Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), the North American Green Roof Industry Association, is pleased to announce the launch of the new Green Roof Professional (GRP) Accreditation Program on June 5 at the Seventh Annual International Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference in Atlanta.
First to complete the newly launched GRP Accreditation Exam were 130 conference delegates. The test covered the key areas of knowledge expected of a GRP and encompassed five areas of concentration: pre-design; design; contract management; quality assurance and support; and maintenance. GRP accreditation will verify that the designated GRP has attained a level of the interdisciplinary knowledge needed in the design, installation and maintenance of green roof systems. GRP accreditation also provides various continuing education credits.
Steven Peck, president of GRHC, said: “Our recent North American industry survey reports the American green roof industry grew by 35 percent in 2008, and there is growing governmental policy interest in the use of green roof infrastructure to meet various municipal, county, state and federal mandates for storm water management, air quality standards and energy-efficiency standards. We are proud to establish the GRP accreditation that keeps pace with the growing demand for qualified professionals in the sector."
Jeffrey Bruce, owner and managing member of Jeffrey L. Bruce & Co. LLC and incoming chair of the GRHC Board, added: “The growing use of green roofs means that government agency staff, regulators, permit reviewers, contract officers, project managers and others must increase their own education and confidence level with the technology. The GRP will help to protect the green roof industry from inevitable failures while rewarding those who take the time to learn best practices in design, installation and maintenance."
GRP Accreditation exams will be conducted in Fall 2009 in Chicago (Sept. 18), Toronto (Oct. 21), New York and Seattle.
