our case studies with Delivery green, Focus on the future, and trans-o-flex.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Gesa Biermann: For us, Munich is an ideal startup location. The startup ecosystem and the large number of companies in Munich provide numerous opportunities for exchange. CDTM In our alma mater, we've already met many other founders and mentors from whom we can learn a lot on our journey. Furthermore, the two universities TUM and LMU have many talented students in the city, making recruiting easier.
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Gesa Biermann: In our work, we are indeed very centrally concerned with risks: the risks of climate change. Here, we want to create greater security for German and, later, European forests and make them more climate-resilient. Since this needs to happen quickly, founding a tech-focused startup with rapid scaling potential was the right choice for us.
