Green Roof Benefits and BREEAM^®
Mapping Tool

Explore the research evidence behind green roof benefits and investigate how those benefits relate to BREEAM^® UK categories and issues. This interactive dashboard brings together published evidence, original references and BREEAM mapping in one place, helping built-environment professionals and researchers interrogate the evidence from either direction.

The dashboard is designed as an open and evolving resource that can grow as new evidence emerges and practice develops. Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to use the tool, contribute new evidence and build on the underlying approach. See ‘Use, contribute and build on the tool’ section below for more information.

Who is the tool for?

The dashboard is designed to help architects, sustainability consultants, developers and clients weigh up green roofs when specifying new-build or retrofit projects, and to make the supporting evidence quick to find and use. Researchers are also welcome, both as users of the evidence base and as contributors who can help the tool grow as new findings emerge.

The dashboard connects two views: research evidence on green roof benefits and relevant BREEAM categories and issues. Use either side independently or cross-filter between them to explore the relationship between the evidence base and BREEAM.

Launch the Dashboard

• Explore the evidence: Investigate evidence on green roof benefits across 15 thematic categories.
  
• Filter the research: Filter findings by theme, study type, publication year and location, and view the underlying data, conditions and mechanisms.
• Follow the sources: Access the original references behind the evidence presented in the dashboard.
  
• Explore BREEAM relationships: See how evidence on green roof benefits relates to BREEAM UK New Construction categories and issues, with relationships identified as direct or indirect.
  
• Cross-interrogate the evidence: Start with the research evidence and see which BREEAM categories and issues it relates to, or start with BREEAM and explore the associated green roof evidence.

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HOW TO USE THE DASHBOARD

• Use the filters on the research side to explore evidence by category, study type, publication year or location.
• Review the table of underlying evidence, including the reported data, conditions and mechanisms, and select a row to view the full reference.
• Use the BREEAM side to explore how the filtered benefits relate to BREEAM categories and issues, including direct and indirect relationships.
• Cross-filter between the two sides to interrogate the evidence from either direction.
• Use the ‘UK Highlight’ button to identify green roof benefits with particular relevance to the UK context.

About the evidence

The benefits are drawn from the green roof section of Benefits of Green Buildings (Green Roofs, Green Walls, and Vertical Indoor Greenery), a 2025 compilation of numbers, data and facts from different investigations published by the European Federation of Green Roofs & Walls. The publication brings together evidence from a wide range of international sources across 15 thematic categories.

Within the dashboard, you can filter the evidence by theme, study type, publication year and location to see where the underlying research was carried out. Every original reference is included. A dedicated UK Highlight feature helps users identify evidence with particular relevance to the UK context.

How the BREEAM mapping works

Evidence on green roof benefits is mapped against BREEAM UK New Construction (v6.1), showing where green roofs relate to specific BREEAM categories and issues. The mapping does not extend to individual credit-level assessment.

Relationships are shown as either direct or indirect. A direct relationship means the green roof benefit makes a clear contribution to the intent of the relevant BREEAM issue. An indirect relationship means the benefit supports the broader aim of the issue but would need to sit alongside other measures or project-specific actions.

Important: The mapping is intended as a research and decision-support resource. It does not demonstrate or guarantee BREEAM compliance, certification outcomes or the award of credits. Users should refer to the applicable BREEAM technical manual and project-specific assessment requirements.

About the Green Roof Retrofit Scalability project

The dashboard was developed as an output of the Green Roof Retrofit Scalability project, funded by UCL Innovation & Enterprise through its Knowledge Exchange funding programme (KEI2023-03-05R EPSRC IAA INNET CIDIK).

The wider project explored how green roof retrofit could be scaled more effectively. In its first phase, the project engaged stakeholders from across the green roof value chain to co-explore the barriers and opportunities affecting wider uptake. This work highlighted the challenge of articulating and evidencing the value and benefits of green roofs as a key issue for practice.

The second phase focused on co-developing solutions in response to these findings. The Green Roof Benefits and BREEAM Mapping Tool is one of the key outputs of this phase. By bringing evidence on green roof benefits together with relevant BREEAM categories and issues in one place, the tool helps practitioners explore both the evidence base and its certification relevance, supporting more informed decision-making and wider adoption of green roofs in new-build and retrofit projects.

Academic team: Dr. M. Selçuk Çıdık (Principal Investigator), Blanche Cameron (Co-Investigator), Andrea Gonzales Lazo (Project Assistant), Jie He (Project Assistant), Dr. Kell Jones (Project Advisor), Prof. Zhifu Mi (Project Advisor)

Publication information

Dashboard version: Version 1.0 (September 2026)

Developed by: M. Selçuk Çıdık, Andrea Gonzales Lazo and Blanche Cameron

with contributions from: Anya Blanchfield and Chris Bridgman

Evidence base: Drawn from the green roof section of Benefits of Green Buildings (Green Roofs, Green Walls, and Vertical Indoor Greenery) (2025), published by the European Federation of Green Roofs & Walls.

BREEAM mapping version: BREEAM UK New Construction v6.1

BREEAM is a registered trademark of BRE (the Building Research Establishment Ltd).

License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Suggested citation: Çıdık, M. S., Gonzales Lazo, A., & Cameron, B. (2026). Green Roof Benefits and BREEAM Mapping Tool (Version 1.0). University College London.

Contact: s.cidik@ucl.ac.uk (Dr. M. Selçuk Çıdık)