This Startup Has Developed a Modular Plant System to Improve Air Quality
Modular indoor gardens turn city walls into pollution-fighting green spaces
Presented by Urban Greenery (Advertisement)
By 2050, UN projections estimate that 68 percent of the global population will live in cities. With this rapid urbanization, the number of people most severely affected by air pollution and heatwaves is also rising sharply. Concrete and asphalt surfaces absorb heat, creating what is known as the urban heat island effect—a phenomenon that can push temperatures in densely populated areas up to ten degrees higher than in surrounding rural regions. Combined with noise pollution, stress, and other factors, this places an enormous strain on the health of many city dwellers.
Yet there are solutions: Beyond efforts to reduce private vehicle use and adapt urban spaces through innovative architecture, plants also play a crucial role. The reasons are clear: they provide shade, filter pollutants from the air, and cool their surroundings through transpiration, the process by which water evaporates from their leaves. They also improve urban water management through natural regulation—a growing necessity as droughts and heavy rainfall become more frequent. Additionally, more greenery in cities boosts urban biodiversity and even has stress-reducing benefits for mental health. The message is clear: plants are essential for making growing urban populations more resilient to the climate crisis.
Despite their potential, however, plants are often overlooked in urban planning—trees and parks frequently lose out to shops and parking spaces in the competition for limited space. Creative solutions are increasingly shifting greenery to less contested areas: rooftops and facades. Now, a young Bavarian startup aims to tap into another underutilized space—indoor walls. In offices and homes alike, these surfaces often go unused, though "they, too, could be greened to fulfill important functions, especially in cramped urban living spaces," explains Tim Möschel, project manager at Urban Greenery. After all, more than a third of all city residents lack even a balcony, making efficient use of indoor spaces all the more critical.
Unlocking the Potential of Wall Space
Lisa Kraft-Scheiderer, the company's founder and CEO, shares how Urban Greenery came to be: While traveling through many European cities, she noticed how asphalt and gray buildings drastically reduced quality of life, particularly in summer. Her own experience raising children in a tight urban apartment further highlighted the importance of integrating nature into city living. She began exploring solutions to bring more greenery into urban environments—and her idea was simple: make use of unused wall space.
"We wanted to create a sustainable product that is flexible and instantly enhances any wall—helping to build a more beautiful, vibrant, and healthier living environment, even when space is limited."—Lisa Kraft-Scheiderer, Founder and CEO
"After months of development, our ideas culminated in our first patented product: a modular plant system with capillary irrigation for minimal maintenance," explains Möschel. During the process, the team leveraged expertise from a sister company—Kraft-Scheiderer also serves as CEO of a mid-sized injection molding firm, which provided key technical support.
How "THE BOX" Makes Urban Life (Even) Better
Urban Greenery's Modular Plant System Aims to Transform City Living
Urban Greenery is still preparing to enter the market with its modular planting system, but its mission is already clear: "We want to improve life for people in cities," says founder Lisa Kraft-Scheiderer. While indoor greening is hardly a new concept, the young team is determined to do things better—above all, more sustainably than conventional wall greening systems, which often leave a larger environmental footprint in production and installation. The difference starts with the raw materials they use:
"Our base material is what's known as ocean-bound plastic—plastic collected near coastlines before it can wash into the sea. This material is recycled and, in line with the circular economy, repurposed into new products, such as our planting module, THE BOX*."—Lisa Kraft-Scheiderer, Founder and CEO*
The recycled material is then processed at a sister company's production facility in Markt Erlbach, near Nuremberg in Bavaria. To minimize energy consumption—a key factor in a product's ecological footprint—the company has taken direct action: "Wasting valuable space like rooftops would be unreasonable today. That's why, since summer 2023, we've been generating our own electricity with in-house solar panels, powering our production directly," Kraft-Scheiderer explains. This already covers up to 30 percent of their energy needs, with the remainder sourced as certified green electricity from renewable providers.
Healthy Soil for a Healthier Planet
Plants are undeniably good for the climate—but only if their cultivation and care follow sustainable practices. Traditional wall greening often relies on harmful chemicals, while many plants die from insufficient root space and must be replaced, making them unsustainable in the truest sense. What's more, existing solutions tend to be high-maintenance and geared toward commercial clients who hire professional gardening services.
Beyond plant cultivation, the choice of substrate plays a crucial role in sustainability. Yet, as Kraft-Scheiderer notes, "Finding the right growing medium from an ecological standpoint isn't as simple as it seems." The demands are high: substrates must support healthy plant growth and suit vertical applications without harming the climate.
But how can something that helps plants thrive also damage nature? Peat, a common ingredient in potting soils, is harvested by draining peatlands—destroying vital ecosystems and unique habitats for countless species. These wetlands also store vast amounts of carbon, which is released into the atmosphere when drained, further accelerating climate change. Since peatlands regenerate extremely slowly, peat extraction can cause irreversible harm. Many companies are now shifting to peat-free alternatives, but some solutions go further—avoiding environmental damage while retaining peat's benefits for plant care. Urban Greenery, for instance, uses sphagnum moss from paludiculture.
Sphagnum moss is the plant that, over time, decomposes into peat—essentially its precursor. In paludiculture, a form of wetland farming, this material is cultivated and harvested on rewetted peatlands, allowing economic use without ecological destruction. Urban Greenery offers sphagnum moss on a small scale as a growing medium, alongside other peat-free organic soils and mineral granules.
A Greener Home, Made Simple with Urban Greenery
So how can you bring this greenery into your own home? THE BOX planting system can be customized to your needs starting in mid-December via the online store. You can mix and match individual modules to fit your preferences and budget—whether you want a single planter or an entire living wall. Deliveries will begin early next year, making it the perfect way to kick off the new year with a greener home.
