The aim of this paper is to study the influence of different parameters related to the vegetation and substrate of vegetated roofs (VRs) on the thermal and energy performance of a supermarket building. The main studied parameters of the substrate are density, thermal properties and moisture content while the evaluated vegetation parameters are plant height and leaf area index (LAI). This study was performed via thermal and energy simulations of a supermarket located in Santiago of Chile (semiarid climate) using Design Builder. The study concludes that VRs might significantly reduce the cooling energy consumption of a supermarket building and LAI is the main parameter that affects the magnitude of this influence. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.