For more than 10 years, the European vinyl roofing manufacturers have been blazing the trail toward a robust post-consumer vinyl roof recycling infrastructure. And now, riding on the notable success of vinyl roof material reclamation pilot projects and the incorporation of new equipment for material processing, their North American counterparts are poised to bring post-consumer vinyl roof recycling into the mainstream.

ENERGY STAR’s Roofing Comparison Calculator is equipped with a user-friendly functionality that anyone on the building team can use with ease. Developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of its mission to accelerate the market penetration of energy-efficient building technologies, the calculator analyzes several key variables, and is a highly recommended exercise when contemplating a change from a black roof system to an ENERGY STAR-rated white one, or determining the savings when considering among alternatives on a new building.

As cool roofing enters a second decade of high visibility and growth, it is a safe bet that most building owners, facility managers and roofing contractors are well aware of the two primary benefits.

Roughly 10 years after emerging as closely related trends, both cool and sustainable roofing have become increasingly popular mainstream selection criteria as they continue to drive change in commercial roofing market dynamics, roof system design, product innovation, selection priorities, building codes, and legislation.