Should a project target a design review rating using the new Design and As Built tool, please review and follow the Guidance on Submitting for Design Review. Please note that while the Design Review process is a valuable tool to ensure the project is on track for achieving certification, it does not guarantee an As Built rating. The As Built submission assesses what has been completed and delivered on site, not the commitments. Built streamlining can be offered to projects that have been certified with design review ratings. But a list of eligible credits should be approved through a Technical Question submission to the NZGBC. Guidance for built streamlining is provided in a separate Technical Question ruling.

For projects in New Zealand that are eligible for Green Star – Design & As-Built and Interiors ratings, a comparison between the Australian NCC Building Classifications and the New Zealand Building Code Clause A1 Classified uses is summarised below to help on the determination of projects’ eligibility. * Homestar is the preferred pathway

'For Construction' drawings may be submitted in the As Built submission. The NZGBC requires evidence that the drawings supplied are as constructed, whether they have an ‘As Built’ stamp or not. 'For Construction' drawings are acceptable provided they are accompanied by formal confirmation from the head contractor or other relevant professional(s) that the 'For Construction' drawings depict the site as-built conditions.

The NZGBC is releasing the following guidance on how fan energy should be applied to your energy model:
- Fans delivering heating/cooling use the W/m² with m2 the conditioned space area, not total area.
- Supplementary ventilation fans refer to fans which serve spaces outside of the conditioned space and use the W/l/s (based on the sum of all flow rates)

Where blinds are used to meet compliance requirements, for Cold Shell spaces they are required to be wholly or partly contributed by the base building owner as part of the leasing agreements.

Where the credit refers to “Schematic Design”, this should read “Preliminary Design” which is the term more commonly used in New Zealand. It is noted that legacy rating tools require “Concept Design” as the required start point to engage with a Green Star Accredited Professional. With this clarification issued, a Green Star Accredited Professional will need to be engaged at the preliminary design stage. This change has been discussed and identified acceptable as it still fulfils the aim of the credit. However, the NZGBC still encourages project teams to involve Green Star Accredited Professionals as early as possible, ideally from the concept design stage, to eliminate risks in pursuing a Green Star rating.

To demonstrate compliance with the credit criteria for the Light Pollution to Neighbouring Bodies and/or Light Pollution to Night Sky, projects using a time clock methodology must ensure that all the relevant building lights are commissioned to ensure that the lights are operating as designed. Evidence of commissioning must be submitted as part of the Green Star assessment. 

For the purposes of the credit criteria Building Commissioning, all building lights, including those installed with a time clock, fall within the definition of 'nominated building systems'. 

Project teams can claim EPDs for the cement that goes into the concrete for the credit of Sustainable Products in Design & As Built and MAT-7 criteria A in v3, if the concrete used cannot be recognised under these credits. For Design & As Built projects, the cost of cement should be entered into the material calculator rather than the cost of concrete. For v3 projects, project teams could choose industry wide EPDs in the material calculator as the means of compliance for the concrete when the cement EPDs are provided. Note project teams cannot claim EPDs of the cement, where the cement had been used on a concrete which also has an EPD and they are claiming the concrete too. Counting EPDs for both the cement and concrete in the assessment is considered double dipping.

If the project team chooses not to include one of the systems listed in the Submission Guidelines, justification is to be provided why it has been excluded. The building envelope/façade does not need to be considered as part of the nominated building systems unless it includes an active component such as automated windows.

What types of poured concrete can be included in calculating the cost for the Life Cycle Impacts - Concrete pathway?

This credit is intended to incentivise better practices in concrete application generally and as such should include all poured concrete types including precast, cast in situ or prestressed. The cost should also include low or non-structural concrete uses such as for pavement (where pavement is poured, as distinct from concrete pavers), footpaths, blinding, kerbs, channels and drains.
For a concrete use to qualify for inclusion in the cost it must meet the other requirements outlined in the submission guidelines, which are as follows:

• The concrete has to be new 
• It cannot be concrete masonry (filled or not)
• It cannot be recycled 

Shower benchmarks for hotel developments in the Potable Water credit have recently undergone internal and external review. The current benchmark for showers is set at 3 Star WELS (9l/m).

