Green Roofs - GreenSpec

Economic extend roof life attract buyers/tenants may reduce water/sewer charges reduce heating and air conditioning costs use of recycled materials from site reduces costsEducation Green roofs can provide outdoor classrooms in inner city areasThese benefits are discussed in more detail in the chapters on construction, environment and ecology.3. Policy backgroundIn the UK there are currently no public policies that relate directly to green roofs, however policies onurban renewal, construction, open space, nature conservation and drainage do have some relevanceand these are considered in turn as follows:3.1 Urban renaissanceThe Government continues to highlight the need to tackle the many problems facingEngland’s towns and cities: Following the Urban Task Force’s report Towards the UrbanRenaissance (1999) and the 17 th Report of the House of Commons Select Committee onEnvironment, Transport and Regional Affairs (Anon 1999) the Government published itsUrban White Paper (DETR 2000). Although the Urban White Paper promotes the recyclingof brownfield sites and the need to protect the wider countryside from inappropriatedevelopment, it also emphasises the importance of quality urban design and the value of opengreen spaces in cities. It is recognised that a past obsession with zoning for different landuses and a slavish adherence to planning guidelines and standards has led to urban decay andugly low-density, land-hungry suburban development. It has been suggested that futureemphasis in urban redevelopment should be on innovative, sustainable, well-designed, higherdensity, multi-functional schemes. It seems likely that building-integrated habitat, includinggreen roofs, will play an increasingly prominent and useful role in this demanding new policyenvironment.3.2 Building and designEnglish Nature has sought to understand and address the impacts of key economic sectors onthe delivery of nature conservation objectives through its sector analysis programme. EnglishNature’s Construction Sector Analysis (Sisman 2001) identifies the obvious wide ranging andoften significant negative impacts associated with that industry. However it also recognisesthat there are opportunities for the enhancement and creation of new wildlife habitat. Theconstruction industry itself is currently undergoing change. The Deputy Prime Minister’sConstruction Task Force identified a series of key performance indicators for a modernisedconstruction sector (Egan 1998). Part of the follow up to that report was a SustainabilityWorking Group which identified biodiversity as one of its key performance indicators. Theemphasis in these policy documents is on the avoidance of damage to existing sites ofconservation value, especially SSSIs, and the appropriate management of land. However, the15