PLAN3T, the startup that is offering the first reward system for sustainable consumption has announced that it has raised a pre-seed funding of €750k. The young company, founded in 2020 by Lukas Wehrhahn, Christian Gärtner and Kaspar Wehrhahn, is a digital platform that rewards environmentally conscious consumers for sustainable purchasing decisions and climate protection in everyday life. The app-based platform is due to be expanded by an open banking integration, positioning the startup in the fintech space.
Participants in the pre-seed financing round included renowned Berlin-based early-stage investor APX, Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank (IFB), and well-known business angels from the German digital and advertising industries, including Marc Sasserath, Guido Syré, and Mutabor founders Heinrich Paravicini and Johannes Plass.
In the era of heightened environmental awareness, it is estimated that over 60% of European consumers want to buy sustainable products, but only around 26% are able to in their everyday life. One of the main reasons being that environmentally friendly alternatives tend to be more expensive than conventional products.
PLAN3T has been developed to provide a solution to this financial obstacle to sustainable purchasing, and is the first worldwide app to offer a reward system for environmentally conscious consumers when they make sustainable purchasing decisions. With its solution, the startup wants to make sustainable consumption easy and accessible for all groups of consumers.
With PLAN3T’s free app, consumers can track their ecological footprint. They also receive ‘Planet Coins’ through personalised sustainability tips, successfully completed challenges, and CO2 offsets. The Planet Coins can then be used at over 50 sustainable partner companies and brands, or alternatively, can be donated to climate protection projects.
The innovative startup has rapidly expanded its partner network in recent months which now includes well-known brands such as Enpal, tibber, SodaStream, refurbed, planted, WeShare and TIER.
In Spring 2021, the team launched their beta version in German app stores, and the current total of 6000 registered users have already avoided and compensated for over 250 tons of CO2.
Looking to the next year, the fresh company plans to expand into other European countries. The founders also plan to gradually automate their app in the coming months, with the help of an open banking integration (on the PSD-2 standard). It’s already possible to sign up for this in the app as the startup positions themselves in the fintech arena.
Founder and CEO Lukas Wehrhahn said: “By linking the personal bank account, every transaction can be provided with a CO2 equivalent. On this basis, we can suggest environmentally friendly alternatives to our users and automatically reward them with cashback for purchases from our partner companies.”
via https://www.AiUpNow.com
November 15, 2021 at 03:51AM by contact@bcurdy.com, Khareem Sudlow
