Ephrata roofing company going green at its headquarters

By K. SCOTT KREIDER Correspondent

For many of us down here on the ground, rooftops are spaces that generally stay out of sight and out of mind.

But as urban areas across the country continue to grow, so do their environmental impacts. And some folks are beginning to look up to realize there is a vast amount of space yet to be utilized for green infrastructure: rooftops.

In Ephrata, GSM Roofing is tapping into the trend, and turning its own roof green with a 7,500-square-foot vegetative roof.

On Friday, Sept. 13, GSM workers finished planting more than 15,000 plants atop the company's newly renovated location at 345 S. Reading Road.

The so-called "green roof" will help insulate the building while also absorbing water, lessening stormwater runoff.

"We believe in environmental responsibility," GSM president Reed Gooding said. "We want to lead by example."

Gooding's family company began its first vegetative roof project five years ago when it covered a 38,000-square-foot roof in vegetation at Millmont Elementary School in Reading. Since then, GSM has been doing three or four vegetative roofs a year, Gooding said.

Reed Gooding and his brother Will Gooding are also founding members of the not-for-profit organization Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing. CEIR developed a rating system called Roofpoint that awards points and certificates for environmental sustainability in roofing, similar to the LEED rating system for energy efficiency.

Roofpoint, Gooding said, has now become a national standard in roofing.

Read the original:
Ephrata roofing company going green at its headquarters