Green roofs are said to have originated as far back as the Babylon Gardens, where specialist irrigation systems were used to keep the vegetation lush. Other notable historical uses of green roofs are in Scandinavia, where traditional sod or turf roofs were used for insulation and camouflage. The modern day green roof originated in Germany in the 1970s. Serious storm water runoff needed a solution and the modern green roof was born. Now with advances in technology green roofs offer more benefits than ever before and prove to be a great alternative to standard roofing.

The cost of a green roof depends on many factors such as the type of system, size and location. See Insights  “How much does a green roof cost per m2?” for a more in depth answer to this question.

Yes. Green roofs can be designed to fit around solar panels or the panels can fit on top of the roof. This can not only increase the efficiency of the solar panels, but the shade created by the solar panels can increase biodiversity of the underlying green roof. Special care must be taken when selecting plants to be installed in the shaded areas to ensure they grow well in low light conditions.

BREEAM stands for Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method and essentially sets the standard for the best practice in design for large scale developments. It is used to assess the environmental performance of buildings and communities. The addition of a green roof can increase the building’s BREEAM rating by making the building more environmentally friendly. You can learn more about BREEAM and green roofs on our Downloads page.