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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 download the Technical Question form here

Technical Question Title Clarification Type Tool Version Month Released Credit Name Sub-credit Name Amendment/Approved Ruling
Removing the Source of Pollutants General DABv1 March 2023 9 - Indoor Air Quality Exhaust or Elimination of Pollutants
Digital Infrastructure General DABv1 February 2023 29 - Innovation Global Sustainability

Digital Infrastructure can no longer be claimed as an Innovation under credit 29.5 Global Sustainability in the Design & As Built NZv1.0 and v1.1 tool. Digital Infrastructure initiatives that are limited to the boundary and immediate area outside of commercial buildings is deemed as standard industry practice and therefore is no longer Innovative.  

UWLR (Upward Waste Light Ratio) instead of (ULOR) Upward Light Output Ratio General DABv1 July 2021 26 - Light Pollution Light Pollution to Night Sky
Alternative Calculation for Timber Costs General DABv1, DABv1.1 November 2024 20 - Responsible Building Materials Timber
Poor Submissions General DABv1, DABv1.1 May 2024 0 - General
Sound Insulation Between Internal Spaces General DABv1 June 2021 10 - Acoustic Comfort Sound Insulation Measurement
Crushed Concrete Reused as Hardfill or Backfill (Credit 21) General DABv1.1 October 2023 21 - Sustainable Products Sustainable Products
External Peer Review to Be Completed at As Built General DABv1 November 2020 19 - Life Cycle Assessment/Impacts Life Cycle Impacts
Glare Reduction: Nominated Area General DABv1.1 April 2022 12 - Visual Comfort Visual Comfort

For criterion 12.2 Glare Reduction, the nominated area is primary and secondary spaces; for criteria 12.2 Daylight and 12.3 Views, the nominated area is all primary spaces.Please see the ‘List of areas’ section of the Submission Guidelines for space type definitions.

Alternative 7-point version of 19B Life Cycle Impacts Prescriptive Pathway General DABv1 July 2021 19 - Life Cycle Assessment/Impacts Life Cycle Impacts