Green roof industry up 16%

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) announced in June the results of its 2010 corporate members industry survey.

Despite the severe economic downturn last year, the green roof industry grew by 16.1% in 2009. In the Top 10 cities list, Chicago led the way for the sixth year in a row, with more than 500,000ft² installed, followed by Washington, D.C., at 190,000ft².

“Despite this fantastic progress, opportunities for future annual growth are enormous, with green roofs accounting for an estimated 10 million ft² annually in an overall flat roofing industry, which replaces or builds more than 4 billion ft² in North America annually,” said Steven Peck, founder and president of GRHC.

“Policies in cities such as Chicago, New York, Washington, Portland, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Toronto, to name a few, are making a difference,” said Jeffrey Bruce, chair, GRHC.

Geosynthetic waterproofing and drainage materials are required for proper construction of green roofs. For more information about green roofs and geosynthetics, type green roofs in the search bar at the top of the page.