Green Roofs and Walls market Expected to Surge to $7.7 billion by 2017

The rapidly-growing market for green roofs and green walls is expected to surge to $7.7 billion by 201. Installations of green roofs will rise 70% by then, to 204 million square meters. Their rise is expected to be limited somewhat by “costs and lack of validation,” according to Lux Research.

Green roofs and green walls have been shown to be an excellent way to combat environmental problems such as air pollution, the heat-island effect, and the general lack of green spaces in cities. As a result, many cities around the globe have been providing incentives and creating mandates to drive their use, which will create a $7.7 billion global market by 2017, says Lux Research.

This market surge is expected to present “a $2 billion opportunity to suppliers of polymeric materials such as geosynthetic fabrics and waterproof membranes. Green walls will swell to a $680 million market, using $200 million worth of materials such as self-supporting polyurethane foam growth media.”

“The environmental benefits of building-integrated vegetation (BIV) remain hard to monetize, and many wonder if it’s just a green curiosity,” said Aditya Ranade, Lux Research Senior Analyst and the lead author of the report titled. “But with key cities around the world putting incentives in place, a significant market opportunity is emerging.”

The report by Lux Research is titled “Building-Integrated Vegetation: Redefining the Landscape or Chasing a Mirage?” It examines the key drivers and the barriers for growth in this newly emerging market.

One of the primary barriers is ‘value proposition’. Green roofs and green walls have a great many benefits, but their installed cost – “$300/m2 to $500/m2 for green roofs and $900/m2 to $1,100/m2 for green walls” – is much higher than the alternatives.

Adoption so far has been driven by just a handful of cities, all in the ‘developed’ world. Because of this, for growth to continue, it will depend almost entirely on the global economic environment.

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/10/20/green-roofs-and-green-walls-market-expected-to-surge-to-7-7-billion-by-2017/