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 | 1/9/2021 | 10 - Acoustic Comfort | Internal Noise Levels |
The Submission Guidelines stipulate that “one (1) point is awarded where project teams demonstrate that internal ambient noise levels, in the nominated area, are no more than 5dB(A) above the lower figure in the range recommended in Table 1 of AS/NZS 2107:2016.” For the avoidance of doubt, where a single figure dBA value is provided in AS/NZS2107, the noise target shall be no larger than that single dBA value.
|
|
| General | DABv1 | 1/10/2019 | 29 - Innovation | Improving on Green Star Benchmarks | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/6/2021 | 10 - Acoustic Comfort | Acoustic Separation | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/5/2023 | 29 - Innovation | Innovation Challenge | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/11/2020 | 24 - Sustainable Sites | Conditional Requirement: Ecological Protection and Highly Productive Land | ||
| General | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 1/4/2023 | 2 - Commissioning and Tuning | Independent Commissioning Agent | ||
| General | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 1/7/2022 | 13 - Indoor Pollutants | Engineering Wood Products |
1 point can be awarded when 95% of engineered wood products meet the formaldehyde emission limits by area. Project teams are not expected to calculate all the surface areas of each engineered wood product. Only the largest face of each product is to be calculated for credit compliance. |
|
| General | DABv1 | 1/7/2021 | 11 - Lighting Comfort | Surface Illuminance |
Retail projects may mark credit criterion 11.3 Surface Illuminance as 'Not Applicable' (NA) due to the specific requirements for lighting design within retail fitouts. It is noted that the outcome targeted by the ‘Surface Illuminance’ criteria of the Lighting Comfort credit is not always relevant in retail spaces which focus on the lighting of product and creating visual interest. |
|
| General | DABv1 | 1/5/2021 | 22 - Construction and Demolition Waste | Reporting Accuracy | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/11/2020 | 24 - Sustainable Sites | Contamination and Hazardous Materials |
Can the ISO standard 18504 can be used as a Best Practice Remediation strategy for Site Decontamination? Yes, for the purposes of site decontamination in Green Star, the ISO standard 18504: Soil quality: Sustainable Remediation can be used an alternative to the current standard referenced in the submission guidelines: “A Framework for Assessing the Sustainability of Soil and Groundwater Remediation” |