What Earth Hero does

Earth Hero is a US-based non-profit organization founded in 2019 and domiciled in Illinois that operates a free mobile application designed to help individuals reduce their personal carbon footprint through science-based climate actions. The app, available on iOS and Android, offers hundreds of IPCC-grounded climate actions across categories such as energy, food, travel, home, and advocacy, with emissions tracking, personalized recommendations, and a community mobilization feature for connecting with other climate activists. Users span more than 150 countries and have logged over 500,000 cumulative climate actions across a base of 100,000+ users.

The platform is built and operated entirely by volunteers — over 100 contributors across 25+ countries including climate scientists, developers, designers, translators, and communicators — and is led by Co-Founder and President Ben Gerhold alongside founding scientists Dr. Peter Kalmus and Dr. Annette Olson. Technology architecture centers on a mobile-first iOS/Android app with a companion website that hosts educational articles, a climate glossary, an activism groups directory, and a media kit; no public API, SDK, or AI/ML components are disclosed. The organization holds a core technology partnership with Lokalise for localization and uses ProZ Pro Bono for volunteer translation support.

Earth Hero's business model is donation- and grant-funded with no paid tiers, in-app purchases, or subscription revenue; all app and content features are provided free to maximize accessibility. The go-to-market is product-led and community-driven: users are acquired through organic app store discovery, earned media coverage in outlets such as Apple App Store, Google Play, AP News, Wired, and The Guardian, and a network of nine ecosystem partners including Climatebase (climate hiring), Bank.Green (sustainable finance), and The Carbon Almanac (climate education). The organization is GDPR-compliant for EEA users and reports no funding rounds, institutional investors, or paid staff.

Name

Earth Hero

Legal name

Earth Hero

Website

https://earthhero.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Earth Hero is a US-based non-profit operating a free mobile app that helps individuals in 150+ countries take science-based climate actions, track personal emissions, and connect with a global volunteer-driven climate action community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Action Mobile Application

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation (BPAGAGAF)

Keywords

• Climate action app
• Carbon footprint tracking
• Sustainability mobile app
• Emissions measurement tools
• Climate community platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Non-profit organization relying on donations and potentially grants to fund operations. All-volunteer organization with no paid staff.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Earth Hero offers a free mobile climate action application that provides hundreds of scientifically grounded actions for individuals to reduce carbon emissions and track their progress. The app, available on iOS and Android, enables users to measure emissions, set science-based IPCC-aligned reduction targets, receive personalized action suggestions, and connect with a global climate community of 100,000+ users across 150+ countries. A companion website supplements the app with educational articles, an activism groups directory, and a climate glossary.

Product overview

Earth Hero offers a single unified product centered on its Climate Action mobile application, supported by a companion website platform. The core Earth Hero app provides hundreds of climate actions that users can track, along with progress measurement tools and community features. The supporting website delivers educational climate content through articles, connects users with external activism groups, and provides resources for media coverage. The product suite focuses on empowering individuals with actionable, science-based climate steps rather than a modular or add-on architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Earth Hero Climate Action App A free mobile climate action application for individual consumers that provides hundreds of scientifically grounded climate actions, personal emissions tracking, personalized action suggestions based on IPCC science-based targets, and community mobilization features. Available on iOS and Android and used by 100,000+ individuals across 150+ countries.
• Earth Hero Website Platform A companion web platform containing climate action resources, educational articles on sustainability topics, an activism groups directory, and a climate glossary. Provides supplementary content to mobile app users and serves as the entry point for new users to discover Earth Hero.

Quantifiable outcome

• Users can track emissions and see measurable impact reductions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Climate StepsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate Steps provides information on steps to ensure life will continue on Earth, including endangered species. Collaboration focuses on sharing climate action resources and information.
• Bank.GreenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBank.Green helps users search their bank and discover if it funds climate chaos, offering alternatives if the bank is part of the problem. Partnership provides financial transparency resources for climate-conscious users.
• ClimatebasecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerClimatebase is the leading hiring platform for climate organizations. Partnership helps Earth Hero connect with climate professionals and志愿者, and promotes green job opportunities to users.
• LokalisecoreTechnology or IntegrationLokalise is a translations platform for growth-minded organizations to expand apps, software, and digital content into multiple languages. Partnership enables Earth Hero's global reach across 150+ countries.
• Green Neighbor ChallengeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreen Neighbor Challenge provides a free online toolbox to help US residents make informed home energy choices and move towards clean energy.
• The Carbon AlmanacminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Carbon Almanac is a source of reliable and understandable knowledge on climate change that users can share to create meaningful impact.
• Happy Eco NewsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHappy Eco News is a news site for environmental stories that believe hope for the future is the most compelling reason to take action.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• JouleBug: Consumer-facing sustainability habits and climate action tracking app with gamified community features. Closely comparable to Earth Hero in target audience (individuals), free mobile-first model, and behavior-change oriented feature set.
• Klima: Consumer-focused carbon offsetting and climate action mobile application. Directly comparable to Earth Hero in serving climate-conscious individuals through a free mobile app, though Klima leaned more heavily into carbon credit purchasing.

Broad incumbents

• Persefoni: Climate management and accounting platform for enterprises addressing carbon measurement and disclosure. Adjacent to Earth Hero's emissions-tracking domain but targets a fundamentally different (enterprise) customer segment.
• Greenly: Carbon footprint tracking and reduction platform primarily serving SMBs and enterprises. Comparable to Earth Hero in the carbon footprint measurement domain, though Greenly operates at broader scale with a B2B focus rather than individual consumers.
• Watershed: Enterprise carbon accounting and climate disclosure platform. Overlaps with Earth Hero in the climate action measurement space but serves corporate customers with significantly more capital and a wider product portfolio.

Others

• Climatebase: Leading hiring platform for climate organizations and professionals. Ecosystem-adjacent partner of Earth Hero (Core GTM partner), sharing the climate mission but serving the climate workforce market rather than individual climate action.
• Cool Effect: Non-profit carbon offset marketplace that lets individuals and businesses fund verified emissions reduction projects. Ecosystem-adjacent to Earth Hero, sharing the climate action mission but focused on offsets rather than individual behavior tracking.
• Terrapass: Carbon offset retailer offering verified offsets for individuals, businesses, and events. Comparable to Earth Hero in addressing consumer climate concern, though focused on offset purchases rather than behavior-change tracking.
• 350.org: Major global climate advocacy non-profit focused on mobilizing grassroots climate action. Mission-comparable to Earth Hero as a non-profit advancing climate change mitigation and adaptation through public engagement.

Emerging players

• Patch: Carbon credits API and marketplace enabling businesses to embed high-quality carbon offsets into their products. Comparable to Earth Hero in the climate action ecosystem but focuses on API-driven B2B distribution rather than consumer behavior change.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/earth-hero

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Earth Hero