Municipalities

Torontos green roof bylaw increases energy efficiency

The largest city in Canada was the first jurisdiction in North America to require green roofs on all new buildings making it a leader in taking action on climate change and energy efficiency. Toronto passed the bylaw to help reduce costs associated with processing storm water runoff, and to gain energy savings from the cooling potential of vegetation cover. It will also help improve air quality from the reduction in carbon dioxide and increased production of ozone.1 A green roof is an extension of an existing roof, and they typically involve a high quality water proofing and root repellant system, a drainage system, filter cloth, and a growing medium that allows vegetation to grow. Additional benefits of green roofs in an urban setting include a) reductions in stormwater runoff that affects quality of local water resources which supply drinking water, are used for swimming, and serve as fish and wildlife habitat; b) reductions in energy consumption; c) reductions in the urban heat island effect and associated cooling costs; d) beautification of the city; e) creation of more natural green spaces; and f) opportunities for local food production.2 In addition, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced; other citywide benefits include the potential for the creation of habitat for birds and invertebrates, in addition to other enhancements to urban biodiversity.3 At the building level, green roofs last up to twice as long as regular roofs. These many benefits have lead to green roofs becoming one of the fastest-growing eco-friendly technologies on the market.4 In Table 1, the percentage of coverage required for gross 5 floor area is outlined. The requirement is graduated upward, depending on the size of the roof. Table 1:
Gross Floor Area * (Size of Building) Coverage of Available Roof Space (Size of Green Roof) 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Torontos Green Roof Bylaw and Eco-Roof Incentive Program are helping Canadas largest city be a leader on energy efficiency and taking action on climate change. Learn more at toronto.ca/livegreen/ecoroofs.

I dont think there is another green building technology that delivers as many benefits as green roofs do, says Steven Peck, founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a Toronto-based industry group that also provides accreditation to green roof professionals. You take the benefits that nature provides and you put them into places they haven't been, like inner cities. As a result of Toronto's bylaw and earlier progress, there are now approximately 135 green roofs in the City of Toronto, providing more than 36,517 square metres of green roof area. Within and around Toronto, these include green roofs on residential, commercial and institutional buildings.6 Toronto City Hall is home to a green rooftop garden and at the time of its opening in May 2010, the new Podium Green Roof was Torontos largest publicly accessible green roof.7 The bylaw applies to all new commercial, residential, institutional and industrial building permit applications with a 2 minimum gross floor area of 2,000m . However, buildings used for manufacturing and warehousing have less strict requirements, and tall slender condo towers, of the type the city is encouraging, do not have to meet green roof requirements.8 As of May 2012, buildings used for manufacturing and warehousing have to install a cool roof on 100% of their rooftop and manage their stormwater.9 Exemptions or variances, if permitted, require payments to the city of $200 per square metre, and the money accumulates in an Eco-Roof Reserve Fund, established to help fund the creation of more green and cool roofs.

2,000 - 4,999 m 5,000-9,999 m 10,000-14,999 m 15,000-19,999 m 20,000 m or greater

* Residential buildings under 6 stories or 20 metres are exempt from being required to have a green roof.

