February 26, 2008

Australia lags North America, Europe when it comes to green-roof adoption

Melbourne, Australia

Rooftop gardens in Australia are still considered the domain of inner-city greenies and pinot grigio drinkers.

But now a more sober set wants to grow plants in the sky. Scientists and property developers say green roofs on commercial buildings are good for the environment and good for the soul.

“Green roofs reduce energy through insulation, reduce stormwater run off and benefit individuals and communities,” Green Roofs Australia president Geoff Wilson said in an interview with The Age, the Melbourne-based daily newspaper and Web site.

“But Australia is behind the rest of the world. We have to act soon. Climate change is a fact.”

North American and European buildings have had “green roofs” for at least 20 years, while industry figures suggest 10 per cent of German roofs are greened. Chicago already has more than 214,000 square metres of planted rooftops and “green roofs” are mandatory on new buildings in many Californian cities.

So why doesn’t Australia, with a climate similar to California, promote and embrace green roofs?

Wilson says it is due to the country’s benign political and urban cultures. “Our politics haven’t been as green as the Germans and our commercial instincts are not quite the same as the Americans. <0x2026> The Americans are really desperate in some of their worst cities to do better than they’ve done.”

In central Melbourne there are only two notable green roofs: the garden for residents at the ritzy Freshwater Place apartments in Southbank and the uber-sophisticated, drought-resistant garden on top of the City of Melbourne’s CH2 building in Little Collins Street.

Freshwater Place developer Australand says the rooftop garden has “significantly enhanced” the building’s value.

The City of Melbourne recently announced that council workers had increased their productivity by 10.9 per cent in their first year at CH2 — partly because they had a green space in which to relax.

But Melbourne is behind other Australian cities in encouraging green roofs. Brisbane City Council has incorporated green roofs in its climate change plan and Lord Mayor David Hinchliffe is encouraging developers to incorporate green roofs. The head designer of Planning South Australia has been pushing for a massive green roof project and Sydney City Council last year made a $48,000 grant to develop guidelines and planning controls for green roofs.

The City of Melbourne has agreed to host a lecture by German expert Manfred Koehler on March 6 but is yet to commit to any green roof schemes.

The Green Building Council is also noncommittal. Victorian executive director David Craven said that, while green roofs are under-used at present, the council is unlikely to develop a specific green-roof credit for its Green Star rating system.

Queensland valuer John Stephens, a green roof valuation consultant, says more local research is needed into the cost benefits of green roofs.

“We’ve reached a new era in valuation where these things are going to become very, very important.

“The challenge for valuers in Australia is to build up a file in ‘comparable sales’ that shows that buildings with green roofs require less roof maintenance, and have greatly reduced operational costs.”

The Australian Property Institute is currently working at incorporating green roofs into its guidelines for valuing building.

DCN News Services

Print | Email | Comment