Life cycle assessment of vertical greening systems

Reflections Vertical greening systems can provide several environmental benefits in urban areas, mitigating the urban heat island. Effect, fostering biodiversity, and improving building envelope performances, mainly thanks to plants cooling capacity. The different vertical greening systems, green facades and living wall systems, besides aesthetic characteristics, entail different environmental costs. In this scenario, life cycle assessment methodology can be used to demonstrate if and when a system can be defined as environmentally sustainable. The studies conducted in this field show that the environmental benefits, mainly related to the energy savings for air conditioning at the building scale, can balance the environmental burden depending on the system characteristics. Therefore, in some cases vertical greening systems can be a sustainable option to improve the environmental conditions of dense urban areas.