Cool Roofs, Hot Market
White membranes used to be a niche choice for grocery stores in Phoenix. Now every specifier from Miami to Milwaukee asks about solar reflectance, low-odor adhesives, and a tidy Environmental Product Declaration before they sign off on a submittal. We stacked four household roofing names—Siplast, GAF, Soprema, and Carlisle—against those three yardsticks to see who is cooling the planet and who is still warming the bid room.
Why reflectivity drives revenue
Solar reflectance values above 0.70 can knock rooftop temperatures down by 15–20 °C on a July afternoon (Lawrence Berkeley Lab, 2024). Lower surface heat cuts HVAC loads, pushes a building’s Energy Star score higher, and helps owners tick off LEED v5 heat-island credits. Translation for manufacturers: every extra point of reflectance widens your spec funnel.
Reflectivity leaderboard
Carlisle’s Sure-Flex PVC tops the group at 0.86 initial and 0.79 aged reflectance (CRRC, 2024). GAF EverGuard TPO clocks in at 0.79 initial and 0.70 aged (CRRC Directory, 2024). Soprema’s Flagon TPO hovers around 0.80 initial and 0.73 aged (CRRC, 2024), while Siplast’s new Parasolo TPX lands at 0.82 initial and 0.72 aged after three years (Roofing Contractor, 2024). None of the numbers are bad, but if you want to market “coolest roof in class,” Carlisle still wears the crown.
VOC scorecard
Reflectivity sells the sizzle, yet installers care just as much about odors and permit limits. GAF pulled VOCs below 30 g/L with its WB181 water-based adhesive (SCAQMD, 2024). Soprema’s ALSAN RS liqud resin stays under 50 g/L in most colors (Soprema PDS, 2025). Carlisle’s recently reformulated Low-VOC Bonding Adhesive clocks in at roughly 104 g/L (Carlisle TDS, 2024). Siplast continues to lean on solvent blends higher than 200 g/L for many detail areas; a low-VOC rollout is said to be underway but timing is fuzzy. That gap will bite on projects governed by California Title 24 limits or similar local caps.
EPD adoption snapshot
• Carlisle: four product-specific EPDs covering EPDM, TPO, PVC, and KEE HP membranes, published in February 2025 (Carlisle Press Release, 2025). • Soprema: product-specific EPDs for Flagon PVC and Flagon TPO plus a cluster of SBS capsheets (IBU, 2024). • GAF: one product-specific EPD for EverGuard TPO valid until 2029 and a roadmap to “portfolio-wide EPD coverage by 2030” (GAF Sustainability Report, 2022). • Siplast: no public EPD for the Parasolo line yet. Corporate parent Standard Industries has hinted at a 2026 release but nothing formal is registered.
Why does the paper trail matter? Specifiers using EC3 or similar carbon calculators often filter by products that carry an EPD. Show up blank in the database and you may never even see the bid.
Picking your credential play
If your brand is still EPD-less, you have two options: latch onto an industry-wide declaration or sprint toward a product-specific one. Industry-wide docs are cheaper but lock your impact number to the sector average. That makes it hard to brag about a formulation you just greened up. Product-specific EPDs cost more, yet they hard-wire your unique LCA results into every bid package. With rapid data-collection workflows, most teams can capture a full production year of utility and scrap data in four to six weeks instead of four to six months.
Roof coatings are next
A quick heads-up: the same architects who grilled you on membrane reflectance last year are now chasing topcoat data. Silicone and acrylic coatings over aging roofs can crank emittance above 0.90 and push SRI values past 100 (DOE Cool Roof Calc, 2024). Membrane makers that bundle a verified high-SRI coating with an updated EPD will own the retrofit conversation.
Tie-off
Reflectivity wins headlines, VOCs keep crews happy, and a crisp EPD unlocks the spec. Miss any one of the three and you leave money on the table, it’s really that simple.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a product-specific EPD if our membrane already meets Title 24 heat-island rules?
Yes, because Title 24 only checks reflectance and emittance. Project teams pursuing LEED v5, municipal Buy Clean policies, or EC3 comparisons still demand the life-cycle impact numbers that only an EPD provides.
How much annual data is required to draft an EPD for a new membrane line?
Typically twelve months from the first commercial production run. If you only have three months, some program operators allow a provisional declaration, but you must update once the full year is available.
Will a low-VOC adhesive alone satisfy SCAQMD Rule 1168?
Only if every ancillary product (primers, sealants, cleaners) under that rule also meets the grams-per-liter thresholds. Expect inspectors to check cartons onsite.
Can we publish one EPD that covers multiple membrane thicknesses?
Often yes, as long as the thicknesses share the same bill of materials and production line. The declaration will list separate functional unit weights for each thickness.
About the Author
Walker Ryan is a climate-tech entrepreneur focused on driving industrial decarbonization through better data. As the founder and CEO of Parq, he helps manufacturers generate high-quality, third-party–verified carbon disclosures at scale—accelerating a traditionally slow and expensive process. Before starting Parq, Walker led over $200 million in sustainability-focused investments as VP of Strategy & Growth at ReStream Solutions, following earlier experience in investment banking at Deutsche Bank. He brings a rare mix of capital markets expertise and hands-on sustainability knowledge to tackling the infrastructure of industrial emissions.
