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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
Temporary Use of Existing EPDs Following Company Ownership Change Green Star Buildings NZ, DABv1, DABv1.1, INTv1.1 March 2026
Approved Ruling:

Where a company holding a valid Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) undergoes a change of ownership, the EPD owner is required under ISO 14025 and Programme Operator instructions to notify the Programme Operator of the ownership change and update the EPD as necessary.

To ensure continuity for Green Star and Homestar projects while this update process is underway, the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) issues the following clarification:

1. NZGBC will continue to recognise the existing (pre‑sale) EPD for use in Green Star and Homestar projects, provided that:

  • The underlying manufacturing process, data, inputs, and environmental performance have not changed, and

  • The only change is the legal ownership of the company.

2. Evidence requirements
To confirm that the product, processes, and data remain unchanged, the project team must supply a letter on the original (pre‑sale) company’s letterhead, signed by both:

This letter must explicitly state that:

  • The company has been sold or transferred to the new owner;
  • The only change is ownership;
  • The manufacturing process, product formulation, data used in the EPD, and all other EPD‑relevant factors remain unchanged.

3. Duration of acceptance:
NZGBC will accept the existing EPD only for the period required for the Programme Operator to update the EPD.
Once the Programme Operator issues the updated EPD, the updated version must be used for all ongoing and future submissions.