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 download the Technical Question form here
Technical Question Title | Clarification Type | Tool Version | Month Released | Credit Name | Sub-credit Name | Amendment/Approved Ruling |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points Available in 19B Pathway | General | DABv1 | November 2020 | 19 - Life Cycle Assessment/Impacts | Life Cycle Impacts | |
Supplementary or Tenancy Fitout Systems Review | General | DABv1 | November 2020 | 29 - Innovation | Improving on benchmarks | |
Unconditioned Warehouse Spaces | General | DABv1 | October 2019 | 2 - Commissioning and Tuning | Innovation | |
Exempt Exterior Lighting | General | DABv1 | June 2021 | 26 - Light Pollution | Light Pollution to Night Sky | |
Differing GFA pre and post Refurbishment | General | DABv1 | September 2021 | 22 - Construction and Demolition Waste | Construction and Demolition Waste |
Where the pre vs post Gross Floor Area (GFA) of the project site differs for major refurbishments, the GFA before the refurbishment took place should be used when calculating the maximum allowable waste going to landfill in credit 22 Construction and Demolition waste. |
Best in Class for Specialist Fixtures and Fittings | General | DABv1 | June 2021 | 18 - Potable Water | Sanitary Fixture Efficiency | |
Progressive Pathways for Concrete Compliance (Credit 19A) | General | DABv1 | May 2022 | 19 - Life Cycle Assessment/Impacts | Life Cycle Assessment | |
Design & As Built NZDABv1.1 – 24.1 Ecological Protection credit can be used to assess for Design & As Built NZDABv1 tool. | General | DABv1 | October 2022 | 24 - Sustainable Sites | Conditional Requirement: Ecological Protection and Highly Productive Land |
The Design & As Built NZv1.1 – 24.1 Ecological Protection credit can be used to assess eligibility for projects registered under the Design & As Built NZv1.0 tool. Where DAB v1.0 projects intend to adopt other DAB v1.1 credits for a registered project a TQ should be submitted to the Green Star team for review. If a project intends to use this credit they must make it clear in the Submission Template when they submit their Round 1 documents. |
Distance to Amenities to be measured in Real Walk Distance (not radial) | General | DABv1 | September 2022 | 17 - Sustainable Transport | Walkable Neighbourhood | |
Leesman Survey | General | DABv1 | November 2020 | 29 - Innovation | Innovation Challenge |
Can I use a Leesman survey to measure occupant satisfaction? Yes, however a technical question to demonstrate your approach must be submitted to the NZGBC for review and approval. The NZGBC approves in principle the use of a Leesman survey as an alternative method of compliance, on the basis that the survey core question set is expanded to address in detail occupant satisfaction, including the assessment of occupant well-being and interaction with their indoor environment. |