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Green Star Performance

Benchmarking the sustainable use of existing buildings

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Helping benchmark the low carbon, sustainable operations of existing buildings

Since the introduction of Green Star in 2007, the NZGBC has been successful in certifying over 250 new buildings and fitout projects in New Zealand. While this is an outstanding achievement, there are thousands of buildings already in use that have a key part to play in reducing emissions for a low carbon future. 

A Green Star Performance rating helps building owners measure and continually improve their buildings' operational and reduce emissions.

What makes a Green Star building?

Green Star is a holistic tool that awards points across various key performance and environmental categories to assess how sustainable a building is.

For Green Star Performance, ratings are awarded from 0-6 stars, with 2 stars considered average practice, 3 stars good practice, through to 6 stars demonstrating a world leading green building.

Unlike other Green Star tools, a Green Star Performance rating is temporary, lasting three years, with an annual requirement to submit energy and water data. This ensures the rating is an accurate assessment of operations at the time, and allows buildings owners and tenants to improve their star rating over time. 

Green Star - Performance assesses the operational performance of all types of existing buildings across nine holistic impact categories.

 

Emissions
Emissions
Aims to assess the environmental impacts of 'point source' pollution generated by projects and reduce their effects on the atmosphere, watercourse and native animals.
Energy
Energy
Aims to reward projects that are designed and constructed to reduce overall greenhouse emissions from operations by addressing energy demand reduction, use efficiency and generation from alternative sources.

 

Indoor Environment Quality
Indoor environment quality
Aims to encourage and reward initiatives that enhance the comfort and well-being of occupants. The credits within this category address issues such as air quality, thermal comfort and acoustic comfort.
Innovation
Innovation
Aims to recognise the implementation of innovative practices, processes and strategies that promote sustainability in the built environment.
Land Use and Ecology
Land use and ecology
Aims to reduce the negative impacts on sites' ecological value as a result of urban development and reward projects that minimise harm and enhance the quality of local ecology.
Management-2
Management
Aims to encourage and reward the adoption of practices and processes that support best practice sustainability outcomes throughout the different phases of a project’s design, construction and ongoing operation.

 

Materials
Materials
Aims to address the consumption of resources for the project, by encouraging the selection of low-impact materials.
Transport
Transport
Aims to reward projects that facilitate a reduction on the dependency of private car use as an important means of reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, as well as to encourage the provision of alternative forms of transportation.
Water
Water
Aims to encourage and reward initiatives that reduce the consumption of potable water through measures such as the incorporation of water efficient fixtures and building systems and water re-use.

Technical resources

Here you'll find everything you need to guide you through your Green Star certification. 

Please note, these documents are for the latest version introduced in April 2022 - Green Star Design & As Build NZ v1.1

If you're project was registered under a previous version of Green Star you can continue to use the submission guidelines and resources associated with that version. Previous versions, including Design & As Built v1.0 can be found here.

 

Eligibility criteria

Eligibility, Registration and Submission form

Green Star Certification Agreement

Area Definition Form

General submission pointers

Guidance - Submitting for Design Review

FAQs

 

Submission template

Submission folder structure

Submission planner

Scorecard

Modelling Producer Statement

Construction and Demolition Waste Reporting Criteria

Waste Contractor Disclosure Statement

Waste Processing Facility - Disclosure Statement

 

15 & 16 - Shared Services and Low-Carbon Energy Supply Assessment Guide

15 & 16 - Energy Consumption and GHG Calculation Guide

15 & 16 - GHG Emissions Calculator

17A Performance Pathway - Sustainable Transport Calculator Guide

17A Performance Pathway - Sustainable Transport Calculator

17B Prescriptive Pathway - Public Transport Calculator Guide 

17B Prescriptive Pathway - Public Transport Calculator

18 - Potable Water Calculator Guide

18 - Potable Water Calculator

19 - Embodied Carbon Calculator Guide

19 - Embodied Carbon Methodology

19 - Embodied Carbon Calculator Please note, Microsoft often blocks macros on downloaded documents. In order to access the full calculator functionality macros needs to be enabled. Macros and adding the document as a trusted file can be done when the document is first downloaded or through the file's security properties. Find out more here

19 - Life Cycle Impacts Calculator Guide

19 - Life Cycle Impacts Calculator

Daylight and Views Hand Calculation Guide

Ecological Value Calculator

Refrigerant Impacts Calculator

 

Technical Question Form

Technical Clarification Rulings

Green Star recognises innovation and efforts to carve out new ways of building sustainably. Often these sit outside the current benchmarks laid out in the tool, however points are awarded under a seperate 'Innovation' credit. This recognises new initiates with a significant sustainability benefit.

Each project can submit up to 10 innovations to be considered for approval, for a maximum of 10 points towards a Green Star rating.

If you have an idea for an innovation in your project, we encourage you to talk to us as early in the process as possible.
How to claim Innovations
1. After reviewing the section for Innovation in the Green Star Submission Guidelines, your Green Star Accredited Professional will then need to registers a project’s interest in targeting an Innovation with the NZGBC.
2. You will then need to submit a completed Innovation submission using the template below. This outlines the initiative, its sustainability benefits and relevance in New Zealand.
3. Documentation will then need to be submitted for assessment after registration but before Round Two).
Project teams can provide partial documents or full documents in a 'Pre-Round One' or 'Pre-Round Two' review for each proposed innovation. If the innovation is granted conditionally pending further documentation, all the remaining documents need to be provided in either Round One or Round Two assessment. Innovations can't be targeted after Round Two.
Innovation Challenges
In addition to innovations claimed by projects, both Green Star and Homestar have published a list of innovation challenges. These recognise initiatives that don’t currently fit in to the main framework of these tools but that we believe are important to encourage and recognise. They cover environmental, social and economic sustainability initiatives. While some challenges only apply to some tools, others across all our tools. Several current innovation challenges were originally published by the Green Building Council of Australia for Green Star projects there, but have been adapted for Green Star and Homestar projects in New Zealand.
Click here to go see the Table of Innovation Challenges
You are welcome to submit a new challenge relating to sustainability issues you would like to address
Submission Template 

The submission template is developed to assist your project with an innovation submission – these will be submitted to us by your Green Star Accredited Professional (GSAP)

Innovation Template

Innovation Record
We’ve already recognised some incredible New Zealand buildings for innovative design and strategies.

Green Star Previously Awarded Innovations

Example submissions
These submissions, from NZGBC’s own office fit-out, will give you an idea of what NZGBC expects.

Exceeding IEQ-C: credit template and submission documents

Beyond Green Star

 

Disclosure Template

Built Streamlining Form

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Technical resources

NZGBC Members and Green Star Accredited Professionals can access the Submission Guidelines for free. 

For non-members the Submission Guidelines please contact the team to purchase.

Login, or get in touch 

Certification fees

Green Star Performance

Annual Fee Members Non Members
1st building $6,900 $9,430
Additional buildings up to and including the 10th, fee per building $1,500 $1,849
Additional buildings from the 11th project, fee per building $460 $575
Additional credit per building at Y1 & Y2 audit $500 $500

For those targeting the energy and water only pathway for Green Star Performance fees differ

 

Energy and Water only (annual fee)
Members
Non-members
1st building
$3,600
$4,800
Additional buildings up to and including the 10th, fee per building
$500
$600
Additional buildings from the 11th project, fee per building
$100
$200

Register a project

Complete the form to register a project and begin your Green Star journey                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Benchmark office energy use

While Green Star Performance offers a holistic, comprehensive benchmark of building operations, NABERSNZ is a trusted, industry-recognised tool for benchmarking energy use exclusively in office buildings.