This month marks the culmination of months of work for the Green Building Council with the publication of a newly developed Climate Change Risk Assessment Planning Guidance for property and construction.
We spoke to NZGBC’s Industry Relationship Manager Brad Crowley and Boffa Miskell’s Sam Parsons to find out more about the inspiration for the guidance and the impact they hope it will have on the sector.
Our built environment spans an exceptionally diverse geography in New Zealand — 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. We are hoping more projects identify the climate risks related to these locations and modify buildings to minimise their climate risks.
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), Jo Woods (Revolve) and Scott Smith (Beca).
Q: What is the purpose of this document?
A: The idea behind this document is to provide a framework and tools to conduct a robust, evidence-based climate change risk assessment for a building or home and prepare a climate change adaptation plan.
It includes:
• Climate change risk assessment guidance and example templates
• Climate change adaptation plan guidance and example templates
• Climate change data resources
Another aim is to promote consistency and transparency in climate change risk assessments and adaptation planning for New Zealand buildings and homes.
Q: What has been happening in this sector currently that prompted the development of this guidance – what was the need?
A: “We were seeing Green Star projects spending money on creating and submitting Climate Adaptation Plans and not being rewarded Green Star points due to the variance in what was being submitted and a lack of transparency as to how the risks were identified and addressed,” says Brad Crowley.
“We decided the best way to ensure a great quality Climate Adaptation Plan (CAP) that would fulfil the Green Star standard, would be to develop and share with the industry a best practice guide with a risk assessment template. We then expanded the scope of this project to include all buildings and homes regardless of them pursuing our rating tools.”
Q: What will success look like?
A: It will be more projects pursuing a review of climate risks for their buildings - and if necessary, modifying the design and construction of the building to minimise climate risks identified. In a perfect world this would affect site selection to minimise the climate risks for the future buildings.
This would be for projects that are pursuing these Green Star or Homestar points or other projects in the industry.
Q: What wider benefits would this kind of consistency and transparency in climate risk assessments these bring to the sector?
A: “They make it easier for project teams to understand expectations, reducing ambiguity and rework. A consistent approach allows teams to reuse methods across projects, improving efficiency and building capability over time,” says Boffa Miskell’s Sam Parsons.
“They also support faster, more effective reviews, as assumptions, methodologies, and risk judgements are clearly set out. This reduces ‘back-and-forth’ and increases confidence in outcomes.
More broadly, consistency improves comparability between projects and decision-making, while transparency builds trust and accountability and supports a shared understanding of climate risk across the sector.”
When should this guidance be used?
A: Climate change risk assessment and adaptation planning for buildings and homes should be considered as early as possible in a project lifecycle.
Potential climate change risks should be considered during site selection and concept design, and then also revisited at key stages such as detailed design, construction, and also during any major refurbishments.
Early consideration allows climate change risks to be addressed through strategic decisions. This might include factors such as site layout, floor levels, orientation, materials, and design, rather than relying on costly retrofits or protective measures later in the building’s life.
Response from industry professionals
Publication of the guidance has been welcomed by ASAP | RUA – the Aotearoa Society of Adaptation Professionals | Rōpū Urutaunga Aotearoa.
Co-convener Sarah Bogle described it as a “valuable and time 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,” says Bogle.
“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.”
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”