At the conclusion of the review, for hotel developments only, the shower benchmarks are changed from 3 Star WELS to 2 Star WELS (12l/m). 

All other benchmarks in the calculator remain unchanged, as does the methodology for populating the calculator. The amended calculator reflecting the changes can be provided by the NZGBC upon request via a free technical question.

This change will be updated in future versions of the Green Star rating tools.

Nominated areas within a conditioned space can be considered naturally ventilated if the mechanical equipment does not draw air from the atmosphere but instead from the nominated area/room to condition temperature. This definition can be applied for the purpose of the Natural Ventilation pathway, in the Provision of Outdoor Air criterion (9.2C in Green Star – Design & As Built and 8.2C in Green Star – Interiors). This includes units such as split systems or variable refrigerant volume (VRV) systems where air is conditioned via recirculation rather than through a supply of outdoor air. 

Nominated areas where air is only supplied via passive means (such as windows) that include equipment mentioned above are classified as ‘naturally ventilated’.

Nominated areas which have both passive ventilation and mechanical equipment with the provision to supply outdoor air are defined as ‘Mixed-Mode Ventilation.’ This includes contiguous spaces separated by doors and/or windows.

Nominated areas within a project with different modes of ventilation that have distinct spatial boundaries are not considered mixed mode and can demonstrate compliance separately.

All compliance requirements remain as per the submission guidelines. 

Provided the Jellyfish Filter is sized to meet the calculated flow rates based on the manufacturers specifications and the configuration required, the treatment device will meet the 90% FREE OIL removal rate (Table 25.2, Column A) based on the construction of the device and the documentation provided.

Rainfall data is available here.

Users (once subscribed) can choose a weather station and then the relevant data set. 

It is acceptable to choose the last 10 years of data to get daily rainfall data for each of the last 10 years, and then to average each day over a ten-year period in order to have a data set that is the average rainfall for each calendar day for the last 10 years.

Standing losses factor (fstanding) and distribution losses factor (fdistribution) of Domestic Hot Water (DHW) systems, as mentioned in the Green Star Energy Consumption and Green House Gas Emissions Calculation Guide, should be determined based on the DWH system design (system type, storage volumes, distribution lengths, design temperatures, level of insulation etc.)  and engineering judgement. 

Manufacturers may have the expected standing losses available. Alternatively, for straightforward typical systems, the following resources may provide a suitable reference:

• AS/NZS 4692.1:2005 Electric water heaters – Energy consumption, performance and general requirements

• AS/NZS 4692.2:2005 Electric water heaters Minimum Energy Performance Standard (MEPS) requirements and energy labelling

• Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Regulator Database

The Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE) metric may be used by project teams to assess glare risks for skylights under this credit. Spaces that receive 1000 Lux for greater than 250 hours during the year ASE (1000,250) are considered at risk of glare.

Any regularly occupied spaces with ASE (1000,250) greater than 10%, must identify how the space is designed to address glare.

All regularly occupied spaces with ASE (1000,250) less than 10% are considered compliant under Green Star credit 12.1 and do not require any additional glare mitigation.

Project teams are expected to provide glare plots documentation within the submission with some commentary on how the space is designed in response to the results.  

Is DW172:2017 an acceptable alternative solution for projects that use bespoke design of kitchen hoods?

Yes. For commercial cooking processes and equipment, kitchen extracts, hoods designed in accordance with (UK) DW172:2017 are considered an acceptable alternative solution to NZBC/G4 and as such are compliant against the NZGBC Credit criteria.

