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M A R C H 2 0 2 3 | 45 Green Roofs & Walls The green roof and green wall market continue to flourish in North America by NATALIE BRUCKNER W hile the green roofing sector is not immune to the challenges faced by the rest of the con- struction industry, it has still managed to see a growth of anywhere between five and 15 percent, according to Steven Peck, founder of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. Peck explains that one reason for this growth is increasing awareness around healthy buildings. "We're seeing an increased demand by certain types of buildings – particularly multi-unit housing build- ings such as apartments and condos – as they look to include amenity space. After the lockdowns our need to be closer to nature increased … it's hard- wired in us. For condominium and apartment dwellers, they want to have access to green space in their buildings, on their balconies, and on the roof." Policy and regulations have also helped drive green roof demand, but Peck says there is increasing need for policy to take a holistic approach. "There is currently a silo mentality that is creating a barrier in getting green roofs built. New York, for example, has Local Law 92 and 94 that mandate the instal- lation of sustainable roofing zones on all rooftops undergoing major construction, both for new and existing roofs. It requires a building have either a green roof or solar panels, but they are not equiva- lent. Integrating both would be the best option as solar panels function more efficiently when there's a green roof underneath. It is, however, a step in the right direction." To help drive a better understanding, Peck remains committed to increasing education in all areas of green roofing through podcasts, scientific journals, their own online magazine, and green roof training programs like the pilot that GRHC recently completed with the Roofing Contractors of British Columbia (RCABC) that will be rolled out this year. Peck says 2023 is going to be a time to charge full steam ahead to tackle the crisis facing us. One way to do this has been outlined by Project Drawdown, which created a comprehensive model plan to draw CO2 out of the atmosphere. "One of the 100 mea- sures outlined is achieving a 12 percent coverage of green roofs across the world," says Peck. In doing so, CO2 emissions would be reduced by 0.53–0.99 gigatons. "It's time to go for the gusto. If the roofing industry really got behind green roofs, we could def- initely make that 12 percent." The RCABC has been busy formalizing a new strategic plan for the next three years that includes the possibility of new guarantee initiatives, includ- ing a green roofing quality assurance program. "We are excited about this huge step. Our present quality assurance program for roofs, which oper- ates under the brand RoofStar, is driven by five core commitments: projects must conform to objective standards; they must be constructed by trained, qualified installers; they require financial commit- ments from both suppliers and installers; they must be constructed with materials accepted by us; and they must be independently reviewed during the course of construction. The RoofStar QA program ranks second to none anywhere in North America, and I have not seen its equal anywhere else," says James Klassen, RoofStar technical advisor exam- iner, RCABC. "Any green roof QA program we develop will be founded on the same core commitments of our successful RoofStar QA program for roofing and leverage the green roof training program we are hoping to finalize early in 2023. Our work on green roof training has taken on new dimensions as we contemplate a future as green roofing guarantors," says Klassen. While Klassen believes perception by insurance companies of green roofs as well as educating own- ers on the importance of roof maintenance still remain challenges, he says that moving ahead, third party green roof quality assurance could become an important tool to overcome this and many other challenges. "This would be the case especially for civic governments because without third party quality assurance they often are hard-pressed to demonstrate the benefits of policy-driven manda- tory green roofing." Last year saw a rapid increase in food prices and shortages of food supplies around the world and this is expected to continue. It is no wonder then that Soprema's Sopranature vegetated system continues to pique the interest of many. The system offers a wide variety of social, economic, and environmen- tal benefits to building owners and communities. In addition to replacing mineral surfaces with perme- able and living surfaces within the properties, they compensate for the loss of ecosystem services caused by urban development. One project that truly showcases the benefits of this is the award-winning IGA Organic Rooftop Farm in Saint-Laurent Borough, Montréal, Quebec. This neighbourhood's regulations stipulate new roofs must be either green or reflective (white), and this specific project was required to have 50 per- cent of the building roof area covered with a green roof system. To meet these requirements, a simple extensive sedum roof was designed and the proj- ect was awarded to La Ligne Verte who convinced IGA's owner of the added value of investing in a large-scale urban rooftop farm. The roof was also redesigned to highlight the IGA logo, which is repre- sented in the shape of the green roof. The waterproofing system was initially designed and installed as an inverted single-ply assembly, with the membrane protection needed for a green roof installation. As this project evolved into a roof- top farm, it had to sustain a lot of foot traffic and farming activities, so the inverted roofing assem- bly became even more crucial to protect underlying waterproofing. This assembly and the Sopranature green roof system together, aside from protecting the waterproofing from any physical harm, add an extra layer of insulation, which reduces the store's power consumption. The XPS insulation laid on top of the waterproofing system also adds a very strong physical barrier against shock from farming tools. Kees Govers, technical sales manager at LiveRoof Ontario, says his company is full steam ahead this year and that LiveRoof Ontario has been involved in some very interesting projects of late. One of which is the McDonald Block Reconstruction project for the Ontario government that consists of a set of office buildings in Toronto. "It's a retrofit building from the '60s that is being renovated and modernised. The project is fairly unique in size and scope because it's just shy of 70,000 square feet and relatively low load bearing capacity," explains Govers. The mid-rise building Waterworks was another rather unique green roof project. "We worked closely with the owner and developer and the landscape architect to create the plant mixes for the various green roofs on the building. The green roof on the food hall is a biodiverse green roof that is only four- inches deep, because of load bearing restrictions. There are biodiverse green roofs on levels six and 12, as well as several small green roofs on the north side of the building in full shade, with plants suitable for those locations. The only sedum green roof is on level 14, the upper roof." The newest addition to SickKids is another fasci- nating project that LiveRoof has been involved with. "It has five roof levels, one of which is accessible, and GETTING TO THE ROOT OF IT

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