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 Eco-labels table has been reviewed and a new standard by Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA) has been recognised for Sustainable Products and services undergoing a Life Cycle Assessment (GECA SPSv2.0-2020 - 'Sustainable Products and Services (Life Cycle Assessment)).

To be eligible for this standard a client must first undergo an LCA, once the LCA has been completed they are required to meet a benchmark for best practice in their field. Once the benchmark is met, they can proceed to begin the ecolabel assessment under the Sustainable products and services standard. 

Please also refer to TC released August 2023 - " Responsible Products Framework as Alternative to NZGBC’s Framework for Product Certification Scheme"

NZGBC understands that concrete is a challenging product to provide compliant EPD’s for Green Star Assessment given that each batch can be made to a different recipe, yet EPDs focus on “standard” products. The technical solution for this (process EPDs) is an expensive option for New Zealand’s relatively small market size with relatively little uptake of supplementary cementing materials (SCMs) in concrete to date.

To tackle this issue, NZGBC provides the following progressive pathways for concrete manufacturers to show Green Star compliance.   

Before 1st January 2024, EPDs for concrete can be recognised where:

• The concrete manufacturer has an EPD covering their major standard concrete mix designs, AND
• The concrete manufacturer provides a declaration akin to an EPD (but without verification) from a reputable source. Reputable sources include:
  • The Global Cement and Concrete Association EPD Tool
  • An in-house LCA calculator verified by an independent third party

After 1st January 2024, EPDs for concrete will only be recognised where:

• The exact product is covered by an EPD (i.e., the customer purchases a standard mix design, or the concrete manufacturer creates a customer-specific EPD), OR
• The specified product has a carbon footprint within +/-5% (for modules A1-A3) of a product declared in the EPD. The two products must have the same compressive strength (MPa) and a cement content within +/-0.5% weight/weight. The similarity in the carbon footprint must be proven through a reputable tool.

For FSC and PEFC timber the ‘final claim’ on product is the crucial step in demonstrating that the timber material meets forest certification.

The principal of Chain of Custody is that the ‘final claim’ on product demonstrates that all previous steps in the supply chain meet chain of custody requirements.

For Green Star or Home Star projects, Green Star and Home Star accredited professionals only require the single claim, at the final point of purchase, to demonstrate that the product can make a conforming FSC or PEFC claim on timber.

At As Built, can I use the same energy modelling report that was submitted and awarded at Design Review?

Yes, conditionally. 

At As Built, the same energy modelling report may be submitted for this credit, if it was submitted and awarded at Design Review and no changes have been made to the design, on the following conditions: 

The energy modelling report is to be accompanied by a confirmation letter stating that no changes have occurred between the design and as built stages of the project that may affect the outcome of the energy modelling report;

Any comments that were raised by the Certified Assessor(s) at Design Review must be addressed at As Built to be awarded the point(s). 

As Built Documentation Requirements:

• Energy modelling report that was submitted and awarded at Design Review. 
• A letter of confirmation from the relevant consultant confirming that the design of the building has not been altered between Design Review and As Built submissions. 
• All other documentation requirements are as per the submission guidelines, including recommended documentation such as: 
  • Extract(s) from the Specification(s) demonstrating that all inputs used in the energy simulation are reflected in the current design. 
  • Extract(s) from the Commissioning Report demonstrating (through supporting evidence) that the building has been commissioned and operates as intended
• As built drawings demonstrating that the facade details and materials are the same as described in the energy modelling report. by the design (i.e. as described in the energy modelling report). 

For showers, the water efficiency requirement is within one star of the Category F under WELS rating, which means showers must be either:

• 3 Star Range E (6.0 - 7.5 L/min); or,

• 3 Star Range F (4.5 - 6.0 L/min); or,

• 4 Star Range E (6.0 - 7.5 L/min); or,

• 4 Star Range F (4.5 - 6.0 L/min)

Note that a 3 Star WELS rating high pressure shower sitting at the range of 7.5-9L/m isn’t compliant.

For credit 12.1 Glare Reduction, the warehouse floor is included when it is identified as primary space, see the industrial space definitions on page 9 of the Industrial Guidance. If the warehouse is used for distribution or storage then it can be excluded from credit 12.1 as it is secondary or tertiary, not primary, space.

The exception to the primary area nomination for credit 12.1 is loading docks which are required to comply regardless of their nomination (primary, secondary, tertiary or external). To summarise, credit 12.1 applies to primary warehouse space, primary office space and loading docks. Similarly credit 12.2 applies to primary warehouse and primary office space only.

Where an industrial project is a speculative build (i.e. where the tenant is unknown) then the warehouse space shall be considered primary and included within the nominated space for credit 12.1 and 12.2 as a primary space.

To determine the shading requirement for external loading docks projects can either use compliance method 12.1A or 12.1C (noting method 12.1B is for internal blinds and therefore not suitable). Fixed external shading may be required to achieve compliance with credit 12.1, depending on the orientation of the loading docks. With loading docks being a source of pollutants into the warehouse space (from vehicle exhaust fumes) it is recommended that the project team consider this impact when designing the shading features for the loading docks, particularly when also targeting credit 9. If fixed shading is applied tightly around the loading dock, this could increase pollutant concentrations within the warehouse space. Noting however that loading docks are not an acceptable fresh air inlet for credit 9 due to exhaust pollution contaminating the incoming air.

Normal working hours for the warehouse will either be as specified by the tenant or where the tenant is unknown should be assumed as 4am-11pm (in line with occupancies for an industrial working space with >1 shift as per Table 47 in the GHG Modelling Guidelines).

Additional guidance regarding breezeways:

The compliance of a breezeway with the requirements of 12.1 will depend on the design and orientation of the breezeway, and location of the loading dock points along the breezeway. It is up to the project team to analyse the shading from direct sunlight provided by the breezeway through method 12.1A or 12.1C to show compliance with the credit and present this analysis clearly within their submission.

With any breezeway design good ventilation should be considered alongside the glare requirements, particularly where projects are targeting both credit 12 and credit 9.

If a breezeway is designed to be closed occasionally (e.g. if roller doors are installed which are open during deliveries and closed other times) then this space could be considered internal and the project team would need to include it within the area definition form, justifying how it has been defined within the area definition

In less populated areas where buses do not start until after 6:30am then the start of the peak morning period may be taken as the second bus time for first compliant bus route.

For example, if there are three bus routes that start at 6:45am, 7am and 7:15am and each run every half an hour then the peak morning period would be taken as 7:15am to 9:15am. The latest peak morning period that may be used is 7:30am to 9:30am. Time between services should then be calculated using the determined peak morning period as per the examples on page 4 of the Public Transport Calculator Guide.

When determining if a route is compliant the Public Transport Calculator Guide states that more than half of the services need to be within the time period to be compliant, however achieving exactly 50% would be considered compliant.

The average interval is to be calculated as the mean as per the Public Transport Calculator Guide.  Numbers can be rounded up or down, for example 30.4mins can be considered 30mins.

The current definition for Mixed Use Projects set in credit 16 Peak Electricity Demand Reduction refers to the NCC (the Australian Building Code) usage classification.

As a clarification for New Zealand projects, the definition is amended as below:

“A mixed-use project or building is deemed to be a building in which no single New Zealand Building Code Clause A1 Classified Use accounts for more than 80% of the building gross floor area (GFA), excluding car parks, etc.”