Green Roofs on All New Commercial Buildings: New Law in France
The French Parliament recently approved a new law requiring all new commercial buildings to partially have their roofs covered with plants or solar panels. The Government made the law to only require partial roof coverage to make it less of a financial burden for those creating these buildings. This will apply to all new buildings in commercial zones.
Although environmental activists were fighting for complete green coverage, this is a huge step towards more sustainable cities and infrastructure.
The main benefits of having a green roof include the improved air quality, temperature regulation and biodiversity.
Air Quality
Lack of plants in urban areas can contribute to a concentration in polluted air, in addition to human activities and cars. Roofs are normally wasted spaces, making them the ideal space to incorporate plants into a built-up environment, helping to purify the air and absorb polluting particles. Changing one roof to a green roof in a city may have limited impact, however, if green roofs become an accepted part of building practice, like it is in France, the impact on air quality in cities could be huge.
If other countries and cities follow France in this new law to have Green Roofs on buildings, it could have a significant impact on our air quality and our environment.
Temperature Regulation
We went into detail how green roofs help with temperature regulation in a recent blog post, but this is another benefit and great reason to have a green roof on a commercial building in a city.
As our GrufeKit green roof modules retain rainwater, they have a cooling effect, and the plants absorb the sun’s rays keeping the building cooler in the summer months. In the winter the plants also keep the building warmer, preventing snow and ice from building up on the waterproof membrane.
Biodiversity
With the prevalence of concrete, steel and glass in cities, nature is confined to small pockets of green space. Vast areas of roof space are left bare. By adding green roofs and wildflower roofs in cities we can massively increase the habitats available to birds, bees, butterflies, and insects.
Specific plant mixes can be planted to bring local plants back to the environment and other features such as log piles, rocks, bird baths, insect hotels and beehives can be included to boost the ecological impact of the green roof.
Once again, if other countries and cities follow in France’s footsteps by making green roofs mandatory on new commercial buildings, it could have a significant impact on our environment and the habitats available to our animals.
It is a fantastic move that France have made in having a green roof or solar panels on new commercial buildings a legal requirement!
We hope that other countries will follow in their footsteps as it will make a significant impact on our environment!
In the meantime, you can add a GrufeKit green roof to your home or building, which will also see the benefits mentioned above. To find out more about our range and to find out more about all the benefits of a GrufeKit green roof have a look through our website. Or if you would like to speak to one of our knowledgeable team members, you can contact us here.
