Green innovation

Innovation in the service of the environment also takes place at home. In the garden, with FlorAtlas, an app that makes gardening easier, or indoors, with Transfarmers, a flowerpot composter that reduces waste.

Is gardening easy ? Not so easy," replies Emmanuel-Jean Servier. Overcoming the problems associated with plant nomenclature, knowing the characteristics of soils and climates, and which plants are best adapted to them, is a highly complex business". To "demystify" all this, the former UM bioinformatics student is banking on digital technology. His idea? FlorAtlas, a company created in 2020 and incubated at AgroValo Méditerranée, but above all an application designed to help the general public simplify gardening by providing pre-processed scientific information.

Gardening 2.0

"The app uses geolocation to determine the climate, soil type and water quality to which the user is subjected, and then suggests suitable plants," explains the entrepreneur. A choice that can be refined thanks to the many filters available. An example? Would you like a tree with edible fruit and red flowers that is compatible with the presence of small children? FlorAtlas distills a list of all the plants that meet these criteria. " Then the application directs you to the growers in your area who sell it," adds Manu the gardener.

A gardening facilitator that also anticipates future changes: "We take weather data into account, which will enable us to use fewer inputs and less water by proposing plants that are better adapted to the future climate", explains the responsible digital gardener: "FlorAtlas wishes to commit to an approach that limits the impact of digital technology". The app is not yet available for download, as Covid has also had to meet tight deadlines, but gardening 2.0 is just around the corner.

Flower pot - composter

And for lack of a garden, green innovation finds its place indoors with Transfarmers. A ceramic flowerpot that also happens to be... a composter. "A vermicomposter to be precise. It transforms peelings into compost thanks to the action of compost worms", explains Louis Jamin.

With his 4 partners, 3 of whom wereAgroParis Tech alumni, he was looking for "an eco-friendly way to reduce waste at home. But we couldn't find a tool adapted to the urban public in apartments". So they created one. At the same time, in 2019, they created the Transfarmers company, also incubated at the Institut Agro, which markets the famous flowerpot composter, "which has a real impact on the environment", explains Louis Jamin. And the object, produced in France by artisan ceramists, seems to have found its audience. " It has already sold 2,200 units, and demand exceeds our current production capacity," says its founder. The Transfarmers ' next ambition is to develop new products to expand the range and aim for international expansion. "We haven't found an equivalent to our product on the market, so there's definitely a place for it."