Useful Links

Central Scotland Green Network

The Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) will change the face of Central Scotland, by restoring and transforming the landscape of an area stretching from Ayrshire and Inverclyde in the west, to Fife and the Lothians in the east.

The Scottish Government’s second National Planning Framework identifies the CGSN as a national priority, which will deliver:

“...a step change in environmental quality, woodland cover and recreational opportunities...[and] make Central Scotland a more attractive place to live in, do business and visit; help to absorb CO²; enhance biodiversity; and promote active travel and healthier life styles”.

www.centralscotlandgreennetwork.org

Green Infrastructure Partnership

The Green Infrastructure Partnership (GIP) is a rapidly growing network of people and organisations that support the creation, enhancement and promotion of green infrastructure (GI) in the UK to improve quality of life, health, ecological diversity, resilience to climate change and economic attractiveness.

www.gip-uk.org/

Living Roofs

Living Roofs is an independent organisation promoting green roofs, living roofs and biodiverse roofs in the UK. Since Livingroofs.org was launched in 2004, it has helped move the green roof movement forward. It actively promotes green roofs to such an extent that London now has a distinct green roof policy and other cities and areas in the UK are developing similar approaches to encourage the uptake of green roofs. Livingroofs.org is the UK member of the European Federation of Green Roof Associations.

www.livingroofs.org

Green Roof Organisation

GRO is a partnership of Industry and Stakeholders coming together to develop guidance for specification, design, manufacturing, installation and maintenance of Green Roofs. In February 2011 GRO produced the Green Roof Code for the UK. The code, which was the result of technical cooperation across the UK green roof industry, is intended to be recognised as a code of best practice and guide behaviour relating to green roof design, specification, installation and maintenance.

The GRO code is intended to be recognised as a code of best practice and as such it should be used to guide behaviour relating to green roof design, specification, installation and maintenance. However, there will be special cases where additional considerations will need to be made. GRO recognises that the FLL (Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftsentwicklung Landschaftbau’s (Landscape Research, Development and Construction Society)), Guidelines for the planning, execution and upkeep of green roof sites, is a sound base from which to establish a minimum recommendation for green roof specification, installation and maintenance. It is recommended that all parties using this Code and requiring greater technical detail, should have a copy of the most recent version of the FFL Guidelines to hand, which can be purchased from www.fll.de.

The Green Roof Code: A copy of the code of best practice covering green roof design, specification, installation and maintenance can be downloaded here: www.greenroofcode.co.uk

The Green Roof Centre

Based in Sheffield,  The Green Roof Centre was founded by the University of Sheffield, Groundwork Sheffield and the 4 surrounding local authorities (Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Rotherham). It is the National Centre of Excellence for green roofs.  in the UK, and its primary aim is to promote green roof development and implementation through research, education, demonstration, information and technology transfer. Specific objectives are:

• To be the first point of contact for green roof information
• To build and disseminate best practice
• To support industry through knowledge transfer and information
• To advance knowledge through research based education
• To support Sheffield in its leading role in the green and blue infrastructure agenda

www.thegreenroofcentre.co.uk

The Green Roof Guide

Guidelines on green roofs developed by Groundwork Sheffield as part of an EU Life + project. Guidelines cover green roofs in general, the GRO green roof code, biodiversity guidelines, developers guidelines and also DIY advice. The project was funded by EU Life, Living Roofs, The Green Roof Centre, Homes and Community Agency and Groundwork Sheffield. The guidelines are in sections on the website, and can be download individually, or as a whole. It is recommended that users also have a copy of the GRO code, and the FLL guidelines.

www.greenroofguide.co.uk

TURAS green roof design guidelines

Maximising ecosystem service provision through regional design for biodiversity: These guidelines presents the findings from a project to compare industrial standard green roofs designed for sustainable drainage systems (SuDs) with more biodiverse systems.

The incorporation of green infrastructure into cities can help alleviate some of the impacts associated with loss of biodiversity, though green infrastructure in cities has traditionally been designed with limited consideration for biodiversity or regional context. The European Commission and UK government are now advocating well-planned green infrastructure that provides opportunities to protect and enhance biodiversity.

This report shows the findings from a project in Barking Riverside in London, where a biodiverse green roof system was trialled. It finds that the biodiverse green roof systems performed as well as or superior to the standard systems for water attenuation and thermal insulation and far out-performed the standard systems in terms of supporting a diverse flora. There is no reason that industrial standard green roofs should be rolled out across urban landscapes globally at the expense of more biodiverse systems.

www.turas-cities.eu/uploads/milestone/file/9/Green_roof_design_final.pdf

Green Roof Tree of Knowledge

The Green Roofs Tree of Knowledge (TOK) is a searchable online database on research and policy related to green roof infrastructure, containing links to academic and research papers, reports and presentations on a range of green roof topics. The purpose of the database is to provide a single resource that aggregates existing knowledge on the benefits of green roofs and the policy options available. It is designed to equip green roof advocates with the arguments and evidence needed to get decision-makers to move from talk to policy action on the ground.  The Tree of Knowledge also provides an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to share the results of research and policy development efforts. The database is fully searchable and provides a facility to submit information for inclusion in the database.

www.greenroofs.org/grtok/

Retrofit Scotland

Retrofit Scotland is a collaboration of organisations which has emerged from the 2020 Built Environment Subgroup to provide information on refurbishment projects, best practice, modelling and assessment tools, and finance mechanisms. The main organisations involved in this project include:
  • BRE Scotland                                                
  • Edinburgh Napier University
  • Architecture and Design Scotland
  • Historic Scotland
Retrofit Scotland’s members are actively involved in the research and implementation of retrofit projects throughout Scotland and are committed to the successful development of Scotland’s National Retrofit Programme.
 
 

CIWEM (Chartered Institute for Water and Environmental Management

Working for the public benefit for a clean, green and sustainable world, CIWEM (The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management) is the only independent, chartered professional body and registered charity with an integrated approach to environmental, social and cultural issues.

www.ciwem.org/ 

CIEEM

The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management is the leading professional membership body representing and supporting ecologists and environmental managers in the UK, Ireland and abroad. The Vision is of a society which values the natural environment and recognises the contribution of professional ecologists and environmental managers to its conservation.

Established in 1991 and receiving Royal Charter in 2013, members are drawn from across the employment sectors including local authorities, government agencies, NGOs, environmental consultancy, academia and industry.

www.cieem.net

Ecosystems Knowledge Network Tool Assessor

A wide range of tools for analysing ecosystem services, natural capital and green infrastructure have been developed in recent years in the UK and globally, and more are in development.  Information about these tools and their functions is often hard to access, and it is not always easy to choose which tool to investigate further. The EKN Tool Assessor is focused on tools that help people manage the environment as an asset rather than simply managing it for nature conservation objectives.  It encompasses tools that can be used in the UK.

https://ecosystemsknowledge.net/tool-assessor-list-of-tools