[LUM#17] Green Innovation

[LUM Magazine] - Published on September 9, 2022 in Science and Society

Innovation for the environment starts right at home. In the garden with FlorAtlas, an app that makes gardening easier, or indoors with Transfarmers, which helps reduce waste with its composting flowerpot.

Is gardening easy? “Not really,” replies Emmanuel-Jean Servier. “Overcoming challenges related to plant taxonomy, understanding soil and climate characteristics, and knowing which plants are best suited to them—it’s all incredibly complex.” To “demystify” all of this, the former bioinformatics student at the University of Marseille is turning to digital technology. His idea? FlorAtlas, a company founded in 2020 and incubated at AgroValo Méditerranée, but above all an app 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 quality of the water available for watering in the user’s area, and then suggests suitable plants,” explains the entrepreneur. This selection can be refined using the many filters available. An example? Do you want a tree that bears edible fruit, has red flowers, and is safe for young children? FlorAtlas provides you with a list of all the plants that meet these criteria. “Then the app directs you to growers in your area who sell them, ” adds Manu the gardener.

A gardening tool that also anticipates future changes: “We take weather data into account, which will allow us to use fewer inputs and less water by recommending plants better suited to the future climate, ” explains the digital gardener and manager: “FlorAtlas is committed to an approach that minimizes the environmental impact of digital technology.” The app isn’t available for download yet because Covid has also disrupted the timeline, but Gardening 2.0 is coming soon.

Flower pot – compost bin

And for those without a garden, green innovation finds its place indoors with Transfarmers. A ceramic flower pot that doubles as… a composter. “A worm composter, to be precise. It turns food scraps into compost thanks to the action of compost worms, ” explains Louis Jamin.

Together with his four partners—three of whom are alumniof AgroParisTech—he was looking for “an eco-friendly way to reduce waste at home. But we couldn’t find a product suited for urban dwellers living in apartments.” So they created it. At the same time, in 2019, they founded the company Transfarmers—also incubated at the Institut Agro—which markets the famous flowerpot-compost bin, “which has a real impact on the environment, ” notes Louis Jamin. And the product, made in France by artisanal potters, seems to have found its audience. “We’ve already sold 2,200 units, and demand exceeds our current production capacity, ” says its founder. The next goal for Transfarmers: to develop new products to expand the line and aim for international growth . “We haven’t found anything comparable to our product on the market; there’s definitely a niche to fill.”

Keywords: Environment, Innovation, LUM#17, LUM Magazine, Research, Company