Over the past few months, our Green Star team have travelled across Aotearoa, meeting with many industry organizations and reaching out to stakeholders to hear what you think about Green Star Buildings NZ, the next iteration of the Green Star new buildings tool.
Brad Crowley, our Senior Manager of Buildings and Communities and the wider team met with people in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Te-Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Ōtautahi Christchurch and Ōtepoti Dunedin. Over 40 consultation documents have also been submitted online with feedback.
We have heard your concerns and comments about how to adapt the tool to best fit the market here in Aotearoa, and the technical issues that need addressing – we thank you all for your time and feedback, we appreciate it immensely. Three areas of concern were repeatedly raised and will be addressed, these being:
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The low VOC minimum expectation and the issues with getting the necessary paperwork from subcontractors. We have modified the credit to allow for VOC testing of the finished building, but we are aware this could be risky for some projects. We will continue to work with the industry to identify ways to reduce this risk including Green Star for Contractors training.
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The minimum expectation requiring all buildings to have air-tightness testing has been raised as a concern due to the limited pool of resources able to carry out these tests in Aotearoa. We plan on working with the industry to encourage the development of companies that can perform this service.
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The minimum expectation to divert 40% of construction and demolition waste from landfill for all Green Star projects has also been raised as a concern. Whilst those in Auckland see this number as too low, people in other areas believe it could be too high. We are hoping to find an aspirational target that is achievable throughout Aotearoa. We are considering regional specific targets and/or having the standards start lower and increase over time.
We have heard your concerns and will be modifying the credits to ensure this feedback is accounted for and they are fit for purpose in Aotearoa New Zealand. We will continue to work with industry to update these credits.
Adapting GBCA’s Indigenous Inclusion credit in the Aotearoa context is also underway. A technical working group (TWG) of Māori industry stakeholders are currently working with us to create a credit that will be fit for iwi and hapu across Aotearoa. We’d like to extend a big kia ora to this TWG for their continued time and knowledge.
A handful of projects across the country will be stress-testing the credits to ensure that they are achievable and technically sound. We would love to hear from anyone else working on an upcoming project with the capacity to stress credits. Please do get in contact with Brad at brad.crowley@nzgbc.org.nz as this would need to be done very soon.
Currently, we are on track to release the final version of Green Star Buildings NZ in mid-2024. The current version of Green Star Design & As Built will be retired by mid-2025 and Green Star Buildings NZ will become industry standard.
Localising Green Star Buildings to New Zealand is a significant step that wouldn't be possible without support from our partners who have donated time and expertise over the past year and have committed to the future success of Green Star Buildings, as part of their commitment to a healthy, low carbon Aotearoa. A massive thank you to our technical partner NDY who has been instrumental in this process. We’d also like to thank our project management partner RDT Pacific.
We would like to thank everyone who has met with us, worked with us and provided their suggestions on how to make this rating tool visionary and fit for purpose for Aotearoa. We could not have done this without all of your assistance. We really appreciate your feedback and are actively working to make sure it is incorporated into Green Star Buildings for New Zealand. Thank you!