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 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

Technical Question Title Clarification Type Tool Version Month Released Credit Name Sub-credit Name Amendment/Approved Ruling
Points Available in 19B Pathway General DABv1 November 2020 19 - Life Cycle Assessment/Impacts Life Cycle Impacts
Supplementary or Tenancy Fitout Systems Review General DABv1 November 2020 29 - Innovation Improving on benchmarks
Unconditioned Warehouse Spaces General DABv1 October 2019 2 - Commissioning and Tuning Innovation
Exempt Exterior Lighting General DABv1 June 2021 26 - Light Pollution Light Pollution to Night Sky
Differing GFA pre and post Refurbishment General DABv1 September 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.

Best in Class for Specialist Fixtures and Fittings General DABv1 June 2021 18 - Potable Water Sanitary Fixture Efficiency
Progressive Pathways for Concrete Compliance (Credit 19A) General DABv1 May 2022 19 - Life Cycle Assessment/Impacts Life Cycle Assessment
Design & As Built NZDABv1.1 – 24.1 Ecological Protection credit can be used to assess for Design & As Built NZDABv1 tool. General DABv1 October 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.  

Distance to Amenities to be measured in Real Walk Distance (not radial) General DABv1 September 2022 17 - Sustainable Transport Walkable Neighbourhood
Leesman Survey General DABv1 November 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.