For the purposes of credit criterion 8.3A - 'Removing the Source of Pollutants' in Green Star - Interiors and 9.3A 'Removing the Source of Pollutants' in Green Star - Design & As-Built, where printing and/or photocopying equipment are present within the building, the Blue Angel certificate issued in accordance with one of the following test standards can be used to demonstrate compliance with the credit criterion:

• ECMA-328
• DE-UZ 219

The standard UL 2819 is recognised in Design & As Built NZv1.1 as a Greenguard certificate and should be issued in accordance with the test standard.   

Compliant test standards RAL-UZ 171 and GGPS.003. in Design & As Built NZv1.0 are still acceptable. 

Note: Testing of Emissions in Clause 5.6 of EC-24 requires testing in accordance with RAL-UZ-171 or RAL-UZ-205 and so ECNZ certification also meets the requirements of Credit 9.3 of the Design & As Built NZv1.0 tool.

Digital Infrastructure can no longer be claimed as an Innovation under credit 29.5 Global Sustainability in the Design & As Built NZv1.0 and v1.1 tool. Digital Infrastructure initiatives that are limited to the boundary and immediate area outside of commercial buildings is deemed as standard industry practice and therefore is no longer Innovative.  

Projects may use UWLR (Upward Waste Light Ratio) instead of (ULOR) Upward Light Output Ratio when targeting Light Pollution. An external luminaire with a UWLR not exceeding 5% may be used to demonstrate evidence as required by the requirements in Light Pollution - Light Pollution to Night Sky.

The NZGBC is aware that doors can unproportionally impact the outcome of the cost calculation for credit 20.2 Timber on some project types due to their high cost.  

Rather than use the whole cost of the doors in the calculation, the project team may determine the cost of the timber and machining and use that within the calculation.  For example, where the cost of the timber and machining makes up 30% of the total cost of the doors ($10,000) a cost of $3,000 can be used in the calculation.  Where project teams are including labour costs within their calculation the same percentage can be applied to the labour proportion.  Using the same example, if the cost of labour is $5,000 then the labour cost would be $1,500 (30% of the total) and the total cost used in the calculation would be $4,500 where labour costs are included.

If the project team wishes to use the same approach for other composite building components, a TQ should be raised.

The sound insulation between internal spaces complies with: Dw + LAeqT > X.

X = 75 except for:

                X = 60 for any partition with a door

                X = 80 for walls / partitions separating areas with elevated privacy requirements (e.g. meeting rooms, classrooms, wards, etc.)

A Technical Question may be submitted to confirm areas with elevated privacy requirements.

This new clarification on crushed concrete is related to the TQ issued on 8/22 which states: "Crushed concrete from a previous building on the same site directly reused (without being taken out from the site) for hardfill or backfill may claim points under credit 22 Construction and Demolition Waste, credit 19 Life Cycle Impacts and credit 21 Sustainable Products simultaneously, but not under the innovation category. Note that the project team should ensure the quality of the crushed concrete is suitably consistent as being reused for hardfill or backfill."

Any project using the TQ above is given the following additional guidance:

Credit 21: The estimated weight or volume shall be converted to $ using backfill rates and entered as Re-used (SF 1.0) under Credit 21A using the guidance for this credit in DAB v1.1. “The cost of reused products/materials shall be entered as the replacement cost for a new product/material with the same characteristics”.

For a Design Review submission, an external peer review is optional for the LCA conducted, noting that the LCA must be externally peer reviewed at the As Built stage. 

Any changes/mistakes that are corrected at the As Built stage must be highlighted by the peer reviewer, to give the Certified Assessor greater understanding of the differences between the LCA submission for the Design Review and As Built stages.

It is to be noted that outcome of the Design Review stages will not necessarily reflect the outcome at As Built for the LCA credit. Deferring the Peer Review to the As Built stage is acknowledged to be of greater risk to the project's final results.

The submission is to include any relevant extracts from the specification that demonstrate that an External Peer Review is to be completed at As Built.  

For criterion 12.2 Glare Reduction, the nominated area is primary and secondary spaces; for criteria 12.2 Daylight and 12.3 Views, the nominated area is all primary spaces.

