Green Roofing

Vegetative ("Green") Roofing

Vegetative Roofing or “Green Roofs” are composed of several layers including soil media and vegetation. These roofs are growing in popularity, especially as the concern with global warming has reached all levels of government and business. Many municipalities provide tax benefits for builders that construct or retrofit their buildings with vegetative roofs. These systems offer a variety of benefits:

• They reduce the amount of storm water discharged into municipal sewer systems, thus helping reduce the dangers of flooding.
• The vegetation that is an essential part of these systems helps absorb pollutants, including greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.
• These roofs help reduce the “heat island” effect in urban areas, where the concentration of concrete and other heat-absorbing materials can increase the temperature by several degrees in relation to less built-up areas.
• Vegetative roofs provide increased insulation. Buildings on which these green roofs have been installed invariably experience lower heating and cooling costs.
• These roofs provide increased plant and animal habitat. In many places where such roofs are becoming popular, there has been a notable increase in bird populations.
• Green roofs often provide aesthetic benefits and serve as a major amenity for building occupants as these “roof gardens” gain in prevalence and popularity.