The Green Roof Organisation is a not for profit organisation consisting of a collaboration of industry experts working together to improve the awareness and the quality standards of green roofs, blue roofs and biosolar roofs. Under the leadership of an elected board of members, GRO offers technical advice to planners, architects, developers, designers and installers. And is probably best known for developing the GRO Code of Best Practice and the GRO Fire Guidance Document.
The organisation is coordinated by a committee of twelve volunteers consisting of three members from each industry sector – suppliers, contractors, manufacturers and associates.
On 7th March 2023, GRO elected their new board and we’d like to introduce them to you right now.
The New GRO Board
L-R. Mark Harris, Giles Doland and Chris Bridgman pictured at Futurebuild 2023
Chair: Giles Doland: Zinco Green Roof Systems
Secretary: Mark Harris, Radmat
Vice Chair: Chris Bridgman: Bridgman and Bridgman
Manufacturer Members
Chris Roddick: Bauder Flat Roofs
Michael Anaxagorou: Axter
Mark Harris: Radmat
Contractor Members:
Chris Bridgman: Bridgman and Bridgman
James Beattie: Pritchard and Pritchard
Mike Cottage: The Urban Greening Company
Supplier Members:
Giles Doland: Zinco Green Roof Systems
James Hewetson Brown: Wildflower Turf Ltd
Nigel Wraxall: Wraxalls
Associate Members:
Matthew Hoddenott: Olyi
Paul Collins: Nottingham Trent University
Tom Young: STRI
Get To Know Our Committee Members
Giles Doland: Zinco Green Roof Systems
Our new Chairman brings with him a wealth of green roof experience and oodles of enthusiasm for the benefits of urban greening. He has been an active board member for the past three years and is keen to maintain continuity within the organisation as well as introducing new initiatives to keep moving the green, blue and bio-solar industries forward.
Mark Harris: Radmat Building Products
Mark is our retiring chairman and now takes up the role of Secretary for GRO. He’s well known within the green roof industry for his enthusiasm and expertise and to date has worked tirelessly to develop the green roof organisation. Mark’s work in the field of fire regulation for green roofs is incredible and he has certainly been a big influencer within the roofing and green roofing industries.
Don’t be fooled by Mark’s youthful good looks, he started out in the Building Products industry way back in 1990 which makes him very experienced indeed.
Chris Bridgman: Bridgman and Bridgman
We’re proud to have Chris as our Vice Chairman, not least because he is undeniably passionate about sharing the benefits of blue, green and biosolar roofs with as wide an audience as possible. A pioneer of World Green Roof Day, Chris contributes greatly to the Green Roof Organisation in many different capacities.
For WGRD 2023 Chris has arranged for the launch of a children’s book aimed at demonstrating the value of living roofs to youngsters aged between 7 and 10. Click here to learn more about the characters and story within “Journey To The Green Roof”.
Chris Roddick: Bauder Flat Roofs
Bauder, as you may know are a large roofing company based in Ipswich but working throughout the UK. Chris is the Green and Blue Roof Product Manager at Bauder. Prior to his election to the chair, was Secretary for GRO. In terms of experience, Chris has been working with extensive green roofs, biodiverse green roofs and sedum roofs for almost two decades and has seen massive changes within the Industry.
Michael Anaxagorou: Axter Ltd
Also based in Ipswich, Axter Ltd is an innovative designer & manufacturer of roofing systems with deep roots in the world of waterproofing, solar roofs, blue roofs and green roofs. Michael’s role as UK Sales Director comes with extensive specification and commercial sales experience in the UK flat roofing sector, Michael is a very welcome addition to the GRO board.
James Beattie: Pritchard and Pritchard
James Beattie has developed his expertise in landscaping and his plantsmanship into creating amazing green roofs, podium gardens and living walls. He’s a valuable member of our committee with superb organisation skills. Visit the Pritchard and Pritchard website to for inspirational urban greening ideas.
Mike Cottage: The Urban Greening Company
Following a long career in the Construction and Green Roofing Industries, Mike’s experience brings a great deal of value to GRO’s offering. The Urban Greening Company has a broad portfolio of design, build and maintain projects, which includes biosolar, blue and green roofs. We’re proud to have him on our team.
James Hewetson Brown: Wildflower Turf Ltd
James’s work in the wildflower industry has opened up a wealth of possibilities for planners, architects, landscape architects, ecologists and gardeners who want to focus on biodiversity net gain. The Company, Wildflower Turf Ltd produces a number of wildflower products suitable for green roofing and SuDS applications. James’s acquired knowledge is demonstrated in his book, How To Make A Wildflower Meadow, which is well worth a read.
Nigel Wraxall: Wraxalls
Nigel is an expert at advising on, sourcing and supplying crucial green roof materials such as substrates and washed pebbles for edgings and fire breaks.
His expertise in logistics is also much admired by the GRO team. And we’re looking forward to sharing some of Nigel’s knowledge in articles and case studies on our website.
Matthew Hoddenott: Olyi
Matthew brings a different area of expertise to the GRO Board, that of building for health and wellbeing. The benefits of living roofs are of course well documented, and Matthew’s role as a consultant serves to educate business about those benefits and to encourage the adoption of urban greening technology.
One of Matthew’s most notable achievements was assisting with the design of the rooftop garden for Ikea Greenwich.
Paul Collins: Nottingham Trent University
Paul is a lecturer in Planning, Urban Design and Property Development at the School of Architecture, Design and the The Built Environment at Nottingham Trent University. His in depth knowledge of all things planning related is invaluable for shaping strategies within the Green Roof Organisation.
Tom Young: TEP
Tom has managed to cram a lot into his life so far and his insight and enthusiasm continue to grow as he pursues his studies through the Nuffield Farming Scholarship whilst working with The Environment Partnership TEP.
Regular readers of Greenscape Magazine will be familiar with Tom’s informative articles keeping us all up to date with the latest developments in the green roof, blue roof and biosolar roof industries. Tom is a tremendous support to GRO’s marketing team as well as an active and enthusiastic board member.
Get Involved With GRO
Would you like to help shape the green and blue roof industry? Become a member of the Green Roof Organisation and support the GRO board in their efforts to raise awareness and promote high standards within this fast growing sector.
Contact GRO today or speak to any of our board members for more information.