Pictured above: Sheffield's Green Roofs, courtesy of The Green Roof Centre

Over 35 construction professionals from across the East Midlands were given the inside story on some of the most groundbreaking projects in the world when they gathered to exchange knowledge and ideas relating to the practical application of Green Roof Technology at Leicester's Walkers Stadium recently.

Hosted by the Sustainable Construction Innovation Network (iNet), delegates were treated to a presentation by John Whittaker from Hertalan, Europe's leading supplier of Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) products for durable and waterproof solutions. John highlighted projects from across the world, including the Barclays Tower in London, Chicago City Hall and Acros Fukuoka in the Japanese city of Fukuoka, explaining the make-up of a green roof and the industry standards required for this relatively new technology.

Another expert in the field Jeff Sorrill, from The Green Roof Centre in Sheffield, discussed the benefits of green roof technology, outlining the green roof vision for Sheffield which stipulates that all medium to large construction projects must achieve 80% green roof coverage, with Sheffield already boasting 75 green roofs dotted around the city, the highest number outside London.

Founded by the University of Sheffield, The Green Roof Centre's research shows that this technology can provide energy saving, increase biodiversity, improve air quality, reduce noise transfer into and out of buildings and provide an aesthetically pleasing alternative to standard grey roofing.

The presentations sparked a lively debate with delegates throwing questions to both speakers on cost and return on investment (ROI), weight issues and the difference between commonly used Sedum and more bespoke solutions.

Barrie Billinghay, iNet business advisor and seminar host commented: "The event was a great success and both speakers gave sound, professional insights into green roof technology. The East Midlands is lagging behind in its number of green roofs and as a recognised innovative and sustainable region, this is a technology that I hope will be adapted in future construction projects.

Over the past 18 months the Sustainable Construction iNet, which is funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), has helped more than 35 businesses in the East Midlands region with targeted funding support to improve their products, processes or services to become more commercially viable in the construction industry, and more than 150 with specialist advice & guidance. This financial year a further 30 SME's are expected to benefit from iNet Innovation, Advice & Guidance, plus a further 100+ SME's with supplementary assistance. It also aims to run 12 - 15 events throughout 2010 and expects to see upwards of 1500 firms utilising the network. 

In 2011 the iNet moves to its new headquarters in Daventry, a purpose-built business incubation hub.