June 3-5 conference in Atlanta to focus on green roofs

Extraordinary Policy Maker Sessions at Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities - Atlanta 2009‏
From: Jordan Richie [GRHC] (jrichie@greenroofs.org)
Sent: Tue 5/26/09 8:40 AM
To: jrichie@greenroofs.org
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Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the North American industry association for green roofs, is pleased to bring you some extraordinary, leading edge policy maker sessions at its 7th Annual Conference - Pushing the Envelope - in Atlanta Georgia, June 3-5, 2009. See www.greenroofs.org/atlanta for details. Highlights include:


Wednesday June 3, 2009

9 am - 12 noon Green Infrastructure Workshop - Presented by the Green Infrastructure Foundation.

Learn the basics of green infrastructure and leading edge policies to support it. These include:

· The major elements of green infrastructure.

· Research on the benefits of green infrastructure.

· Policy case studies and how to information.



9 am -12 noon Policy Round Table Session: Exploring Opportunities to Use the New

GRP Designation Discussions topics will include:

I. License Objectives:

1. Industry Credibility for the Consumer
As the greenroof industry expands consumers are looking for assurances about the quality of those working in the green roof business community, a GRP certification is part of establishing industry standards.

2. Confidence/Knowledge for the Reviewers
The growing use of greenroofs to meet various Municipal, County, State and Federal mandates for stormwater management, air quality standards, energy efficiency standards etc means that the Agency Staff, Regulators, Permit Reviewers, Contract Officers, Project Managers and others must increase their own education and confidence level with the technology. Would requiring GRP certification help Agencies tackle this?

3. Organizing Professional Skills
Some in the profession start from the green side, landscaper architects, horticulturalists etc and some start from the roofing side, roofers, water proofers etc or the structural/engineering side. A single GRP certification establishes that everyone in the industry has mastered the same range of material.

4. Promoting Green Jobs
Can the GRP certification be linked to green job corps programs emerging.

The District could be a test case for this idea.

II. Points for Discussion and Questions around the Green Roof Professional (GRP) certification:

1. Discuss how this certification squares with other professional certifications such as LEED and what, if any views and/or endorsements the professional societies like ASLA and ASCE have offered. Have they been involved in the review process? Do their licenses compete or complement the GRP designation?
2. Discuss how municipalities should interpret the Green Roof Professional Certification. What does the certification endorse about those that receive it? Is this equivalent to a general contractor’s license, a design license, etc…
3. What kind of background does an applicant for the Green Roof Professional Certification need? Is it possible to take/pass the GRP exam without the GRHC courses? Are there other study programs available for the exam? How could the District channel graduates of the green jobs program into a GRP certification program?
4. How are other municipalities viewing the GRP certification? Chicago, NYC, Philadelphia, etc.. How are our neighbors in MD and VA looking at the GRP certification and how are our regional partners in the Chesapeake Bay viewing/thinking about the certification. We don’t want to stifle the growing community of practitioners working in the District, is there a danger of a “preferred certification” policy doing this?
5. How does the GRP certification support, or is supported by, the Federal stimulus funding green set asides for the awards from the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF). The GRP certification could play a role in the implementation of the new Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) that requires all Federal Facilities to manage their stormwater runoff on site to pre-development hydrology conditions.

1:00 - 6:00 pm From Sites To Communities - Developing an Evaluation Matrix For Community Scale Benefits of Green Roofs

Science meets public policy as we gather together to understand how to generate better biophysical and socio-economic data from widespread green roofs implementation. Discussion topics to include:

1. How much of the existing research can be used in other communities?
2. What are the unique attributes of a community that require additional studies?
3. What is the best scale, or scales to conduct biophysical/social-economic research on benefits?

Thursday June 4
Track 1 - Policy and Program Development
Learn from policy makers and researchers about their efforts to implement green roofs and other forms of green infrastructure throughout the day.
One Day Passes Available. See www.greenroofs.org/atlanta
We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!
Steven W. Peck
Founder and President
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
406 King St. E, Toronto, Canada, M5A 1L4
www.greenroofs.org
(416) 971 4494 ext. 233