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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 access the online Technical Question form here

Technical Question Title Tool Version Date Released Credit Name Sub-credit Name TC Link
Innovation Point for using 750 MPa Steel Fitment DABv1 October 2019 19 - Life Cycle Assessment/Impacts Life Cycle Impacts – Steel Link
Approved Ruling:

Projects may pursue one (1) innovation point through Credit 30A Innovative Technology or Process where the use of 750 MPa steel fitments of a reduced diameter are installed in lieu of equivalent 500 MPa fitments** (also known as ligatures) under the following conditions:

  • A minimum of 70% of the structural columns for the entire building, by length, are concrete and require steel reinforcement; and
  • 95% or more of the fitments used in these columns are ≥750 MPa replacing the equivalent 500 MPa fitments**; and
  • 95% or more of the fitments are supplied by a Steel Maker that meets the Responsible Steel Maker requirements in the Responsible Building Materials (20.1) credit; and
  • is a trademarked product; and 
  • The project team achieves either
    • One (1) point in the Reduced Use of Steel Reinforcement (Concrete framed building) credit (19B.2B) not including the reduction in mass of fitments; or
    • An improvement of 4% in the Climate Change Impact category of the Life Cycle Assessment credit (19A) across all modules, excluding the B6 Operational Energy module.

 

Documentation requirements
Project teams wishing to pursue this innovation point are required to provide the following documentation:

  • Structural engineer's specification
  • Drawings & summary demonstrating the percentage of columns requiring fitments/ligatures
  • Completed spreadsheet Steel_reduction_500N_to_750N_fitments_template.xlsx demonstrating the reduction in mass based on replacing 500 MPa with the smaller, higher grade 750 MPa fitments
  • Delivery docket and/or invoice confirming supply
  • Evidence of Responsible Steel Maker requirements
  • Evidence of the product's trademark in line with the conditions outline

30A Innovative Technology and Process submission template, specifying the pathway achieved 19A or 19B.2B.