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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
Soft Landings Framework DABv1 November 2020 29 - Innovation Market Transformation Link
Approved Ruling:

The following guidance is provided for projects wanting to target the Soft Landings Framework innovation point in the Commissioning and Tuning credit. 

Minimum Compliance :

All compliance requirements as per Credit 2: Commissioning and Tuning must be achieved prior to pursuing the 'Soft Landings Framework Innovation credit'.

Documentation Requirements

Design Review Submission

  • Documentation to support how the ‘Soft Landings Framework’ approach will be implemented throughout the design, construction, commissioning and tuning phases; including meeting minutes and commissioning plans;
  • CV of the project’s Commissioning Agent detailing the qualifications and experience relevant to the project; and
  • Confirmation from the building owner that indicates their commitment to incorporate the principles of the ‘Soft Landings Framework’ throughout design, construction, commissioning and into building operation.

As Built Submission

  • Supporting documentation to support how the ‘Soft Landings Framework’ approach was implemented throughout the design, construction, commissioning, and tuning phases. Where the tuning phase may not have been undertaken at the time of submission, documentation should support how it will be implemented.   
  • Meeting minutes and workshop notes demonstrating involvement of the design team in the development and implementation of the ‘Soft Landings Framework’ throughout design, construction and commissioning, all stages of checklist completed as per the soft landing framework relevant at the time of submission and checklist for all future stages.
  • CV of the project’s Commissioning Agent detailing the qualifications and experience relevant to the project; and
  • Confirmation from the building owner that demonstrates the building owner’s commitment to incorporate the principles of the ‘Soft Landings Framework' in to building operation. 
  • Any other evidence to support claims made by the project team.