Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2018 - 3

GRP ACCREDITATION GAINING
MORE RECOGNITION AMONG POLICY
MAKERS - NEW ONLINE EXAM
BY TESSA SOLTENDIECK

In 2009, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) launched the Green
Roof Professional (GRP) Accreditation program in an effort to bridge
the knowledge gap in industry training and best practice.

efore this time, no traditional discipline or training contained all
the competencies necessary for success - from building science,
horticulture, irrigation, waterproofing, plant physiology, to
maintenance. Prior to the GRP training program, there were
no best practices to help avoid established common mistakes. Since
2009, over 5,000 professionals have taken training courses and more
than 750 have successfully completed the multi-disciplinary GRP
exam and earned the accredited GRP designation.

The General Service Authority (GSA) has mandated a similar
policy, requiring that one contractor on any given project hold green
roof training as part of landscape solicitation requirements. The GRP
training and accreditation meets that requirement.
The Green Infrastructure Foundation (GIF) recently
launched the Living Architecture Performance Tool (LAPT),
which is a performance criteria and metric for all major types of
living architecture. The program's mission centers on helping

"THE GRP ACCREDITATION EXAM WILL BE AVAILABLE
ONLINE FOR THIS FIRST TIME THIS SPRING..."

- TESSA SOLTENDIECK

GRP Accreditation continues to gain recognition in jurisdictions
as each develops supportive policies and programs to promote green
roof implementation. Policy makers increasingly acknowledge that
GRP Accreditation offers some measure of protection against substandard practices, often the result of inexperience in the field. The
GRP Accreditation, combined with several years of field experience
provides a strong indication that these team members have acquired
the knowledge to successfully execute projects.
In November 2017, the citizens of Denver voted in favor of
a new law requiring the construction of green roofs and/or solar
installations on most new and existing buildings to combat the
urban heat island effect and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As
a result, the Denver Community and Planning Department now
requires professionals working with green roof systems to have
2-years of total field experience. The Department has recognized
the quality of the GRP Training and Accreditation program by
allowing it to count towards one year of the total field experience.
Denver is in the process of fine tuning the technical components
of the new green roof ballot initiative and is looking to ensure
that projects are properly executed.
LIVINGARCHITECTUREMONITOR.COM

projects achieve greater performance benefits. The LAPT recognizes the contribution of GRP Accreditation to overall project
quality by awarding credits to projects utilizing GRP accredited
staff.
While the GRP Accreditation program is well-embedded within
the green infrastructure industry, GRHC is committed to increasing
the accessibility and affordability of the training and designation.
In the Spring of 2018 the GRP Training program will migrate to
the Living Architecture Academy, GRHC's new online education
platform. In addition to the existing course set, GRHC will release a
series of new online training topics, including Advanced Green Roof
Maintenance, Biophilic Design, and Urban Rooftop Agriculture. The
GRP Accreditation exam be available online for the first time this
Spring, ensuring that accreditation is available to trainees unable to
attend in-person examinations thus lowering the cost by more than
half to USD$249.
For more information about training please visit www.greenroofs.
org. Tessa Soltendieck is the Professional Education Coordinator for
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. tsoltendieck@greenroofs.org
LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR / SPRING 2018 / 3

http://www.greenroofs.org http://www.LIVINGARCHITECTUREMONITOR.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2018