Stadtwerke Nürtingen – bienenstrom

The project

Let landscapes blossom with energy: We developed the eco-electricity product “bienenstrom” for Stadtwerke Nürtingen. With this product, customers who use the electricity are also helping with flowering and are actively doing something about insect mortality.

The Challenge

How do you get electricity customers to switch to bienenstrom?

The Solution

And this is how it works: One cent per kWh of bienenstrom (100% green energy) goes to farmers in the biosphere region of the Swabian Alb. In return, they plant bee-friendly flowering plants in areas where energy plants for biogas production normally blossom, creating an important habitat for small buzzers. The extra cent compensates the participating farmers for yield losses.

The Result

bienenstrom generated real buzz: 20 of the planned 14 hectares of flowering areas are already under contract. And this will continue to increase: Just 11 months after launching bienenstrom, it was made available to other municipal utilities as a classic franchise model. Thanks to the active, initial placement of this success story in leading media such as brand eins and national newspapers, etc., we ensured a large media response throughout Germany. With a low five-digit media budget, we achieved a total media equivalent value of approx. 347,000 euros. And last but not least, bienenstrom was the first electricity project to receive an award from UNESCO.