Please see the ‘List of areas’ section of the Submission Guidelines for space type definitions.

Projects can target the 19B Life Cycle Impacts Prescriptive Pathway under Green Star - Design & As Built and claim up to 7 points instead of 5 points by following this alternative pathway:

Life Cycle Impacts Prescriptive Pathway

19B.3.1 Building Reuse - Façade:

• 3 points are available where at least 90% (by area) of the existing building façade is retained

19B.3.2 Building Reuse - Structure:

• 3 points are available where at least 90% (by mass) of the existing major structure is retained

Additional Point:

Where 6 points are achieved via the above pathways, one additional point from any other 19B Life Cycle Impacts pathway may be targeted.

Documentation Requirements:

Please provide the following in your submission:

• Evidence to support the achievement of the alternative pathway
• All other documentation as per the submission guidelines
• A copy of this FAQ.

When there is are two adjacent Tertiary spaces, this criterion doesn’t apply to the wall between these spaces as tertiary spaces are not noise sensitive and do not have privacy concerns.

When a tertiary space is adjacent to either a Primary space or a Secondary space, the sound insulation requirement applies.

The intent of the criterion 'Localised Lighting Control' in Green Star - Design & As-Built is to provide occupants with the ability to control the lighting in their immediate environment. In an open plan/ activity-based working environment, for example, an office setting or educational facilities i.e. libraries, project teams may demonstrate compliance by providing different lighting zones across 95% of the nominated area. 

It is noted that the lighting zones should be designed to suit different tasks, for example: 

• Some areas may have soft lighting, such as areas with daylight during the nominated hours. 
• Some areas may have a high degree of lighting control, including turning the lights on and off and adjusting their light levels and; 
• Other areas where light is shone directly on the workstation. Where compliance is being demonstrated through varied lighting zones, project teams must demonstrate how all the regular occupants in the project have access to all the spaces provided. The localized lighting strategy should be complemented with a communication strategy, outlining how individual lighting control may be achieved by occupants by occupying different lighting zones. The project team may choose to use the tenant fit out guide to communicating this message. Where projects are delivered with cold shell spaces or where the scope of the rating is base building, project teams can demonstrate compliance by installing a DALI system within the base building which can be utilised by the tenant to deliver localised lighting control.

Exceeding Green Star Benchmarks – Mattresses.  The Emission criteria for bedding listed in the table for Total VOC Emission limits reads 0.22mg/m, this should instead read 0.22mg/m3. In addition, Green Star recognises that the GECA standard ‘Furniture, Fittings, Foam & Mattresses Level A’ aligns with the stated limits for the Mattress Innovation credit. 

Unlike Australia, the New Zealand WELS scheme does not issue WELS certificates nor provide a registry of fittings. Instead, the only compulsory part of the NZ scheme is that suppliers of fittings must provide a WELS label at point of sale. Some NZ fittings do, however, carry certificates because they are sold in the Australian market.

For the above reason we will accept supplier/manufacturer literature or packaging/photos of packaging showing the WELS rating label. It is not necessary to provide a certificate.

The Green Star Team has seen an increasing number of poor submissions resulting in increased assessor time and longer turn-around times for projects.

Credits will only be reviewed by Assessors where the project team submits the following as per the Submission requirements checklist:

• Evidence referenced accurately - Highlighted and marked up documents with direct answers demonstrating compliance with the credit criteria.
• Consistency – The submission makes sense as a whole, i.e. occupancy numbers and area of the building are consistent across the whole submission. 
• Explain clearly in the Submission Template how the project is meeting the intent of the credit – use discussion boxes at Round 1 and Round 2.
• Specific – Evidence should be project-specific, or where generic they should contain a reference to how the project will address the Submission Guidelines.
• Reports and specification – After the cover page and contents page, only include the relevant pages of reports and specifications. I.E., do not include the entire XYZ document; only include the relevant pages for the credit.

