klima Launches Carbon Offset App for Consumers

The three individuals who established Klima – Andreas Pursian, Markus Gilles, and Jonas Brandau – initially achieved success as entrepreneurs while working at Hyper, an organization dedicated to developing an application designed to help individuals comprehend and counterbalance their carbon output.

Their mobile magazine publishing toolkit was acquired by Mic in 2017, representing the latest in a series of collaborative endeavors spanning almost ten years.

“Our interest lay in technology and its potential to bring about positive societal improvements,” explained Gilles, Klima’s chief executive, during a recent conversation.

Klima, which became available this month, represents, in many ways, the realization of these ambitions.

Gilles and Pursian initially connected while attending university, and subsequently, along with Brandau, they launched their first application, Pino, a mobile platform for video opinion pieces that featured German Chancellor Angela Merkel as an early contributor.

Their involvement with politics and media continued with Hyper, the publishing platform they sold to Mic, and persists with Klima. Through this application, the three founders have leveraged their expertise in media to encourage consumers to lessen and neutralize their carbon emissions through offsetting and adjustments to their behaviors.

“Carbon offsets can provide a valuable remedy and grant us crucial time as we work to rebuild our society,” stated Gilles. “Achieving a 50% reduction in emissions within the next decade presents a significant challenge. We cannot afford to dismiss any potential climate solution at this time.”

Similar to other applications, Klima recognizes diet as a key personal action individuals can take to minimize their emissions impact. Opting for cycling or electric vehicles instead of cars, and choosing secondhand clothing over fast fashion, also contribute to positive change.  

Klima’s application incorporates a carbon calculator, which assesses an individual’s carbon footprint and enables them to offset it through a customized monthly subscription. The application also delivers guidance on lifestyle modifications to decrease emissions and includes a social sharing function, allowing others to participate in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.

“We are currently in an extraordinary situation,” Gilles noted, referring to the role of the founders. “The climate crisis will not be halted by the pandemic. We have secured sufficient funding to remain operational once the pandemic subsides.”

The company’s backing comes from Jens Begemann, the founder of Wooga; Niklas Jansen, co-founder of Blinkist; Christian Reber, the founder of Pitch; and institutional investors including e.ventures, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures and 468 Capital.

To this point, Klima has secured $5.8 million in funding. The company provides its users with three distinct types of offsets. The first involves natural solutions, such as tree-planting initiatives; the second focuses on technology-based solutions like solar power installations; and the third centers on social solutions, like replacing traditional wood-burning stoves with electric or gas stoves in homes. 

“We have observed considerable engagement with the application thus far,” Gilles reported. The company’s application is currently available in 18 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and boasts the largest user base of any climate offset application presently on the market, according to the company.