Membrane roofing often garners accolades for its inherent reflectivity and emissivity. And while those are sustainable traits, some other, equally important, characteristics are often overlooked. After all, the "greenest" roof choice might boast outsized albedo performance, but if the trade-off is decreased longevity, true sustainability suffers. A high-performance roof that needs to be replaced after just 10 or 15 years is, simply put, not a green choice; it fills a landfill prematurely, adds to capital expenditures, and potentially has other hidden costs, given the disruption of tear-off and replacement.

What, then, are the hallmarks of today's sustainable roofing choices?

To be genuinely sustainable, the life-cycle of any product should be considered says Drew Ballensky, a general manager at Duro-Last Roofing.

When it comes to roofing, Ballensky uses the following definition as a guiding principle: Sustainability in roofing involves avoiding or minimizing the impacts of a building on its occupants and the environment, both local and global, from design to construction, through maintenance, rehabilitation and eventual demolition with an emphasis throughout its life cycle on using natural resources efficiently.