Showers located in statutorily required accessible bathrooms cannot be claimed in the count for shower facilities.

Extra bathrooms/showers with disability access, not required statutorily, which meet the Sustainable Transport credit requirements can be counted.

For existing buildings, refurbishment projects with no alterations to the stormwater catchment can be awarded 1 point for Stormwater Peak Discharge by providing a letter from the building owner stating that there have been no changes to the stormwater catchment (e.g. roofs, site landscaping, existing stormwater infrastructure etc.) as part of the project and therefore there is no increase in the post-development peak stormwater flows.

Please find the latest version of the NSW Environmental Management Systems Guidelines for EMP compliance requirements here.

The requirements for EMPs, as outlined within the NSW Environmental Management Systems Guidelines, are considered best practice. The edition of the guidelines current at the time of construction must be used.

A product compliance rate of 95% or higher (with regards to VOC limits) must be demonstrated for each of the following categories separately in order to be eligible for (1) point: 

• Paints
• Sealants and Adhesives
• Carpets

Where a project cannot provide WELS certifications to demonstrate compliance for the Potable Water credit, onsite testing results can be acceptable in place of WELS certifications.

In this case, the onsite testing should follow the Appendix F Onsite Compliance Schedule in the Homestar v5 Technical Manual. https://nzgbc.org.nz/hubfs/HSTG03%20Homestar%20Technical%20Manual%20v5_0_3.pdf

Can projects target the 6.1 Green Cleaning Policy credit from Green Star - Performance under the Innovation category?

Yes. Projects pursuing a certification under Green Star - Design & As Built, Green Star - Interiors may target credit 6.1 Green Cleaning Policy from Green Star - Performance v1.2 under the Global Sustainability credit.

One (1) point is available where all compliance requirements for credit 6.1 Green Cleaning Policy from the Green Star - Performance v1.2 submission guidelines are addressed. This is on the condition that the Green Cleaning Policy must be implemented for a minimum of 10 years.  

Compliance with the reverberation criterion should be demonstrated for all common areas.

Who can be considered a 'responsible party' to deliver training on sustainable practices and initiatives?

'Responsible Party' refers to people employed by the contractor or subcontractor, who are involved in decision making and will be key to the delivery of the Green Star certification in their relevant trades.

There is no requirement for a Responsible Party to be office based, site based or a combination, as long as they have relevant participation in the project. There are no specific roles defined or excluded from this definition. A contractor's Sustainability Consultant may be considered Responsible Party for the purposes of this Innovation Challenge.

The NZGBC confirms that the scope of credit 20.3 Permanent formwork, pipes, flooring, blinds and cables under Green Star - Design & As Built or credit 20.2 under Green Star - Interiors, includes any mechanical ductwork that contain PVC pipes or cables. This must be accounted for when demonstrating compliance under the credit criteria as stated below:

1 point is available where 90% (by cost) of all permanent formwork, pipes, flooring, blinds and cables in a project either:

• Do not contain PVC and have a recognised product declaration. OR
• Meet the GBCA’s Best Practice Guidelines for PVC.

Where the cost of PVC products in the project is less than 1% of the Project Contract Value this criterion is made ‘Not Applicable’.

For more information please refer to the Literature Review and Best Practice Guidelines Life cycle of PVC building products found on the GBCA website.

Projects may pursue one (1) innovation point through Credit 30A Innovative Technology or Process where the use of 750 MPa steel fitments of a reduced diameter are installed in lieu of equivalent 500 MPa fitments** (also known as ligatures) under the following conditions:

• A minimum of 70% of the structural columns for the entire building, by length, are concrete and require steel reinforcement; and
• 95% or more of the fitments used in these columns are ≥750 MPa replacing the equivalent 500 MPa fitments**; and
• 95% or more of the fitments are supplied by a Steel Maker that meets the Responsible Steel Maker requirements in the Responsible Building Materials (20.1) credit; and
• is a trademarked product; and 
• The project team achieves either
  • One (1) point in the Reduced Use of Steel Reinforcement (Concrete framed building) credit (19B.2B) not including the reduction in mass of fitments; or
  • An improvement of 4% in the Climate Change Impact category of the Life Cycle Assessment credit (19A) across all modules, excluding the B6 Operational Energy module.

Documentation requirements
Project teams wishing to pursue this innovation point are required to provide the following documentation:

• Structural engineer's specification
• Drawings & summary demonstrating the percentage of columns requiring fitments/ligatures
• Completed spreadsheet Steel_reduction_500N_to_750N_fitments_template.xlsx demonstrating the reduction in mass based on replacing 500 MPa with the smaller, higher grade 750 MPa fitments
• Delivery docket and/or invoice confirming supply
• Evidence of Responsible Steel Maker requirements
• Evidence of the product's trademark in line with the conditions outline

30A Innovative Technology and Process submission template, specifying the pathway achieved 19A or 19B.2B.