Why Businesses Could (And Should) Utilize Green Roofs To Become More Resilient
By Eric Meliton
Green roofs aren’t just for the most progressive, environmentally focused organizations, though early practitioners should be lauded for leading the charge. The stormwater solution also saves money, protects assets, and improves workplaces — all reasons to be broadly implemented.
Flooding is a critical issue facing businesses across North America. This issue will only become more challenging as we continue to experience the long-term effects of climate change. Businesses in urban centers are particularly vulnerable to rising flood costs and resulting infrastructure damage.
Businesses in urban centers are seeing more flooding across North America, having been constructed in floodplains and low-lying areas prone to flooding. Increased precipitation as a consequence of climate change, aging and insufficient infrastructure, and the abundance of impermeable surfaces are all common issues to overcome for businesses in urban centers.
Impermeable areas prevent water from seeping into the ground as it naturally should, forcing it to flow overland into municipal storm sewers with limited capacity. Utilizing green roof systems with additional stormwater detention capacity in conjunction with other onsite green infrastructure systems can effectively restore the hydrological functions of natural areas found on corporate properties and make businesses more resilient.
Unexpected costs and disruptions to business operations are all factors related to a lack of flood resiliency. Not only are businesses prone to damage to existing assets and infrastructure, but they can also experience supply chain disruptions, negative effect on employees’ physical and mental health, and the long-term costs of stormwater charges and fees imposed by local governments.
Many municipal governments in North America have been actively promoting the use of green infrastructure systems on public lands, but there has been a lack of uptake of this notion amongst private landowners and industrial, commercial, and institutional buildings. The lack of understanding in the private sector concerning the risks of urban center flooding, and minimal awareness of green infrastructure as a viable solution, have limited their effective use on corporate properties.
By utilizing green roof systems that are designed to lower flood risk, businesses can then also improve water runoff quality, provide energy savings, increase property values, and earn positive stormwater charge credits. These are all beneficial aspects for industrial, commercial, and institutional building owners to consider.
Echion Group interviewed 45 green infrastructure professionals across North America to understand some of the emerging growth trends for the green roof segment to consider. Insightful discussions with municipal staff, design and engineering firms, and green roof technology solution providers assisted in identifying and validating these four trends.
Utilization Of Holistic Design Capacity For Green Roofs In Urban Centers
Progressive developers and responsive design and engineering firms are seeking effective ways to maximize rooftop capacity, not only for onsite stormwater options but also for holistic use by employees. Holistic access by employees heightens the positive impact of designing green roof capacity to encompass accessibility to green space for businesses located in heavily urbanized areas. The new version of LEED 4.1 (https://www.usgbc.org/leed/v41) expands the scoring parameters to reward businesses that provide access to green spaces, which creates a positive secondary benefit to employee health and wellness. Many national and multinational corporations are attempting to expand their Environmental Social Governance, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives to tackle various social and environmental aspects that can be addressed on their corporate property portfolio. These include green roof designs to improve employees’ access to green spaces to improve corporate health and wellness. By utilizing green roofs in this manner, corporations can also positively improve air quality and flood resiliency as secondary co-benefits of these installations.
Transitioning From Retention-Based To Detention- Based Design Capacity
Innovative green roof technology solution providers have been expanding the capabilities of green roof systems and designs to maximize their capacity. Standard green roof designs provide stormwater retention, which captures rainwater for the plants and evaporates naturally. Emerging detention green roof systems slow the rainwater and also allow it to drain, allowing for a larger volume capacity so it is not limited by natural evaporation. Businesses with limited onsite stormwater runoff capacity may elect to utilize detention green roof designs to effectively satisfy municipal requirements. The demand from businesses for these progressive detention green roof systems will continue to grow to mitigate flood risk due to climate change.
Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) And Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) Consent Decree Implementation
U.S. municipal consent decree agreements with the U.S. EPA allow short-term and long-term implementation of innovative solutions not yet established as standard practice technologies. Heavily urbanized municipalities and those with aging buried infrastructure across the U.S. may encourage businesses to utilize progressive detention-based green roof designs to adhere to municipal consent decree agreements, while exploring their use on existing municipal buildings. CSO and SSO overflow capacity issues happen every year and are intensified with climate-change adaptation and mitigation flood resiliency needs — an aspect yet to be fully utilized by green roof service and technology providers.
Mechanism For Social And Green Bond Investment Options
With the recent trends of major North American pension funds and venture investors to diversify their investment portfolios with sustainable options, enhanced green roof implementation could become a viable infrastructure opportunity for alternative financing. Social impact investment portfolios typically have a modest financial return on investment, but the focus on environmental and social metrics is becoming heightened. These investment portfolios could lead to a long-term financing capacity for businesses to utilize green roof systems, influencing decisions beyond typical return on investment criteria.
About The Author
Eric Meliton is the principal consultant of Echion Group, a business growth advisory specialist in the cleantech and sustainability sector. Eric assists with stakeholder engagement, partnership development, and the pursuit of ESG/SDG/CSR objectives directly with businesses and governments across North America.