Green Above Protects Bottom Line

An enormous amount of time, money and energy has been poured into developments throughout New Jersey in an effort to make new and existing structures more environmentally friendly. Yet a proven tool that offers a considerable return on investment and a highly visible solution to making a real and lasting impact on reducing energy usage in commercial buildings is often overlooked.

Green roofs, essentially rooftops covered with a layer of lightweight growing material and planted with drought tolerant plantings that sit on top of waterproof barriers of existing roofs, have been embraced throughout Europe for the past 30 years. The market for green roofs continues to grow throughout the world. In Germany, for example, more than 145 million square feet of green roofing has been installed in just the past 10 years. In comparison, New Jersey has millions of square feet of black roof surfaces available for “greening.”

Green roofs have become so popular in Europe in part because of government legislation and financial support. Yet the many benefits of this emerging technology are reason enough to consider the investment.