Pina Earth x Red Bull, SAP, UnternehmerTUM & Footprint Intelligence
As a climate tech startup, we’re all about innovation – especially when it enables climate action.
That’s why we teamed up with SAP, Red Bull, UnternehmerTUM, Footprint Intelligence, and a fantastic team from the Digital Product School (DPS) to develop a solution that makes mobility in professional sports more sustainable – while simultaneously advancing regional climate protection.
The SAP Garden in Munich is the new home of EHC Red Bull Munich and FC Bayern Basketball. Thousands of fans attend each game – many of them arriving by car. The goal: motivate them to switch to more climate-friendly modes of transport.
As part of a three-month innovation sprint by the Digital Product School by UnternehmerTUM, a digital solution was developed that addresses exactly this challenge: a reward system that gives fans points for traveling sustainably. The concept was developed by an interdisciplinary team from Product Management, Software Engineering, AI, and Interaction Design.
After extensive user interviews, iterative testing, and building a functioning MVP, the system was further developed by Footprint Intelligence – and integrated directly into the official club apps.
And that’s where we come in: Pina Earth ensures that the collected points aren’t just a digital achievement – but lead to measurable climate protection. For every point redeemed, 5 m² of forest is restored in the Kesselsee project area in Brandenburg – over a period of 30 years.
To date, fans have already helped fund the restoration of 1,500 square meters of forest in the project area.
In the Lake Kessel project, a total of 93 hectares of pine monoculture in Brandenburg are being transformed into a near-natural, climate-resilient mixed forest.
Through actions such as promoting natural regeneration, planting climate-resilient tree species, and targeted species mixing, the forest is becoming more resilient to storms, droughts, and pest infestations.
Every square meter restored not only strengthens the ecosystem, but also stores carbon long-term and protects local biodiversity.
What makes this collaboration so special? It shows what’s possible when startups, large companies, young talents, and sports fans come together.
"With this partnership, we show that being a fan does not only mean supporting your team, but also protecting regional forests." - Dr. Gesa Biermann, Co-Founder and CEO of Pina Earth.
Thanks to SAP, Red Bull, UnternehmerTUM, Footprint Intelligence, and everyone involved at DPS for the great collaboration!
You can find insights and testimonials about the partnership in this video:
Learn more about the Kesselsee project and our certified forest restoration work on our Forest Dashboard.
