because it'smore expensive to put on a green
roof than a traditional roof. And when
you're re-roofing , it's obviously more
expensive, so because there are many public
benefits, there's a rationale for government
to say, 'OK, don't put that black roof on
when you re-roof the building. Put a green
roof on, and we're going to help you out by
reducing your taxes or providing a direct
financial incentive.' So, NewYorkCity has a
tax incentive, for example, for commercial
buildings, where they can reduce the taxes
payable if they put a green roof on. This
type of investment is a great value
proposition for tax payers. With a modest
incentive of $7 to $10 per square foot, tax
payers are able leverage the private roof
space, they leverage the investment, and end
up with multiple public benefits, where
once there was only heat and ugliness. The
private building owner also wins, with
longer lasting waterproofing , reduced
energy costs and a host of other potential
benefits.
We're working to expand direct policies and
incentives beyond the 30-55 cities we have
on board. Right now, we're trying to expand
those tools through advocacy and
communication and our local market
development symposia, which engage
p o l i c y m a k e r s , d e s i g n e r s a n d
manufacturers. That's probably one of the
top priorities that we have, that our
members would like to see us do–build that
market, grow that market. That's what we're
going to have to do if we're going to get to
that billion square feet by 2022.
BUSINESS WORLD:
If we were to
revisit this conversation in five years, other
than working toward your billion, what do
you hope changes? Where do you see the
organization in five years?
PECK: I think it would be nice to have the
organization grow along with the industry.
During the great recession, we continued to
grow as an organization and we continued
to have conferences and we continued to
advance the market. And, our industry
grew, even during the recession. I'd like to
see green roof policy in over 100 cities. It
would be nice if the senior levels of
government could recognize that green
roofs are a part of infrastructure. And, when
they have an infrastructure investment
August-September 2014
| BusinessWorld | 47
