Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Winter 2010 - (Page 12)

GREEN JOBS TABLE 1 NATIONAL GREEN ROOF POLICY BOOST A 2008 study shows how many jobs could result from an American national green roof policy by percentage of green roof-ready area covered and at what price. For example, a program resulting in one percent coverage of green roofs in America is estimated to create over 190,000 jobs – including manufacturing – for a nearly USD $9.7 billion investment. Coverage of Green-Roof Cost of Initiative(1) Ready Building Area the U.S. 1% 2.5% 5% 7.5% 10% $9,694,674,570 $24,236,686,425 $48,473,372,851 $72,710,059,276 $96,946,745,701 Number of U.S. Jobs Created 190,580 476,450 952,900 1,429,349 1,905,799 authored by the U.S.-based nonprofits, the Alliance for Water Efficiency and America’s Rivers – estimates that covering just one percent of the large buildings in America’s medium to large cities with green roofs would create over 190,000 jobs and provide billions in revenue to suppliers and manufacturers of green-roof related materials (see Table 1, left). America’s Rivers suggests a USD $10 billion investment could create 190,000 jobs by building 48.5 billion-square-feet of green roof area, or just one percent of the country’s roof space in every community over 50,000 in population. To make its projections, America’s Rivers extrapolated from a study done by the metropolitan government in Washington D.C. that estimated there would be 5,895 jobs from a USD $300 million investment in green roofs totaling 15 million square feet in the District. Washington, D.C. officials assumed the costs for building a green roof at USD $20 per square-foot and at least one permanent job would be directly created for every USD $508,906 of investment with additional employment coming from ongoing maintenance and manufacturing and distribution of green roof materials. GRHC RESEARCH Based on its own analysis of 22 recently constructed green roof projects, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and the Green Infrastructure Foundation estimate that for each USD $1 million of green roof project cost, 2.8 fulltime local jobs were created; USD $356,615 for each direct job – without counting the additional employment-impact of ongoing maintenance or the materials that were almost all manufactured near the project or regionally. At the level of a 30 percent credit for green roof projects, GRHC’s Source: Alliance for Water Efficiency and American Rivers, 2008. Costs in USD dollars. (1) Green roof-ready area is defined by the author as “75 percent (the amount of a roof surface typically covered by a green roof) of all roof area on buildings over 10,000-square-feet in American cities with a population greater than 50,000. LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR WINTER 2010 http://www.greeninfrastructurestore.com http://www.greeninfrastructurestore.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Winter 2010

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Winter 2010
Contents
Laying Roots for Green Jobs
Outstanding Student Design
Passing of a Legend
New Federal Stormwater Guidelines From EPA
Partnering Science with Service
On the Roof with...Eden Brukman, Reg. Arch., LEED(R) AP
The Leaf Effect
Who Owns the Green Roof?
Planting the Federal Inventory
Curb Appeal
Maintenance Matters
Professional Development Update
Professional Calendar
Congratulations New GRPS
Welcome New Corporate Members
Green Roof Energy Calculator
Doing No Harm

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Winter 2010