If Assessors find the above inconsistencies during review, the credit will not be reviewed and will result in Not Awarded points. At the Post Round One (or Two) Comments, the project will not be able to instruct the Assessor where the information was provided if the above protocol was not followed.

Here are some extra guidelines for better Green Star documentation:

• Even though credit templates may allow hyperlinks to be included, we encourage you to NOT use any hyperlinks in the submission as they sometimes break after the submission is shared between GSAPs, NZGBC, and Assessors, and they may also incur issues on cybersecurity if they are linked to a cloud server. 
• We encourage you to provide all the evidence in PDFs (except calculators), and each credit should stand on its own with the associated documents. Previous assessments have shown the disadvantage of cross-referencing documents in submissions.

We encourage GSAP’s to follow the best practice Green Star Submissions document, and watch the “How to prepare a good Green Star submission” video, both of which are available on our website. You can also find an exemplar on how to reference supporting documentation in our Submission Guidelines.

For commercial washing machines and dishwashers, manufacturers data shall be submitted instead of a WELS rating. Note that other commercial kitchen equipment that use taps (i.e. Kitchen sinks) shall demonstrate compliance via on site flow testing if a WELS rating is not available.

The C and D Waste Reporting Criteria requires Waste Contractors to provide weigh bridge receipts as part of the audit to receive the Compliance Verification Summary. The C and D Waste Reporting Criteria does not require Reprocessing Facilities to be audited or to have a weigh bridge (please see the C and D Waste Reporting Criteria definition section for further clarification of these terms). Waste contractors transporting C and D waste to reprocessing facilities which do not have weigh bridges can provide alternative methods proving the load from the construction site goes directly to the reprocessing facility. One way of proving this can be a GPS track of the waste contractor vehicle from the construction site to the reprocessing facility, such as E Road. A Waste Contractor taking material to a Waste Processing Facility will require weigh bridge receipts as per the C and D Reporting Criteria.

The DAB v1.1 LCA Calculator Guide presents 2 options to demonstrate LCA report quality assurance.

The LCA study and LCA report must comply with quality assurance requirements by meeting one of the following two options:

• Option A: The report is produced by an LCA Certified Practitioner, subject to organisational quality assurance, which has been certified in accordance with ISO 9001.

• Option B: The report is produced by an Experienced Individual and is peer reviewed by an LCA Certified Practitioner.

These options are also acceptable for DABv1.0 projects, meaning a report prepared by a Certified Practitioner does not require a “small fitouts”.

Vision glazing that has been installed to provide sight-lines for clinical staff to observe patients may be excluded from the credit minimum requirements. This is due to the clinical health and safety needs, as well as the model of care being provided to patients.

Can project teams use alternative metrics to demonstrate compliance with flicker free LED lighting?

Yes. Project teams may use the following metrics for both analogue and digital forms of dimmable and non-dimmable LED lighting to demonstrate that LED fittings within the project are flicker-free. 

Acceptable flicker metrics:

• Short Term Light Modulation (PstLM) <= 1.0
• Stroboscopic Visibility Measure (SVM) <= 0.4

These metrics have been deemed appropriate at this time for residential and commercial office projects, with the understanding that ongoing research into acceptability levels may result in a more stringent limit being recommended in the future.

Documentation Requirements:

Please provide the following in your submission:

• Evidence demonstrating the above metrics have been achieved
• In speculative or cold shell projects: A Tenancy Fitout Guide outlining all procured LED lights need to meet the above flicker metrics.
• In speculative or cold shell projects: Co-signed agreement between the building owner and tenant committing to the conditions of the Tenant Fitout Guide.
• All other documentation requirements as per the submission guidelines.
• A copy of this response.

For the auditing requirements of the Best Practice Guidelines for PVC, an appropriate method of compliance can be a simple statement that a limited assurance review according to ASAE 3100 Compliance Engagements has been completed.

Do I need to provide meters to uses not related to base building systems?

