1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Bergen
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Grønt tak IKEA Åsane
Short description of the intervention
The roof of IKEA in Åsane outside Bergen covers 22,000 m2 and has been covered with plants since 2011. (Ref. 1) The green roof promotes biodiversity, cleanses the air from pollutants and acts an important flood prevention measure in the region, as Bergen experiences a lot of rainfall and is expected to receive more as a consequence of climate change over the coming decades. (Ref. 3,5) The roof has attracted a lot of birdlife, including endangered species. (Ref. 2)
Address

Åsamyrane 250
5131 Nyborg
Norway

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Total area
22000.00m²
NBS area
22000.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Building
Website of the intervention
https://www.bergknapp.no/referanser/ikea-%C3%A5sane
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2010
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2011
End date of the intervention
2013
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
This NBS aimed to achieve the following:
- Address expected climate change impacts of increased flooding (Ref. 5)
- Capture CO2 emissions (Ref. 3)
- Dampen the visual impression of the large building using green infrastructure (Ref. 3)
Quantitative targets
Unknown.
Monitoring indicators defined
No monitoring indicators were identified.
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Climate change mitigation
Water management (SDG 6)
Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Reduce the impacts of climate risks events on urban places and communities
Build resilience
Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Implement green walls or roofs to lower indoor temperature and provide insulation
Implement sustainable urban drainage infrastructure (e.g. to make space for water)
Climate change mitigation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Sequester and store carbon
Climate change mitigation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Install vertical or horizontal artificial surfaces that help with carbon storage and cooling
Implementation activities
Creation of 22,000 m2 green sedum roof (Ref. 1,3,5)
Regular maintenance - After the delivery in 2011 the roof faced large problems. During the first winter, a lot of the plants died. Studies were initiated and two plant consultants tried different solutions. After a year of study and comprehensive plant trials on the roof it was concluded that sedum roofs in Bergen require very good drainage and therefore put high demands on the growth substrate.
In the summer of 2013, the roof was re-established with new substrates and new plants and it now appears as a beautiful, thriving green roof. (Ref. 1)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Nature on buildings (external)
Green roofs
Type of Green Roof
Extensive Green Roof: depth 3 - 5 inches; plants: Mosses, Sedums, Succulents, Herbs and few Grasses; Low maintenance and costs
Vegetation Type
Grass
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Air quality regulation
Carbon storage/sequestration
Flood regulation
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Private sector/Corporate/Company
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Non-government actors
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
Local Government: Bergen municipality had certain demands regarding the establishment of a new IKEA warehouse in Åsane, in order for it to be accepted in the proposed area. This included the installation of a green roof on top of the warehouse (Ref. 5).

Private Sector: IKEA has been largely involved with the installation of the roof. The company Bergknapp has been responsible for installing/planting the roof and choosing suitable plant species (sedum). (Ref. 1, 4)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Land owners
Private sector or company
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Private sector or company
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Unknown
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
The City of Bergen had certain demands on the building before its establishment (Ref. 5), including requiring new buildings to blend in with the local environment as much as possible, so that it would not ruin the landscape views from the mountains (Ref. 3)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Mandatory (based on policy)
Intervention is mandatory
Spatial planning guidance
Building regulation
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Please specify other vegetation type
Sedum roof (Ref. 3)
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Corporate investment
Type of fund(s) used
Unknown
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Green densification model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Private for-profit actor (e.g. firm, insurer)
Type of innovation
Technological
Product innovation
Please specify technological innovation
The green (sedum) roof can be considered as a product, provided by the company Bergknapp AS.
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is copied/derived from previous initiative(s) with substantial adaptation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Green roofs is increasingly popular in Norway, although this is the largest of its kind. The plants needs to be adapted to suit the regional climate.
Replicability/Transferability
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
The intervention is not specifically referred to as being transferrable (among the studied sources), however, the City of Bergen wishes to see more green roofs in the future (Ref. 6), and this roof will probably act as an inspiration for future projects and contribute with valuable knowledge on suitable techniques and fauna for the region.
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Water management and blue areas
Increased protection against flooding
Green space and habitat
Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
Increased green space area
Increased protection of threatened species
Description of environmental benefits
Air Pollution:
The 22 000 m2 roof removes air pollutants from the neighbouring highway. (Ref. 2)

Habitats:
The roof provides important habitat for some endangered bird species (lapwings) and also attracts oystercatchers and honeybees. (Ref. 2).

