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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
Construction and Demolition Waste Reporting Criteria v2.0 and Template Green Star Buildings NZ, DABv1, DABv1.1 July 2026 22 - Construction and Demolition Waste, 2 - Responsible Construction Construction and Demolition Waste
Approved Ruling:
NZGBC has launched a dedicated Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Resource Hub, providing Green Star project teams with access to the latest guidance documents, reporting templates, and supporting resources.

As part of this release, NZGBC has published the Construction and Demolition Waste Reporting Criteria v2.0 (WRC v2.0). Effective immediately, all Green Star projects pursuing the C&D Waste or Responsible Construction credits are required to use the new Green Star C&D Waste Credit Template when preparing and submitting evidence for assessment.

Key implementation dates are as follows:
  • From 1 July 2026: Waste Contractors and C&D Waste Sorting Facilities (CDSFs) may begin reporting in accordance with WRC v2.0.
  • From 1 April 2027: All Green Star project reporting must be provided in accordance with WRC v2.0, regardless of the version under which the Waste Contractor or CDSF was originally assessed.
Project teams should be aware that the revised methodology may result in lower reported diversion rates for some projects. This is because WRC v2.0 requires mixed C&D waste recovery performance to be reported separately from overall facility recovery rates. This does not necessarily reflect poorer recovery performance, but rather a more transparent and accurate reporting methodology.

To avoid unexpected impacts on project outcomes, NZGBC encourages project teams to engage with their Waste Contractor and CDSF early in the project lifecycle to understand how the revised methodology may influence diversion targets and credit achievement.

The C&D Waste Resource Hub will be regularly updated as new guidance, templates, and industry resources become available.

Green Star C&D Waste Resource Hub: https://nzgbc.org.nz/construction-demolition-waste