We spoke to David Armsworth-Maw, the health, safety and environment manager at Mayday Member law firm Allen and Overy about their famous Green roof on their London office.
The roof was installed when their new building was built at 1 Bishops Square in 2006, spans 5247 square metres and is split into 3 terraces across three floors.
Name: David Armsworth-Maw
Organisation : Allen and Overy
Position: Health Safety and Environment Manager
MD: What were the drivers for having a green roof?
DA: We wanted to improve the biodiversity of the area as the area of London that we are situated in is very built up and lacks nerby park areas. We also wanted to create an outdoor garden type of area for staff to have their lunch, hold meetings and we use them for client events.
MD: What is the make- up of the roofs?
DA: The roofs are each constructed separately. The shallow green roof’s edge and base are made of steel, the larger deeper one is made of stone with a liner inside to stop any leaks. The roofs have plants which are water tolerant and don’t need too much extra watering. The main roof has around 580m2 photovoltaic cells generating around 50,000kWh per year. We have extensive lavender plantings on green roofs to add colour, fragrance and ambience.
We don’t grown our own vegetables on the roof but this is under review.
MD: Do you use it to engage with employees?
DA: As mentioned staff use the roof in their lunchtimes, we hold barbeques and staff events in the summer and use it for client meetings. We are conscious that many staff don’t realise how green the roof is or that solar panels are on the main roof. We are holding an environment week at A&O which will coincide with the UN World Water Day on March 22nd and Earth Hour on March 26th to raise awareness around environmental behaviour change and the benefits to the environment of having the roofs.
MD: Do you plan to have any other Allen and Overy green roofs in other offices?
DA: In terms of putting green roofs onto our overseas offices it is definitely something we look into as we expand. However this is not always possible as we don’t always own the buildings and this requires landlord buy-in.
MD: Has the green roof been helpful in attracting or retaining clients?
DA: In terms of winning new business is it not a game changer but it definitely forms part of the package of our green credentials when negotiating with clients.
MD: What is Allen and Overy’s next environmental initiative?
DA: Going forward we would like to increase our rainwater harvesting, start filtering our cooling tower water to reuse it and begin to compost our food waste.
Some helpful tips from David to think of before you “green your roof”.
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