Flood Prevention/ Climate Hazards:
The roof acts as a flood prevention measure, as the plants soak up water and decrease large amounts of runoff. (Ref. 3)

Naturalistic Style of Landscape Design:
Sedum roof provides unobstructed landscape views from the mountains. (Ref. 3)
Economic impacts
Unknown
Please specify other socio-cultural impact
Aesthetic value of natural spaces (Ref. 3)
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Cultural heritage and sense of place
Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
Other
Description of social and cultural benefits
Aesthetic Value/ Protection of Infrastructure:
Sedum roof provides unobstructed landscape views from the mountains. (Ref. 3)
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Creation of green roof (Ref. 1); Area [m2] of green space (Ref. 1)
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Environmental quality
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Water management (SDG 6)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of 25 October 2020
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
No
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
No
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
No
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref. 1 Bergknapp's project description
Ref. 2 Endangered birds seeks refuge on IKEA
Ref. 3 Asks IKEA to build a green roof
Ref. 4 Norway's largest IKEA gets plants on its roof
Ref. 6 Green Strategy
Ref. 7 Video, IKEA Bergen sedumtak
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Ref. 5 Good practice spotlight: Bergen, Norway (1.02 MB) 1.02 MB
List of references
1. Bergknapp AS. (n.d.). IKEA Asane. Available at: https://www.bergknapp.no/referanser/ikea-%C3%A5sane [Accessed: 25 October 2020].
2. NRK(2015). Endangered birds seeks refuge on IKEA./Truede fugler søker tilflukt på Ikea. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/hordaland/truede-fugler-soker-tilflukt-pa-ikea-1.12371086. [Accessed: 25 October 2020].
3. Dagsavisen (2016). Asks IKEA to build a green roof./Ber Ikea bygge grønt tak. Available at: http://www.dagsavisen.no/rogalandsavis/ber-ikea-bygge-gront-tak-1.679565 [Accessed: 25 October 2020].
4. Aftenposten (2011). Norway's largest IKEA gets plants on its roof/Norges største Ikea får planter på taket. Available at: https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/i/n1Rga/norges-stoerste-ikea-faar-planter-paa-taket [Accessed: 25 October 2020].
5. City of Bergen (n.d.). Good practice spotlight: Bergen, Norway. [Document provided].
6. City of Bergen (2016). Green Strategy. Climate and Energy Action plan for Bergen/Grønn strategi. Klima- og Energihandlingsplan for Bergen. Behandlet av Byråd 26. mai. 2016. Available at: https://www.bergen.kommune.no/hvaskjer/tema/gronn-strategi [Accessed: 25 October 2020].
7. Bergknapp AS. (2018). IKEA Bergen sedumtak. Facebook video. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/bergknapp.no/videos/345150092927964/ [Accessed: 25 October 2020].
Comments and notes
Comments
An email has been sent out to several persons relevant for the intervention for further data collection, as no proper steering documents were found for the intervention and data was mainly collected from different news articles.

In general, there was a lack of information and incomplete data, both from the City of Bergen, from IKEA and from the installing company Bergknapp AS.
Additional insights
In addition to the green roof, other measures have been taken to reduce visual impacts of urban development from the mountains, such as the river, embankments and natural stone walls around the building. (Ref. 4)

Section 4/ Finances:
Maintenance: expected that the roof would be almost maintenance-free, only requiring fertilization every two years. (Ref. 4)
Costs: The warehouse manager would not say anything about how much the Ikea roof cost. (Ref. 4)

section 6/ evaluation:
After the delivery in 2011 the roof faced large problems. During the first winter, a lot of the plants died. Studies were initiated and two plant consultants tried different solutions. After a year of study and comprehensive plant trials on the roof it was concluded that sedum roofs in Bergen require very good drainage and therefore put high demands on the growth substrate.
In the summer of 2013, the roof was re-established with new substrates and new plants and it now appears as a beautiful, thriving green roof. (Ref. 1)

section 4/enablers:
Bergen Municipality has a green strategy called "Green Strategy - Climate and energy action plan for Bergen 2016" (Ref. 6) as well as a plan on blue-green infrastructure called 'Green Environment Plan 2012-2020'. However, these were not specifically mentioned to act as enablers for this specific project.

Bergen is involved in the several networks relating to sustainability, e.g.:
1. Energy use: The environmental foundation "Zero" and other major Norwegian cities for zero-emission solutions. Bergen also has a Smart City project in cooperation with the private sector.
2. Climate adaptation: Cooperation with the Environment Directorate, KS (Local Government Organization),
Hordaland County Council, Research Institutions and the interregional project BEGIN.
3. Cooperation with industry & research: Climate Forum: A cooperation between Bergen municipality, Bergen Nutrition Board and Bjerknes Centre. Energy forum: A collaboration between the municipality of Bergen, Hordaland County Municipality, BKK, Business School of Norway and the University of Bergen. (Ref. 6). However, none of these projects were specifically mentioned as enablers for the intervention.

Bergen municipality are cooperating with the University of Bergen in the research project "Space Lab" on climate and energy and society, and are part of the different EU projects: Eurocities (network for major European cities), ICLEI (International Municipal Network) and the Global Climate Network (International Forum for Research, Business and Organizations) (Ref. 3). However none of the research projects where specifically mentioned as an enabler for this intervention.
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/ikea.jpg
Public Images
IKEA Green Roof (2014)
IKEA Green Roof (2014)
Solrun Hitland, retrieved 08/10/2018
IKEA Green Roof (2014)
IKEA Green Roof (2014)
Solrun Hitland, retrieved 08/10/2018
IKEA Green Roof (2017)
IKEA Green Roof (2017)
Photographer: Stian Lavik Stokkenes, retrieved 08/15/2018 from Solrun Hitland
IKEA Bergen
Source: https://www.protan.no/nyheter/levende-arkitektur/