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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 access the online Technical Question form here

Technical Question Title Tool Version Date Released Credit Name Sub-credit Name TC Link
EPDs for the Cement that goes into the Concrete for the Credit of Sustainable Products DABv1 May 2021 21 - Sustainable Products Sustainable Products
Approved Ruling:

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.