Community Energy Network of Eastern Ontario I Promising Practices I October 2012

Toronto wisely established an incentive program in 2009, called the Eco-Roof Incentive Program, for members of the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors. This program, adopted by City Council in 2009, is a key element of the Citys Climate Change Action Plan, an aggressive environmental framework aimed at reducing Torontos greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. The incentive program provides funding from the Eco-Roof Reserve Fund to individuals interested in voluntarily installing a green roof or a cool roof.10 Eligible green roof projects will receive $50 per square metre up to a maximum of $100,000.11 As of March 2012, the incentive program had awarded $1.32 million in funding which helped create the equivalent of about 33 football fields worth of green or cool roofs (14,000 m of green roofs and 185,000 m of cool roofs).12 The creation of the bylaw was a lengthy process. In 2004, with funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Toronto commissioned a team at Ryerson University to produce a cost-benefit analysis. The study entitled The Environmental Benefits and Costs of Green Roof Technology found that green roofs would benefit the city in the order of $313 million initially, with a further $37 million in annual savings.13 These numbers assume 5,000 hectares of coverage, or 100% of all roofs over 350 m.14 Based on the significant potential benefits to the city, the city held a number of consultations with developers, green roof builders, city staff and others. From these discussions came a discussion paper Making Green Roofs Happen.15 In early 2006, Toronto passed the development of a green roof strategy that provided incentives for the installation of green roof technology. In addition to the Toronto Roundtable on the Environment, Toronto Water was a major driver, providing the funding for the first pilot project. The City of Toronto Act of 2006 enabled city council to pass a bylaw requiring the construction of green roofs. In 2008, the bylaw was drafted, going through several more rounds of consultations. In 2009, the bylaw was passed with only two votes against, cast by current mayor Rob Ford and his deputy, Doug Holyday. More information is available on the City of Torontos green roofs website: http://www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/.

This Promising Practice was brought to you by Ecology Ottawa on behalf of the Community Energy Network of Eastern Ontario Encouraging the uptake of renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives www.community-energy.ca

The Network gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation

References:
Dalglish, B. Up on the roof, green takes root. The Globe and Mail. 23 July 2012. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/propertyreport/up-on-the-roof-green-takes-root/article4435768/. Accessed Oct. 2012. 2 City of Toronto. "Green roof benefits." Website text. http://www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/findings.htm. Accessed Oct. 2012. 3 City of Toronto. Using Green Roofs to enhance Biodiversity in the City of Toronto. April 2010. www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/pdf/greenroofs_biodiversity.pdf. Accessed Oct. 2012. 4 Pope, A. Green roofs promote health, wealth in cities. The Weather Network. 16 Sept. 2011. www.theweathernetwork.com/news/storm_watch_stories3&stormfile=green_ro ofs_promote_health__160911. Accessed Oct. 2012. 5 City of Toronto. Green Roof Bylaw. Website text. http://www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/overview.htm. Accessed Oct. 2012. 6 City of Toronto. "Green roofs around Toronto." Website text. 2012. www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/experience.htm. Accessed Oct. 2012. 7 City of Toronto. City Halls Podium Green Roof. Website text. www.toronto.ca/nps/revitalization/greenpodiumroof/index.htm. Accessed Oct. 2012. 8 Supra note 1. 9 A Cool Roof is a roofing system with high solar reflectivity and thermal emissivity to reduce the urban heat island effect. It may be either a coating applied over an existing roof system or a new single-ply waterproofing membrane. For more general information on cool roofs, visit www.coolroofs.org/HomeandBuildingOwnersInfo.html. 10 Live Green Toronto. Eco-Roof Incentive Program. Website text. www.toronto.ca/livegreen/greenbusiness_greenroofs_eco-roof.htm. Accessed Oct. 2012. 11 Ibid. 12 City of Toronto. Eco-Roof Incentive Program: Progress Report #2. 7 March 2012. http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/pg/bgrd/backgroundfile-46299.pdf. Accessed Oct. 2012. 13 Banting, Dr. D., et al. Report on the Environmental Benefits and Costs of Green Roof Technology for the City of Toronto. 31 October 2005. http://www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/pdf/fullreport103105.pdf. Accessed Oct. 2012. 14 Ibid. pg. 59. 15 City of Toronto. Green Roofs > Making Policy. Website text. http://www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/policy.htm. Accessed Oct. 2012.
1

CONTACT INFORMATION: Jane Welsh, Zoning Bylaw and Environmental Planning Unit, City of Toronto Phone: 416-392-9709 This Promising Practice was brought to you by Email: This jwelsh@toronto.ca Promising Practice was brought to you by

Community Energy Network of Eastern Ontario I Promising Practices I October 2012