Green Star
Green Star assesses the sustainable design, construction and operation of buildings, fitouts and communities.
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The GBCA is involved in a range of different initiatives to benefit industry.
Interiors
Sustainability in interior fitouts
Green Star – Interiors assesses the sustainability outcomes of interior fitouts across nine holistic impact categories.
The current version of the rating tool is: Green Star – Interiors v1.2. This was released on 03/07/17.
The nine categories and credits
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.
Indoor environment quality (IEQ)
Aims to encourage and reward initiatives that enhance the comfort and wellbeing of occupants. The credits within this category address issues such as air quality, thermal comfort and acoustic comfort.
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.
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
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.
Materials
Aims to address the consumption of resources for the project, by encouraging the selection of low-impact materials.
Land use and ecology
Aims to reward projects that minimise harm and enhance the quality of local ecologies.
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.
Innovation
Aims to recognise the implementation of innovative practices, processes and strategies that promote sustainability in the built environment.
Innovation Challenges, found in the Innovation category, are designed to encourage and direct investment in solutions that address a wide range of social, economic and environmental sustainability issues. Some Innovation Challenges take the form of new credits, while others simply identify sustainability issues that additional research and innovation will help to address.
Change log
We are constantly working to improve and refine Green Star – Interiors in response to industry feedback and project queries. The change log provides a record of the revisions made with each release of the rating tool.
Download a list of categories and credits
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank everyone who contributed to the development of the rating tool.
Download a list of acknowledgements
Submission Guidelines
The Submission Guidelines provide detailed information on credit aims, criteria and compliance requirements and additional guidance, background information and resources. It is the main source of information on the technical requirements for projects pursuing Green Star certification.
Access the Submission Guidelines
The Submission Guidelines are available at our online shop. The guidelines are free to download for all members and available for purchase to non-members.
Green Star – Interiors v1.2, uploaded 03/07/17.
Scorecard
The scorecard is an interactive Excel spreadsheet that must be used by projects seeking Green Star certification. The scorecard provides a scoring tool for projects to keep track of their Green Star points claims. The scorecard is also used by the GBCA to provide the results of assessment.
Green Star – Interiors v1.2, uploaded 03/07/17.
Submission Templates
For all credits targeted, the project team must complete the credit's Submission Template. It specifies the information and narrative required to confirm that the project complies with the Compliance Requirements of the Credit Criteria. In the Submission Template projects are also required to provide details of the evidence included in the project's submission to justify the claims made in the Submission Template. Projects must submit these Submission Templates provided and are not permitted to use an alternative document.
Submission Templates are provided in MS Word format. Please note there are no automated or 'smart' features embedded within the Submission Templates. Project teams are to fill in and edit the Submission Templates to suit their responses within the shaded areas indicated within each Submission Template. Feedback on these templates are welcomed.
A zip file containing all Submission Templates for Green Star – Interiors v1.2 is available for download. This was uploaded on 14/07/2017.
Calculators and guides
Calculators
A number of credits require additional calculations to determine the number of points awarded. For these credits a Green Star – Interiors calculator has been developed.
Select a calculator below to download.
| Credit | Calculator | Latest update |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Greenhouse Gas Emissions | 20/07/17 |
| 17 | Sustainable Transport - Please submit a request via Green Star Manager for calculator access for registered Green Star projects | 22/01/19 |
| 18 | Potable Water | 14/07/17 |
| 19 | Life Cycle Assessment | 29/06/18 |
| 21 | Sustainable Products | 14/07/17 |
| 26 | Refrigerant Impacts | 14/07/17 |
Calculator guides and additional information
To assist project teams to use the calculators, supplementary guides are provided.
Select a guide below to download.
| Credit | Calculator Guide | Latest update |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Renewables and Offsets in Green Star Guide | 14/08/2018 |
| 16 | Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions | 12/05/2016 |
| 17 | Access by Public Transport | 03/12/2015 |
| 17 | Sustainable Transport | 03/12/2015 |
| 18 | Potable Water | 03/12/2015 |
| 19 | Daylight and Views Hand Calculation Guide | 03/12/2015 |
Sustainable materials additional support and guides
The Green Star materials category consist of credits that facilitate and recognise the efficient use and management of building and fitout materials. In order to assist project teams, the GBCA has made improvements and developed additional reference material.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD): Products and materials in Green Star rating tools are addressed by Credits which target the consumption of resources through selection, use, reuse and efficient management practices of building and fitout materials. The GBCA has developed some background and guidance relating to Life Cycle Assessment, and Environmental Product Declarations, when submitting documentation within Green Star credits.
PVC: PVC products using the in construction of buildings and fitouts are considered within Green Star rating tools, namely within the Best Practice Guidelines for PVC credit. Based on industry feedback, the GBCA has developed guidance on demonstrating compliance with the Green Star credit.
Construction and demolition waste: All Green Star rating tools include a Construction and Demolition Waste credit which aims to encourage and reward management practices that minimise the amount of construction and demolition waste from base building and/or interior fitout works that is disposed to landfill. The credit requires the use of waste contractors and waste processing facilities that have been independently verified for compliance with minimum standards of reporting. As a result of this consultation process, in 2013 the GBCA introduced the Construction and Demolition Waste Reporting Criteria for projects seeking Green Star certification.
Product Certification Schemes: The GBCA has developed a framework to acknowledge products certified by product certification schemes within the Materials category (Material Calculators, Fitout Calculators and the VOC credit) in Green Star rating tools for design and construction, and the Green Cleaning credit in Green Star - Performance.
Submission checklist
A completed submission requirements checklist must be submitted by project teams for all Round 1 and Round 2 submissions.
Download the submission requirements checklist
Previous versions
For all projects registered under a previous version of Green Star – Interiors, log on to your Green Star Project Manager to download all supporting resources required to complete your submission. The table below lists all previous versions of the rating tool and their release date.
| Green Star – Interiors | Release date |
|---|---|
| Version 1.1 | 03/12/2015 |
| Version 1.0 | 19/12/2014 |
| Version PILOT | 15/10/2012 |
While the rating tool will be updated from time to time, project teams are only subject to the Submission Guidelines for the rating tool that their project is registered under, or if the project team chooses, a later version. Project teams are not subject to clarifications or amendments made as part of a revision unless registered for that rating tool version.
Upgrading to the current version of the Green Star rating tool
If a project is registered under a previous version of the Green Star – Interiors rating tool, the Applicant may formally update the version of the rating tool (for example, move from Version 1.0 to Version 1.2). For additional details on this process, please contact the Market Engagement team.
The certification process
There are five simple steps to achieve certification:
- Register your project online.
- Get technical support.
- Compile your submission documentation.
- Submit documentation for assessment.
- Green Star certified rating achieved!
