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
| Clarification Type | Tool Version | Month Released | Credit Name | Sub-credit Name | Tool Category | Amendment/Approved Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | DABv1 | 27/7/2020 | 17 - Sustainable Transport | Active Transport Facilities | Credit 17.4 Active Transport Facilities in Green Star Design & As-Built has been updated based on the feedback that NZGBC received and in-depth consultation with industrial professionals, the updates include changing the end-of-trip facilities requirements for Regular Occupants and its worked example. The updated credit (attached) shall be used for Green Star projects and it supersedes the one included in the Submission Guidelines. | |
| Project Specific | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 0/0/20 | 24 - Sustainable Sites | The projects' eligibility with respect to Credit 24 is approved despite being near a waterway on the basis of: • The waterway not being considered a sensitive site according to Auckland Council's plans and zoning (and under Section 6 of the RMA) • The project planning to enhance the biodiversity of the waterway as part of the intended scope of works. | ||
| General | DABv1, INTv1 | 10/10/2019 | 26 - Light Pollution | Light Pollution to Neighbouring Bodies | For criterion 26.1 Light Pollution to Neighbouring Bodies, values from Table 2.1 of AS 4282:1997 rather than Table 2.2 should be applied for : • For Class 2 buildings (residential), the values in Columns 5A and B; or • For Class 3 to 9 buildings (non-residential), the values in Column 3.C. | |
| General | DABv1, INTv1 | 13/5/2019 | 10 - Acoustic Comfort | Acoustic Comfort | A Qualified acoustic consultant should be a member of the Acoustical Society of New Zealand or equivalent international recognised body, or a qualified staff member within an Association of Australasian Acoustical Consultants (AAAC) member firm | |
| General | DABv1.1 | 6/5/2024 | 15 - Greenhouse Gas Emissions | ENE | There is an inconsistency in the GHG Calculation Guide v1.1. A Reference Project is defined as: “A hypothetical building of the same size, shape, floor area and glazing areas as the Proposed Project, but whose building fabric and building services characteristics are based predominantly on the Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions as defined in this document.” Table 1 defines the Reference buildings as “… Glazing window to wall ratio (WWR) shall equal 50% of the above grade perimeter external wall area of conditioned spaces…” The glazing areas may differ between the Reference and Proposed projects as per Table 1 Section 7 of the General Modelling Criteria. | |
| General | DABv1, INTv1 | 0/0/20 | 12 - Visual Comfort | Daylight | Daylighting is feasible in Supermarkets as demonstrated through numerous case studies. Therefore, supermarket projects cannot claim “Not Applicable” for credit 12.2. | |
| General | DABv1, INTv1 | 10/10/2019 | 17 - Sustainable Transport | Sustainable Transport | A correction to the example calculation for Number of services for each route in the Transport Calculator Guide for v3, Design & As Built NZv1.0 and Interiors v1.0. Number of morning peak services = 4 (3 services ≤ 15minutes, 15minutes < 1 service ≤ 30minutes) Number of afternoon peak services = 10 (9 services ≤ 15 minutes, 15minutes < 1 service ≤ 30minutes) | |
| General | DABv1, INTv1 | 12/11/2019 | 13 - Indoor Pollutants | Engineering Wood Products | The EN 717-2 (DIN EN 717-2) test protocol for formaldehyde emission limit values, referenced in the Indoor Pollutants - Engineered Wood Products criterion of the Submission Guidelines, has been superseded by ISO 12460-3:2015 Project teams may, therefore, use the updated standard in determining formaldehyde emission test limits for wood-based panels to demonstrating compliance with the criterion. The emission unit of measurement remains unchanged. | |
| General | DABv1, INTv1 | 0/0/20 | 10 - Acoustic Comfort | Reverberation | A supermarket would not be defined as a noise sensitive space. Therefore, Note 3 of Table AS/NZ 2107:2016 does not apply to this project. Stock cannot be taken into account in reverberation time calculations. It is accepted that credit 10.2 can be Not Applicable for the supermarket shop area of the store, but not for the other more standard spaces such as offices and staff rooms. | |
| General | DABv1, INTv1 | 18/11/2020 | 12 - Visual Comfort | Views |
For projects like supermarkets, to receive this credit, views will have to be made available to employees working in areas where staff would be expected to work for extended periods such as checkouts, deli counters and the like. |