A green roof can make a difference to your carbon footprint
Research by the Michigan State University in East Lansing USA has measured the amount of carbon absorbed by sedum roofs and found that over time, a green roof can lower your carbon footprint.
Kristin Getter and his colleagues carried out the research and found that a sedum roof will absorb up to 375 grams of carbon per square metre over the two years of their study. Carbon is stored in the plants’ leaves and roots and in the growing medium.
Getter has calculated that if a medium sized city with around a million inhabitants – roughly the size of Birmingham, were to switch to green roofs, it would remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as taking 10,000 SUV’s and trucks off the road for a year.