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Green Roofs By Steven Peck and Damon van der Linde A Time for Green Infrastructure Policy G reen roofs and walls are a dy- namic, proven and highly public approach to greening federal buildings. These technologies also provide many additional benefits to the commu- nity as a whole — from green jobs to im- proved air quality and stormwater management. Washington, D.C. continues to be an epicenter of green roof and wall project and policy development, with the federal and D.C. governments exercising progressive leadership. “With more than 100 green roofs in- stalled and more than 75 LEED buildings certified, the District is demonstrating how a model green city should look and perform, and is ensuring a greener, cleaner, more sustainable city, for our resi- dents and wildlife,” said Hamid Karimi, deputy director, District Department of the Environment for the District of Co- lumbia. The D.C. government has two green roof rebate programs: one for any kind of roof under 4,000 square feet that offers $5 per square foot and a per-project max- imum of $20,000; and a second program for roof retrofits on existing buildings over 4,000 square feet, which offers $7 per square foot and does not have a maxi- mum amount. Washington, D.C. is also a hub for na- tional green infrastructure initiatives. On October 5, 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13514 on Federal Lead- ership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance. The Executive Order requires federal agencies to set greenhouse gas reduction targets, increase energy efficiency, reduce fossil fuel con- sumption, conserve water, reduce waste, support sustainable planning, and leverage federal purchasing power to promote en- vironmentally responsible products and technologies. The U.S. General Services Administra- tion (GSA) is starting its own green revo- lution with an integrated green roof strategy, and already has more than one www.landscapeirrigation.com million square feet of green roofs in- stalled. “We are engaged in the most far- reaching set of building improvements since the Great Depression, and every one of the nearly 300 projects is designed to improve not just building performance, but organizational, human performance,” said Kevin Kampschroer, director, Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, U.S. General Services Adminis- tration. In support of this strong demand for both local and federal green roof and wall initiatives, from April 11-12, the 2011 Living Architecture Regional Symposium will be held in Washington, D.C. The Re- gional Symposium will be hosted by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), the North American Green Roofs and Wall industry association, in partnership with D.C. Greenworks, the General Services Administration (GSA), the Landscape Architecture Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Government of the Dis- trict of Columbia. “The District of Columbia is thrilled to co-host the 2011 Living Architecture Regional Symposium for the Mid- Atlantic Region. As the as the nation’s capitol, we strive to lead in the wide- spread adoption of green practices such as green roofs and green walls,” said Karimi. The Regional Symposium will high- light best practices associated with the design, installation, and maintenance of green roofs and walls, and share new re- search and evaluation tools. The event will focus on deriving the maximum eco- nomic performance from these technolo- gies and explore their enormous and largely untapped green job potential. Ex- pert speakers will be combined with a one-day trade show featuring the latest green roof and wall products and services, and a demonstration green roof will be built on the trade show floor. The second day of the Regional Sym- posium will feature training for Green Roof Professional (GRP) accreditation and ongoing professional development. GRP accreditation also provides continu- ing education credits for AIA, ASLA, APA, LEED and RCI. Leading-edge courses will be presented, including Urban Rooftop Food Production, and the launch of the half-day Advanced Maintenance course. An educational seminar in Integrated Site and Water Management will also be offered, with the goal of leveraging additional govern- ment and public awareness by providing technical and economic information on the design and performance of a fully integrated site and building water man- agement system based on the “Net Zero Water” concept. The seminar was developed by committee members from GRHC and the American Society of Irrigation Consultants. Three unique tours of green roofs will showcase the more than 100 roofs cur- rently installed in the Washington, D.C. area. The tours are an opportunity to get an up-close look at some green roofs that are usually closed to the public. For more information about the 2011 Living Architecture Regional Symposium in Washington, D.C., visit http://wdc.green roofs.org. LI Steven Peck is the founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), a membership-based industry association devel- oping the green (vegetative) roof and wall in- dustry in North America. GRHC’s mission is to increase the awareness of the economic, social and environmental benefits of green roofs and green walls, and other forms of living architec- ture through education, advocacy, professional development and celebrations of excellence. Visit www.greenroofs.org for more informa- tion. Damon van der Linde is the communica- tions manager at Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. Landscape and Irrigation 7