ABG has joined the Green Roof Organisation (GRO), the independent association representing manufacturers, suppliers and installers of green roof systems and components. The organisation has recently become a ‘not-for-profit’ Trade Association with a newly elected 12 person board taking on the remit to further develop the UK green roofing industry. ABG will be represented on both the GRO Technical Committee and Marketing Committee.
ABG are designers, manufacturers, suppliers and installers of green roof and blue roof systems; including filter and protection geotextiles, growing media, drainage / reservoir layers and attenuation storage voids. A main GRO initiative which ABG will be involved in includes the work to update the current GRO Code to incorporate Blue Roofs and Bio Solar Roofs. The GRO Code provides guidance on installation best practice, training in the industry, and highlights the key design, installation and maintenance considerations for new schemes and relevant standards and minimum performance criteria governing system components. The current edition of the ‘GRO Code’ was published in 2014 and can be downloaded here.
Currently there are no standards for Blue Roofs but ABG is supporting the development of a new CIRIA proposal 3084: ‘Guidance on blue roofs – specification and contractor selection’. In the meantime information on Blue Roofs can be obtained from industry specialists such as ourselves and via the ‘NFRC Technical Guidance Note for the construction and design of Blue Roofs. Roofs and podiums with controlled temporary water attenuation’. A copy can be downloaded here.
In conjunction with Livingroofs.org, GRO initiated this year’s inaugural World Green Roof Day to celebrate and promote the work of the industry which featured a top 10 list of ABG’s best green and blue roof projects, including the recently completed wildflower living roof at Skelton Lake Services.
Green roofs benefits for SuDS, carbon saving and acoustic absorption:
- As well as maximising the green credentials and the biodiversity of the site, the green roof plays an important function in the overall sustainable drainage plan by absorbing rainwater and restricting surface water run-off. A combination of a green roof (surface finish) and a blue roof (attenuation system), is an even more powerful ‘at source’ SuDS process available to a design team.
- The vegetation, growing media and filtration fabrics used within the green roof build-up, can help filter pollution from the air and rainfall, reducing significantly the amount of chemicals and contaminants that reach the surrounding water courses.
- Incorporating a green roof also significantly reduces the carbon emissions from buildings, allowing the heat generated to be drawn into the cooler roof surface and dissipated more gradually to the environment than with traditional roof constructions. In the summer months, this helps to reduce the building’s air conditioning requirements, whilst providing a level of insulation against heat loss in winter.
- Vegetated roofs are also very good at reducing low frequency sounds, insulating up to 40dB.
NFRC Blue Roof Technical Guidance
Find out more the ABG Green Roofs and Blue Roof Systems.