All distinct uses, common uses and major uses that service the building must be metered. These uses must also be connected to a monitoring system.

As an example: at a minimum, the base building should provide floor by floor meters for the following tenant energy uses;

• General Power
• HVAC Systems
• Lighting Systems

The DAB Submission Guidelines references ASHRE 62 however this standard does not contain any duct cleaning requirements and is an error. Projects should use the TR19 Standard which is acceptable for demonstrating compliance with the ductwork cleaning requirement in section 9.1.3: Cleaning Prior to Use and Occupation

Can project teams use ‘Pot Diameter’ to demonstrate compliance with the credit criteria 12.3.1 – Plant Distribution?

Yes, as alternative to soil surface area method, the pot diameter method can be used as a method of demonstrating compliance with the credit criteria 'Indoor plants - Plant distribution'. 

As a minimum, for every 10 m2 of the nominated area the diameter of the pots must be equal to at least 300mm in diameter.

A combination of different pot sizes is acceptable, provided the diameter of all the pots combined is greater than or equal to 300mm for every 10m2 of the nominated area. 

Please include a copy of this response in your submission. 

A new ‘Responsible Resource Management – Operational Waste Calculator’ and ‘NZ Best Practice Guidelines for Operational Waste’ document have been created to demonstrate compliance with Green Star Buildings Credit 4 – Responsible Resource Management. These resources can be used as an alternate compliance pathway for Design & As Built Credit 8 – Operational Waste. 

Although the credit refers to steel framing, this credit has been perceived to address all the major steel uses associated with structural elements of the building. Therefore, the table still shows required steel strengths for non-structural and non-framing items like steel roofing and steel wall cladding/sheeting. Accordingly, steel roofing and steel wall cladding/sheeting should be assessed under this credit.

Does not having a Make Good clause meet the intent of the End of Life Waste credit?

Yes. Not having a Make Good clause is considered to have an equivalent environmental outcome to having a best practice Make Good clause, where the project team can demonstrate there is a commitment from the building owner to pursue the re-use of the existing fitout by an incoming tenant.

A joint commitment, wherein no Make Good works are required between Building Owner and Tenant, must still address the requirements of credit 5.2A.

Where the lease agreements do not have best practice ‘make good’ clauses in place, a separate legal agreement or memorandum of understanding that addresses these requirements may be used.

Project teams are not required to have been awarded the pre-approved credits from other rating tools listed under the Global Sustainability credits in Green Star - Design & As Built when making claims under the Global Sustainability credit. These pre-approved credits may also be applied to other tools of Green Star - Interiors where appropriate. The project team is required to outline and supply evidence to validate the claim in lieu of official WGBC member rating tool accreditation. Project teams using all Green Star tools may also target other items not listed as pre-approved, provided they are considered outside of the scope of the Green Star rating tools. In this case, a free-of-charge technical question should be submitted to the NZGBC for approval. For innovation claims within a Green Star crosswalk, the relevant attribute from the crosswalk does need to be achieved to target the point, as these topics have been deemed within the scope of Green Star. 

Can unconditioned warehouse spaces be excluded from Air Permeability Performance Testing?

Yes. Projects may exclude unconditioned warehouse areas from the Air Permeability Performance Testing where these warehouse spaces are not conditioned by any equipment.

All other spaces, including offices or refrigerated warehouse spaces are considered as conditioned spaces and are considered applicable to the credit criterion.

The following exterior lighting is exempt from the requirements, provided it is controlled separately from the non-exempt lighting:

• specialized signal, directional, and marker lighting for transportation;
• lighting that is used solely for façade and landscape lighting in MLO lighting zones 3 and 4, and is automatically turned off from midnight until 6 a.m.;
• lighting for theatrical purposes for stage, film, and video performances;
• government-mandated roadway lighting;
• hospital emergency departments, including associated helipads;
• lighting for the national flag in MLO lighting zones 2, 3, or 4;
• internally illuminated signage.

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.