Long-held green roof traditions started in the early industrialization period more than 100 years ago exist in Germany.  In the 1970s, green roof technology was elevated to the next level. Serious storm-water issues made cities think about innovative solutions, preferably with living plants. Modern green roof technology with high performance, lightweight materials were used to grow hardy vegetation even on roofs that can hardly support any additional load. In the 1980s modern green roof technology was common knowledge in Germany while it was practically unknown in any other country in the world. In Stuttgart, with one of the most innovative Department of Parks and Recreation and with the world's oldest horticultural Universities, modern green roof technology was perfected and implemented on a large scale. By the early 2000s, Germany had laws mandating that many metropolitan areas have green roofs.
With the first green roof industry boom in Germany there were quality issues recorded. The FLL formed a committee that is focused on modern green roof technology. FLL stands for Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftsentwicklung Landschaftsbau e.V. (German Landscape Research, Development and Construction Society). The FLL is an independent non-profit organization. It was founded in 1975 by eight professional organizations for "the improvement of environmental conditions through the advancement and dissemination of plant research and its planned applications". The FLL green roof working group is only one of 40 committees which have published a long list of guidelines and labor instructions. Some of these guidelines also available in English including the German FLL-Guideline for the Planning, Execution and Upkeep of Green-Roof Sites. The results of the research and synthesis done by FLL members are constantly updated and promulgated utilizing the same principles which govern the compilation of DIN standards and are published as either guiding principles or labor instructions.
The current Green Roof Guideline was published in 2011.
Today most elements of the German FLL are part of standards and guidelines around the world (FM Global, ASTM, NRCA, SPRI etc.).
Fachvereinigung Bauwerksbegrünung (FBB) was founded in 1990 as the second green roof association after DDV (Deutscher Dachgaertner Verband) in 1985. FBB was founded as an open forum for manufacturers and planners, merchants and operators in 1990. The organization was born from the then-visionary idea of understanding the relationship between nature and constructions not as oppositional, but as an opportunity. Both the green roofing and conventional roofing industries are equally represented.
The FBB has developed to become an innovative lobbying group with a strong market presence, internationally known through its cooperation with other European associations. Today, approximately 100 member companies use the multifaceted services offered by FBB, which offers a greater degree of market expertise and competitiveness. "Kompetenz im Markt".
Today, about  of new green roofs are being constructed each year. According latest studies about  of these are extensive; the last  are roof gardens. The cities with the most green roofs in Germany are Berlin and Stuttgart.  Surveys about the status of regulation are done by the FBB.  Nearly one third of all German cities have regulations to support green-roof and rain-water technology.  Green-roof research institutions are located in several cities as including Hannover, Berlin, Geisenheim and Neubrandenburg.
Germany is the country with the most green roofs in the world as well as the country with the most advanced knowledge in modern green roof technology. Green roofs in Germany are part of the 2 –3 years apprentice educations system of landscaping professionals.