01 Dec 2022
Introduced in 2020, Green Star Buildings is GBCA’s newest rating system for new buildings and major refurbishments, aiming to deliver buildings that meet or exceed what is required to meet a 1.5C trajectory.
Green Star Buildings v1 includes specific requirements that vary based on the date of registration. There are new requirements that apply for projects seeking a 5 Star and a 6 Star rating that register from January 1, 2023. The requirements are described in the Green Star Buildings Submission Guidelines under the Climate Positive Pathway. Click here to learn more about the upcoming changes.
With 2023 fast approaching, projects looking to achieve a 5 Star or a 6 Star rating and not wishing to meet the additional requirements must meet the following dates to be considered registered before 2023:
Projects that do not execute the certification agreement or pay the certification fee by the above dates, or that register after January 1, 2023 will need to meet the additional requirements.
Projects already registered under Green Star – Design & As Built (any version) that wish to change their registration to Green Star Buildings are subject to the ‘Registering from 2020 onwards’ requirements regardless of when they update their rating tool. They are not subject to the 2023 requirements. However, those upgrading are still subject to the requirement that applies to all buildings under ‘Certified after 1st January 2030, regardless of registration date’.
If you have any questions, please contact the market engagement team on meteam@gbca.org.au
We continuously strive to improve your Green Star experience. Here are just some of our most recent improvements to make your Green Star journey easier:
As explained in the June 2022 edition of Inside Green Star, to streamline the certification process the Pre-Assessment Reviews completed by GBCA are now optional from 1st January 2023. All projects will proceed straight to assessment once submitted, unless the Submitter requests a Pre-Assessment Review (PAR) to be completed by GBCA when they submit for assessment. The scope of the GBCA’s Pre-Assessment review is outlined within the Pre-Assessment checklist. At which time an invoice for $220 (excl gst) will be sent. This fee, and any outstanding fees, must be paid prior to results being issued.
To help ensure your submission has been completed appropriately prior to submission, we encourage you to do a self check based on the Pre-Assessment checklist. This Pre-Assessment checklist, and other guides, to help project teams complete this quality assurance on submissions yourself, are available here:
Want more information on Green Star? Go to our Resources page and also our Rating system page to find the latest information available on all Green Star ratings.
Looking to submit for assessment in 2023? Check out these important deadlines to make sure you get your results in time.
There are two new resources to help you on your journey to reducing upfront carbon. The first is an interim version of our upcoming Upfront Carbon Emissions calculation
guide, outlining how to establish a reference building to help demonstrate reductions in upfront carbon emissions. The second is the launch of CIBSE TM65ANZ, a calculation methodology for embodied carbon in building services localised for Australia and New Zealand.
The new interim guide helps provide a higher level of comparability and certainty in upfront carbon calculation for Green Star Buildings projects by:
The guide can be downloaded from the Resources Portal on the GBCA website. With thanks to thinkstep-anz for their work on this guide.
Note: This is an interim version of a comprehensive guide to calculating upfront carbon emissions reductions. This guide is an in-progress guide – we are looking for feedback from industry on its content, and to provide interim guidance to projects seeking a Green Star rating. The final version of this guide will also change to reflect guidance developed as part of the NABERS Embodied Carbon project.
In January 2021, CIBSE launched TM65 Embodied carbon in building services: A calculation methodology which outlines the need for assessment of embodied carbon of products linked to building services engineering systems, to increase knowledge and facilitate research related to whole life carbon. The guide was UK specific, and with the introduction of the upfront carbon reduction requirement in Green Star Buildings, GBCA saw an opportunity to bring the guidance to Australia.
The purpose of the TM65ANZ guide is to help the industry take a first step together to evaluate embodied carbon emissions in building services design, alongside operational carbon emissions. The intention is for consultants and engineers to feed their findings back to CIBSE, enabling the creation of thumb guidance and to develop embodied carbon product benchmarks.
This project was led by the Green Building Council Australia and CIBSE Australia and was facilitated by Integral Group with input from a local working group.
Whether it's a mixed-use development in the heart of the city, an industrial facility in the suburbs or a whole community of homes committed to Green Star Homes Certification, this latest report shows Green Star continues to be the sustainability rating system of choice in Australia.
In a year of transition and opportunity, we certified a record 467 projects and more users than ever before were 'extremely satisfied' with Green Star.
We also released two electrification guides, a roadmap for precinct decarbonisation, and a resilience guide. All this can be found in our report.
Green Star Performance v2 will officially launch and open for registrations in mid 2023 with a new online platform that will automate and streamline your reporting process and make it easier to fulfil your ESG obligations and communicate their benefits to investors.
We are launching a series of additional resources to help you better understand how Green Star Performance v2 applies to your project to get you set up for launch.
You can access these on our Resources portal. Click hereand filter by the Green Star Performance tool.
Go to the Resources portalResources coming soon:
You can find more information about Green Star Performance v2 in our recording of the launch here. The webinar covers:
For further information related to transition dates and other FAQs, see last edition’s article here.
Check out our free FAQs before submitting a question.