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 | |
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| Industrial guidance | General | DABv1 | 0 - General | General, Green Star Industrial Guidance | Green Star is seeing an increased uptake in the Industrial sector, and we are providing additional tools to assist the continued uptake. Our ally in Australia, The Green Building Council Australia (GBCA), have recently issued the Green Star Industrial Guidance through intensive consultation with the industrial sector. This guide provides a set of pathways for Industrial facilities targeting a Green Star – Design & As Built rating, both speculative and tenanted projects. It aims to address key barriers such as shorter timeframes, standard procurement and the cost of certification and capital works. It also seeks to maximise opportunities such as the potential capacity for renewables and daylight and provide clarity in areas of Green Star guidance that have been ambiguous for the sector. We encourage you to read this guidance and use this to assist with your industrial projects. Given the differences between the Australian tool and the New Zealand tool, project teams are encouraged to contact the Green Star Technical team for further clarification at greenstarnz@nzgbc.org.nz. You can find the guidance document here Green Star Industrial Guidance.pdf And you can find the business case for using Green Star in your industrial buildings here. Service risers should be entered into “Tertiary Spaces” part of the Area Definition form. Although these areas are non-habitable spaces, they should still be entered as a Tertiary Space, so they are captured under Credit 13 for Indoor Pollutants. This is because the requirement for Credit 13 is that all on site applications of paints, adhesives and sealants including both exposed and concealed applications are included in this credit. | ||
| Built streamlining | General | DABv1 | November 2020 | 0 - General | General | If a project has been awarded points under a Green Star NZ Design review rating, the project team may demonstrate Built compliance by confirming that the building has been constructed as per the information submitted and certified under the Design review rating in the place of full documentation. Should a project wish to do built-streamlining, a TQ needs to be submitted to the NZGBC in order to propose and confirm credits and points that are eligible for built streamlining. A signed statement confirming the project has been constructed with no significant changes that would affect compliance with the credit criteria. Note that where the submission guidelines recommend evidence to demonstrate that systems have been commissioned and installed as intended, a commissioning report (or similar) would still be required as part of the Built submission or TQ. The purpose of the signed statements is NOT to remove the requirement for project teams to produce documentation, but rather to stop project teams having to spend additional time and resources on the collation of the as-built documentation into a Green Star submission. Note: should there be any changes in design or material that would impact the results of the original assessment, full built documentation must be provided. If the project team would like to target additional points which were not achieved at Design stage, full built documentation must be provided for the additional points. The NZGBC Assessors reserve the right to request built documentation where they deem the difference between Design and Built stage to be substantive. | |
| Submitting for design review | DABv1 | November 2020 | 0 - General | Should a project target a design review rating using the new Design and As Built tool, please review and follow the Guidance on Submitting for Design Review. Please note that while the Design Review process is a valuable tool to ensure the project is on track for achieving certification, it does not guarantee an As Built rating. The As Built submission assesses what has been completed and delivered on site, not the commitments. Built streamlining can be offered to projects that have been certified with design review ratings. But a list of eligible credits should be approved through a Technical Question submission to the NZGBC. Guidance for built streamlining is provided in a separate Technical Question ruling For projects in New Zealand that are eligible for Green Star – Design & As-Built and Interiors ratings, a comparison between the Australian NCC Building Classifications and the New Zealand Building Code Clause A1 Classified uses is summarised below to help on the determination of projects’ eligibility. * Homestar is the preferred pathway | |||
| 'For Construction' drawings | General | DABv1 | 0 - General | General | 'For Construction' drawings can be submitted in the As Built submission. The NZGBC requires evidence that the drawings supplied are as constructed, whether they have an ‘As Built’ stamp or not. 'For Construction' drawings are acceptable provided they are accompanied by formal confirmation from the head contractor or other relevant professional(s) that the 'For Construction' drawings depict the site as-built conditions. | ||
| Model lease clause | General | DABv1 | 0 - General | General | The NZGBC conditionally grants that the project can submit a model lease clause (unleased spaces) or signed lease agreement (leased spaces) and not provide a Tenancy Fitout Guide, however, as per the Design & As Built Fitout Scope Guidance, the document must provide a project-specific response and outline to the tenant how the base building has been designed to deliver necessary base building characteristics and functions to meet the intent of the credit, in compliance with Appendix A: Credit Criteria Guidance. The proposal to consider credit 10.1 as a Type C credit is granted. The project will deliver fan coil units beyond the riser however without ceilings installed, therefore compliance will be conditional on tenants installing finishes as required in the lease agreement. | ||
| Fan energy | Technical Clarification | DABv1 | 15 - Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Greenhouse Gas Emissions | The NZGBC is releasing the following guidance on how fan energy should be applied to your energy model: - Fans delivering heating/cooling use the W/m² with m2 the conditioned space area, not total area. - Supplementary ventilation fans refer to fans which serve spaces outside of the conditioned space and use the W/l/s (based on the sum of all flow rates) | ||
| New Peer Review Pathway for Energy Credits | DABv1, DABv1.1 | March 2025 | 14 - Thermal Comfort, 15 - Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 16 - Peak Electricity Demand Reduction |
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| Blinds as part of Glare Reduction | General | DABv1, DABv1.1 | May 2024 | 12 - Visual Comfort | Glare reduction |
Where blinds are used to meet compliance requirements, for Cold Shell spaces they are required to be wholly or partly contributed by the base building owner as part of the leasing agreements. |
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| Schematic Design/Prelimary Design | General | DABv1 | December 2020 | 0 - General |
This TC supersedes the TC issued in Nov-20: Where the credit refers to “Schematic Design”, this should read “Preliminary Design” which is the term more commonly used in New Zealand. It is noted that legacy rating tools require “Concept Design” as the required start point to engage with a Green Star Accredited Professional. With this clarification issued, a Green Star Accredited Professional will need to be engaged at the preliminary design stage. This change has been discussed and identified acceptable as it still fulfils the aim of the credit. However, the NZGBC still encourages project teams to involve Green Star Accredited Professionals as early as possible, ideally from the concept design stage, to eliminate risks in pursuing a Green Star rating. |
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| Compliance using Time Clock Methodology | General | DABv1 | April 2021 | 26 - Light Pollution | Light Pollution to Neighbouring Bodies |