Performance
Operational performance of buildings
Green Star – Performance assesses the operational performance of existing buildings across nine impact categories.
It is used by building owners to measure how successfully they are managing their existing assets, and helps to communicate this commitment to investors and building users. A ‘continuous improvement framework’ has been built into the tool as the certification process is on a three year cycle, this allows for improvements to be recognised over time.
Current rating tool: Green Star - Performance v1.2
Date released: 29/11/2017
Performance highlights:
- Over 1,300 projects have been certified.
- It is most commonly taken up in the retail, office and industrial property sectors, but has also been used on health , education and civic buildings.
- Since its creation in 2014 it has become an important assurance tool for those seeking to invest in sustainable property assets. Its value has been recognized by the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) in many of its reports.
- It is also a certification pathway for carbon neutral assurance under the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard for Buildings
The portfolio approach
Green Star – Performance can be applied as a portfolio approach as well as to a single building. The portfolio approach allows multiple assets to be assessed all at once, so each building achieves an individual rating whilst the portfolio is also given an overall score. This is especially beneficial where there are common initiatives across the portfolio (such as management policies and contracts) as they can be recognised in an efficient assessment process.
Recertify Every Three Years and continually improve
Certification with Green Star – Performance lasts three years, with an annual requirement to submit energy and water data. The certification cycle therefore allows you to be recognized for improvements over time, which can contribute to an increased star rating.
Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard for Buildings
We are proud to have collaborated with the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources and NABERS to develop the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard for Buildings. The Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard for Buildings provides industry a recognised, streamlined and agreed way to certify that a building is carbon neutral in operation.
We now offer a certification pathway against the standard through integration in Green Star – Performance v1.2. Buildings in operation can be assessed for carbon neutrality at the same time as seeking a Green Star – Performance rating, and benefit from synergies of parallel assessment to achieve certified ratings.
Find out more about the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard for Buildings
Management
Aims to encourage and reward the adoption of practices and processes that support best practice sustainability outcomes throughout a building's ongoing operation and aims to improve a project's sustainability performance by influencing areas where decision-making is critical.
Indoor environment quality (IEQ)
Aims to improve occupants' experience of the space, by encouraging and rewarding initiatives and measured outcomes relating to attributes that enhance the comfort and well-being of occupants.
Energy
Aims to reward building owners for implementing strategies and taking actions to measure and reduce a building's operational energy use, below that of a comparable standard-practice building.
Transport
Aims to reward projects that facilitate a reduction of building occupants' dependency on single occupant motor vehicles as a means of reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions by influencing commuting habits based on location, and on transport-related services offered.
Water
Aims to reward building owners for implementing strategies and initiatives that reduce the consumption of potable water in building operations associated with cooling, irrigation and occupant amenities, below that of a comparable standard-practice building.
Materials
Aims to address the consumption of materials that go into, or come out of, a building during the operational phase of its life cycle, through sustainable procurement and purchasing and the management of waste.
Land use and ecology
Aims to reward buildings that minimise harm to the local ecology of the site, by discouraging environmental degradation, and by encouraging the restoration of natural environments whenever possible.
Emissions
Aims to address the environmental impacts of 'point source' pollution, generated by buildings, on the atmosphere and local waterways.
Innovation
Aims to recognise the implementation of innovative practices, processes and strategies that promote sustainability in the built environment.
Previous versions
For all projects registered under a previous version of Green Star – Performance, search the Green Star Resources page to download all supporting resources required to complete your submission. (a general overview of resources is provided on the Resources and Roles section of our website). The table below lists all previous versions of the rating tool and their release date.
Green Star – Performance | Release date |
|---|---|
| Version 1.1 | 08/04/2016 |
| Version 1.0 | 03/03/2015 |
| Version PILOT | 10/10/2013 |
While the Rating Tool will be updated from time to time, project teams are only required to adhere to the Submission Guidelines for the rating tool that their project is registered under. If the project team chooses, a later version can be used. 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
Projects must be registered under the latest version of the rating tool, and project teams are encouraged to use the latest version of the tool at all times.
As the initial three year certification period comes to an end, the applicant can resubmit data for all credits as part of a new certification process and achieve a new Green Star – Performance rating. The building’s Green Star rating may increase, decrease, or stay the same, depending on any operational improvement initiatives or works the applicant may have undertaken since the last rating was achieved.
Project teams may continue to use the version of the rating tool used for the initial certification for one recertification only, after which the latest version of the tool should be used.
For more technical resources to support your submission for assessment visit the roles and resources overview page and the Green Star Resources portal.
Go to the Green Star Resources portal