Pina Earth x Kearney: Employee retention with impact

As one of the leading consulting firms, Kearney is also leading the way in climate protection: after establishing a Net-Zero strategy in accordance with SBTi, Kearney is using regional_{CO2 certificates} for climate-resilient forests from Pina Earth for employee gifts. This innovative measure not only strengthens employee loyalty, but also contributes to a sustainable workplace and positive employer branding. The partnership continues a successful collaboration between the founder and CEO of Pina Earth and Kearney.

Kearney is a leading consulting firm with offices in more than 40 countries around the world. Clients include Fortune 500 companies and influential government and non-profit organizations. Dr. Gesa Biermann is a Kearney alumna and founded the impact company Pina Earth. Pina Earth develops certified climate protection projects in Germany that turn endangered monocultures into biodiverse mixed forests.

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Dr. Gesa Biermann completed one of the renowned summer traineeships at Kearney in 2016. With responsibilities in market analysis, conducting strategy workshops and designing a corporate vision and strategy, she learned important skills for founding Pina Earth at Kearney.

"During my time at Kearney, I was able to gain an insight into many different areas. A cornerstone from which I still benefit today at Pina Earth - especially in terms of shaping the corporate strategy."
‍Dr. Gesa Biermann, Founder & Managing Director at Pina Earth

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Gesa founded her own company with Pina Earth. For her, this is a step towards taking action for climate protection. A goal that Kearney is also pursuing. Kearney is the first management consultancy in the world to have its Net-Zero climate protection targets approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

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"Being the first consultancy with science-based net zero targets is an incredible achievement. As consultants, we can have the greatest impact on our environment by helping our clients navigate the opportunities and challenges of a_low-carbon future."‍
‍AlexLiu, Managing Partner and Chairman at Kearney

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To set a good example as a company, Kearney supports numerous initiatives in the ESG area. In 2022, for example, over 280 pro bono projects and social initiatives were carried out with local and global impact organizations.

The challenge

When it comes to sustainability, everyone has to pull together. At Kearney, the willingness to take responsibility is also driven primarily by employees: social impact and climate protection are important to more than 90% of Kearney employees - over 80% are already actively involved. In order to be able to respond to these needs in a targeted manner, Kearney also wants to pay attention to climate protection in internal initiatives.

Kearney also pays attention to environmental compatibility when it comes to gifts for employees. The money that would otherwise be used for gifts in kind is now invested in sustainable initiatives. The impact should be as tangible as possible: For employees in the DACH region, the climate protection initiatives should also take place regionally - on their doorstep, so to speak.

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"When selecting a partner, it has always been important to Kearney in the past to support young alumni founders with their business ideas. It is a great stroke of luck that Gesa Biermann offers the opportunity to purchase personalized_{CO2 certificates} with her start-up Pina Earth. The collaboration and the gifts show how close the network of active and former employees is and promotes solidarity with each other and with Kearney."
‍Ricarda D'ham, Alumni Manager at Kearney

The solution

By investing in Pina Earth's climate protection projects, Kearney can now combine the two: The sustainable gifts bring joy to Kearney employees, demonstrate sustainable corporate governance and make an important contribution to climate protection. The switch from traditional gifts in kind to sustainable initiatives not only underlines environmental awareness, but also offers employees tangible insights into the positive impact of their contributions to climate protection.

With the gifts, Kearney employees and alumni are converting 270 square meters of monoculture into biodiverse mixed forest in Germany. On the Pina Earth project dashboard, the recipients can track the progress of the forest conversion project at any time. This makes the positive climate contribution tangible through regular updates, pictures of the forest area and project reports. In this way, Kearney positions itself as a pioneer and combines employee engagement and climate protection.

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