Green Star New Zealand

Green Star NZ - Office Interiors 2009

The Green Star - Office Interiors 2009 rating tool is now available for projects to register with to achieve a rating for their interior fit-out achievements.

The Technical Working Group has worked hard to simplify the tool, providing deemed-to-comply options for some Credits, and greatly simplifying the materials calculators. For those of you not yet familiar with the tool, it rates completed fit-outs only - no Office Interiors Design specific rating will be available.

Green Star - Office Interiors 2009 is designed to be used by building tenants and consultants to influence the design of their interior fitout. The tool enables buildings to minimise the environmental impacts of their fitout; as well as to capitalise on, and receive recognition for, design initiatives.

The selection of the base building will have an impact on the potential rating an interior fitout can achieve within Green Star.  There are Credits affected by the base building and information about these credits is available in the “The Guide to Base Building Selection" (available soon). This will be useful when selecting and comparing base buildings for tenancy.

Eligibility

For a project to be eligible for a rating with Office Interiors 2009, the office fitout under assessment can be within any base building (e.g. an office fitout, a retail centre, or an industrial building). The fitout must be for one tenancy and reside within only one building.

Further detail on the eligibility requirements are available within the tool and the soon to be published Eligibility Guidelines. Please note that there is also one conditional requirement within the Green Star - Office Interiors 2009 (ENE-1 Energy).

Green Star Phases

The Green Star rating system is designed as a three stage system to reflect industry processes: Design –> Built –> In-Use. At each stage there are unique opportunities for social, economic and environmental benefit.

As office building owners and tenants are usually separate entities, the Green Star – Office Interiors rating tool offers an independent rating for an office fitout awardable to either party. A Green Star – Office Interiors rating is carried out at the Built phase.

Credits and Categories

Green Star – Office Interiors 2009 rating tool is made up of seven environmental categories (Management, Indoor Environment Quality, Energy, Transport, Water, Materials, and Emissions) plus an Innovation category. Credits are awarded within each of these categories based on the building’s potential for minimising its environmental impact in a range of key areas.

Green Star – Office Interiors 2009 tool takes into consideration the unique requirements and impacts of interior fitout’s. The number of credits available within categories and the category weightings will vary from other Green Star NZ rating tools.

Conditional Requirement: ENE-1 Energy 

Achieving this Credit is a conditional requirement for receiving a Green Star – Office Interiors 2009 certified rating, further details on the requirements for this Credit can be found in the Excel tool.

The Green Star – Office Interiors 2009 has many credits in common with other available Green Star NZ tools, but has been tailored and made unique to the interiors sector. Credits developed specifically for this tool include: Environmental Management (operations), Hazardous Materials, Furniture, Walls Partitions & Jinery, Indoor Plants, Base Building Energy Efficiency, Small Power Loads, Ceilings, Green Star – Office  Certified Building, Recycling/Re-Use of Computers & Monitors and Recycling/Re-Use of Fluorescent Light Fittings.

Calculators

Recognising the complex nature of the selection of materials and products used in a fitout, calculators have been developed for evaluating Furniture, Walls, Partitions, Joinery and Flooring against a number of key environmental indicators.

A guide to using NZGBC calculators and the background behind them will available on this web page soon.

Thank you to our Sponsors

• IAG
• BNZ, Ministry for Environment
• Matisse
• Stanley Interiors
• Alaska
• Formway
• Laminex
• Winstone Wallboards
• Interface
• NDY

PILOT Projects

BNZ’s Quay Park 1 and the IAG's NZI Centre in Auckland are PILOT projects for the new Green Star – Interiors tool. We look forward to announcing more detail about these buildings soon.