Other than planting flowers, vegetables and minimalist shrubbery on your rooftop, what can the urban homeowner or stand-alone business building do to achieve a green roof?
The least complex method would be to choose roofing surfaces that are accredited by the Cool Roof Rating Council and Energy Star, a federal program that has saved Americans about $12 billion dollars on utility bills since 2005. Energy Star rates roofs, major appliances, home electronics, and lighting. Since Energy Star first began examining how to reduce bills and energy used in 1998, by assessing how to lower the amount of heat absorbed through a roof, it has discovered that one-sixth of all consumed energy is a result of air conditioning, amounting to roughly $40 billion a year.
The key feature to saving energy is reflectivity. If heat is deflected away from the building and not absorbed, energy costs immediately decrease. For the custom homeowner, finding out which materials can stimulate reflectivity is invaluable. J.E.Futch Custom Homes Inc. is adept at assisting in selecting the best materials and roof colors that promote a healthy environment. For instance, the lighter the tile, the more enduring and heat resistant. As an example, white tile reduces heat gain in your attic, and easily outshine shingle roofs for reflectivity. Using waterproof coatings from naural products or coating masonry with polymers that have zero permeability, will render them 100 percent waterproofed.
An Energy Star roof reduces the amount of heat absorbed by deflecting the rays away form a building. Think hot Florida days… temperatures holding steady in the mid-to high 90s. Then think about an Energy Star roof that can reduce that heat pounding on your roof by as much as 100 degrees. If your roof is less hot, the drain on your air conditioning will be less, possibly saving as much as 10-15 percent during peak daytime periods. Florida homes use R-Value insulation in an attic, but the smart homeowner uses as high an R-Value as possible, eliminating the occurrence of heat loss.
Of course, if you live in the inner city, or are simply looking to set an example of what a real green roof is about, you could plant vegetation and soil over a waterproofed membrane on top of your roofing materials. A root barrier, drainage, and irrigation systems must be considered within your design. Popular in Europe, roof gardens are becoming the trend for celebrities, environmentalists, and advance-thinkers in the United States.
The more cities pave over green areas, destroy trees and natural habitats, the more necessary to recreate that loss in our individual spaces. Green roofs are like sponges, absorbing water that would otherwise run off.  Research shows that three-to-five inches of soil or other growing medium can absorb about 75% of rain (one-half inch or less) and they filter out pollution from the rain.
While having a genuine green roof might encourage your green thumb, filter out pollutants, and make you feel like you are saving the environment one day at a time, keep in mind that at this time, properly creating and maintaining that roof is currently more costly than using green roofing materials that your custom homebuilder can suggest.

Yes, I agree with the reflective roof color options. Yet who wants a white tile roof or metal for that matter.

Here are some options for the urban dweller.

They have plant systems that you can “hang” on the roof; great for shingles.
Picture plastic milk crates about 3-4 inches tall with a plant medium and plants that click together to form grids. Also helps with water run off.

Tile roofs, any color you want. Hang them on a batten system thereby creating an air barrier between the tile and roof deck. Constant air flow under tiles prevent heat from radiating into the attic. Thus lower AC bills. They say it works for heating in the winter too, but I am a little fuzzy on that. Us tile roofers have been doing this for a long time.
You can do the same for slate. Just make sure you roof can handle the weight.

How about Shakes!?, Cedar or Pine, wood has natural insulating value. It’s like hanging pretty insulation on your roof.
Test done by Oak Ridge Labs and University of Texas, Arlington that show a shake roof kept an attic 28 degrees cooler than a shingle roof in the summer. Again the reverse is true for winter.

There you have it, some other options instead of shingles. Plus all of these are environmentally friend on several levels, especially sustainability. In my opinion nothing beats green like a lifetime roof.

Regards, Paul
Olde World Masters Roofing

Nice ideas shared. I would like to tr your services at my workplace !

Oklahoma Court Dockets

I have little idea about green roof..i wanna share with you people..Green roofs last longer than conventional roofs, reduce energy costs with natural insulation.Another thing is about 15% of heat in a building can come through roof, which can be eliminated by having a green roof.

this is a really interesting option. I have recently been researching into a variety of different methods of making my home greener, and although i looked into pv solar panels a ‘green roof’ is not something that immediatly springs to mind. Thanks for this informative post.

Metal roofing has a lot of advantages over asphalt.