Abstract
Environmental protection becomes a global challenge currently. Green roof is one of the innovative concepts to face this battle. An increase in its use is noticed in urban areas worldwide. But a question arises: what are the environmental consequences of the green roofs’ life cycle? In this paper, the environmental performance of two complete systems of lighter and heavier green roofs implemented in a global south low-income country are analyzed and compared in order to determine the potential impacts of both types of green roof systems. For proposing solutions aiming at reducing environmental loads of green roofs, Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach was used in the present study. For this purpose, the approach consists of the following phases: definition of the objective, life cycle inventory, characterization of impacts, and interpretation of results. LCA calculations were done with the help of OpenLCA software. Results show that, non treated materials and / or imported ones are more environmentally impactful. Hence, it is profitable to reduce the use of cement, gravel, virgin plastics, and soil as well as imported materials whose transport is done by plane. In addition, use of natural fertilizer for amending the growth substrate and water from well for watering the green roof, is also recommended.
Highlights
A green roof is a roof supporting a layer of soil in which grow vegetations
Works of [6] show a mitigating urban heat island by green roofs compared to roofs that are made of metal, asphalt or brick
Material transportation, use/maintenance and disposal phases being considered in the Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA), the results revealed that material manufacturing is the most energy-demand phase for all the studied roofs and the additional environmental impact characterizing the PV-green system in comparison with the PV-gravel one can be balanced on a long-term basis
Summary
A green roof is a roof supporting a layer of soil in which grow vegetations. It is a green solution in urban areas [1]. Existing for centuries before Christ, this concept is used in many countries such as Canada, China, United States of America and some European countries It has evolved and brings a lot of benefits: allowing energy savings for building heating in winter and decreasing the indoor temperature in summer [2, 3], protecting and extending the life of the roof membrane against extreme temperatures and their fluctuations [4]. Green roofs reduce the urban heat island effect as well. The use of green roofs significantly contributes to the retention and purification of rainwater [7,8] It allows a capture of carbon dioxide and an improved air quality. The aforementioned benefits of green roof can contribute to reducing pollution problems in urban areas of Madagascar. It is essential to know the consequences of its implementation and usage
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