We've published a newly developed Climate Change Risk Assessment Planning template for property and construction in Aotearoa.
This guidance provides a framework and tools to conduct a robust, evidence-based climate change risk assessment for a building or home and to prepare a climate change adaptation plan.
It aims to promote consistency and transparency in climate change risk assessments and adaptation planning for New Zealand buildings and homes, ensuring users are able to make informed decisions to manage risks and improve resilience.
The resources were developed by the NZ Green Building Council in association with Sam Parsons (Boffa Miskell) and peer reviewed by experts in this field including James Hughes (Tonkin + Taylor).
Who should use this guidance?
This guidance is aimed at individuals and organisations across New Zealand looking to improve the resilience of their building or home to the effects of climate change. This includes building and homeowners, developers, or building and property managers who require guidance to conduct a climate change risk assessment and prepare an adaptation plan.
New Zealand’s built environment spans an exceptionally diverse geography — from coastal settlements and floodplains to alpine regions, seismic zones and rapidly growing urban centres. These conditions already shape how homes and buildings are designed, constructed and perform over time.
As climate variability across Aotearoa increases, building owners and developers are facing new expectations to understand, assess and respond to location-specific environmental risk – particularly for assets designed for more predictable conditions.
"ASAP | RUA welcomes this guidance as a valuable and timely contribution to climate adaptation practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This work represents an important step toward more consistent and practical approaches to climate risk assessment and adaptation planning across the built environment. It provides a clear, evidence-based framework to support practitioners, project teams, and asset owners to better understand and respond to climate risks.
We see this as a strong foundation for building capability and embedding climate adaptation into decision-making over time, supporting more resilient outcomes for buildings, communities, and infrastructure."
Sarah Bogle
Co-convenor, ASAP | RUA
Aotearoa Society of Adaptation Professionals | Rōpū Urutaunga Aotearoa
More technical resources:
Find out more about the development of this guidance in this recording of our February 2026 webinar “Climate Adaptation for Buildings – a new template for property and construction in Aotearoa” 
Topics covered in the webinar include:
• Why responding to New Zealand’s geographic and environmental diversity is emerging as a defining issue for the built environment
• What effective, right-sized adaptation planning looks like in practice
• How the Climate Adaptation Plan Guidance document can support investment decisions, asset resilience and long-term value
• How adaptation aligns with net zero, resilience and sustainable building outcomes