Green Star Technical Clarification Rulings
Technical Clarifications for Green Star represent our answers to Technical Questions submitted by projects, and provide further guidance and reference to others. The list is regularly updated.
There are two types of Technical Clarifications listed in the table below:
General Clarifications
These are extensions to the guidance provided in the Submission Guidelines. They clarify and sometimes supersede the original Credit Criteria or
Compliance Requirements. General Clarifications set precedent for future project teams to follow. Should a project team wish to apply a general clarification to its project, there is no requirement for further Technical Questions to be submitted. NZGBC Assessors will also use them as precedents to assess submissions.
Project Specific Clarifications
These are published as references for other projects but, unlike General Clarifications, they do not set precedent. They often relate to special
situations where multiple prerequisites exist for a particular project and are less likely to reoccur to another project. Therefore, rulings set for Project Specific Clarifications are often conditional and will likely vary for other projects. Each project still needs to submit its own Technical Questions and provides evidence relating to its own building in order to have a similar ruling approved for that specific building.
Should you wish to apply any Technical Clarification for legacy rating tools to your projects, please submit a Technical Question to the NZGBC to
explain why and how it applies. You can download the Technical Question form here
| Clarification Type | Tool Version | Month Released | Credit Name | Sub-credit Name | Tool Category | Amendment/Approved Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | DABv1 | 1/11/2020 | 19 - Life Cycle Assessment/Impacts | Life Cycle Impacts | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/11/2020 | 29 - Innovation | Improving on benchmarks | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/10/2019 | 2 - Commissioning and Tuning | Innovation | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/6/2021 | 26 - Light Pollution | Light Pollution to Night Sky | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/9/2021 | 22 - Construction and Demolition Waste | Construction and Demolition Waste |
Where the pre vs post Gross Floor Area (GFA) of the project site differs for major refurbishments, the GFA before the refurbishment took place should be used when calculating the maximum allowable waste going to landfill in credit 22 Construction and Demolition waste. |
|
| General | DABv1 | 1/6/2021 | 18 - Potable Water | Sanitary Fixture Efficiency | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/5/2022 | 19 - Life Cycle Assessment/Impacts | Life Cycle Assessment | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/10/2022 | 24 - Sustainable Sites | Conditional Requirement: Ecological Protection and Highly Productive Land |
The Design & As Built NZv1.1 – 24.1 Ecological Protection credit can be used to assess eligibility for projects registered under the Design & As Built NZv1.0 tool. Where DAB v1.0 projects intend to adopt other DAB v1.1 credits for a registered project a TQ should be submitted to the Green Star team for review. If a project intends to use this credit they must make it clear in the Submission Template when they submit their Round 1 documents. |
|
| General | DABv1 | 1/9/2022 | 17 - Sustainable Transport | Walkable Neighbourhood | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/11/2020 | 29 - Innovation | Innovation Challenge |
Can I use a Leesman survey to measure occupant satisfaction? Yes, however a technical question to demonstrate your approach must be submitted to the NZGBC for review and approval. The NZGBC approves in principle the use of a Leesman survey as an alternative method of compliance, on the basis that the survey core question set is expanded to address in detail occupant satisfaction, including the assessment of occupant well-being and interaction with their indoor environment. |