Health Benefits of a Green Roof

Private Benefits:

• Food production: A green roof can include a garden that can provide food for a business. Food grown this way will be fresher, and the use of fertilizer and pesticide can be controlled. Growing food on your green roof has economic benefits as well. For example, Vancouver's Fairmount Waterfront Hotel used to grow flowers, herbs, and vegetables on its roof and was able to save up to $30,000 per year.
• An accessible green roof can provide a meeting spot or recreational spot for employees, residents, customers etc.
• A green roof is safer and is less likely to be vandalised than a garden at street level, because access can be restricted to employees or residents.

Public Benefits:

• Green roofs improve air quality by absorbing heat from the air and by filtering out airborne particles, reducing smog.
• Not only do green roofs absorb CO₂ from the air and provide oxygen and food, but they also absorb small amounts of NO_x and SO₂.
• Having green roofs in the city will decrease the need for health care because of the reduction of ground-level ozone and particulates.
• Green roofs have other therapeutic benefits. By caring for plants or by being near plants, those who are ill can recover faster.
• By growing food on your green roof, transportation costs and emissions from vehicles can be lowered.