How Forest Entrepreneurship Can Drive Climate Impact

In this episode, Christian Lutz shares his journey as a serial entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Trilli, a climate-focused company working on forest-based climate protection projects across Europe. With a background in industrial engineering and decades of experience building software startups, Christian describes how entrepreneurship has been a constant in his life, starting as early as co-founding a snowboard school in the 1980s. Unlike fast-exit startup culture, he explains his preference for building companies over many years, creating real value before eventually attracting buyers. With Trilli, he and his co-founder made a deliberate decision to focus their entrepreneurial experience on addressing climate change and environmental impact.

The conversation explores how Trilli works with forest owners to improve forest management, increase long-term CO₂ storage, and build climate-resilient ecosystems. These projects are converted into audited CO₂ credits that regional companies can purchase to support their net-zero goals, ensuring that investment flows directly back into local forests. Christian also discusses the challenges of operating in the voluntary carbon market, particularly overcoming skepticism caused by past fraud in other regions. Throughout the episode, he reflects on the importance of mentorship, long-term vision, product focus, and customer trust, offering practical advice on building impactful, scalable businesses that balance profitability with meaningful environmental change.