8 Conclusion

8.1 Overview

The aim of this project was to develop a sustainable commercial building assessment scheme for use in New Zealand as requested by the Ministry for the Environment. To ensure the appropriate direction was taken for New Zealand with the development of a scheme, evaluation of the most widely used building rating schemes from around the world was conducted, then discussed with the industry at large.

During this evaluation and industry consultation process it became clear that tools are not singular but operate as a suite of tools and are chosen depending on the stage of a building life-cycle; design, construction, operational and existing buildings (or retrofit) and interior fit-outs.

This investigation and market consultation for the Ministry for the Environment has highlighted several other key factors.

The level of knowledge of what sustainable building assessment schemes (or rating tools) are and how they are used is relatively low in New Zealand. It is therefore critical for the success of any scheme that there is an increased level of knowledge within the industry to both create demand for green building and increase the capacity of the industry to delivery high performing green buildings for New Zealand. The Green Building Council is set up as a vehicle for the delivery of information and education, and we seek to partner with government and other organisations to meet these requirements.
Industry feedback requests that any tool for New Zealand focuses on the end result; the performance of a building. This single request has influenced the thinking of the NZGBC and what we are recommending. Historically rating tools focus on the design phase of the building and do not include measures or processes to truly understand the actual performance of the building when in use.

With this understanding of how schemes operate and a good understanding of what the New Zealand market wants, we will begin the next phase of adapting the technical aspects of the New Office Design and Construction (As Built). Once they are released as draft versions we will begin work on both a performance measurement tool and existing building tool together with GBCA and BRANZ.

8.2 Critical Steps

Now that a decision has been reached, apart from the technical work that will be begin, there are a number of subsequent steps necessary to ensure the successful introduction of a building rating scheme to the New Zealand building industry. These include:

The findings of this report need to be reviewed by the Ministry for the Environment to ensure that the proposed scheme is in line with such initiatives as the Govt3 programme with the view that this tool can become a recommendation for best practise for Govt3 members.
Ongoing discussions with GBCA and BRANZ are required, regarding the planned adoption and implementation of intellectual property, including an accurate estimation of the timeframes involved, costs incurred, ownership and marketing requirements for each tool that is developed.
Industry awareness and support for the scheme needs to be facilitated through ongoing public engagement.
Education of key stakeholder groups is required to ensure the scheme is well-received and successfully adopted into the market-place. It is important that the NZGBC rating tools system meets the needs of the market so other tools are not developed by government or industry organisations that could cause market confusion and dilute the effectiveness that is possible through collaboration.

8.3 Implementation Plan

Following a similar model to the GBCA, tool development requires sponsorship. The budget required to successfully develop, launch and manage Green Star for New Zealand is $150,000. This will be funded mostly by industry and government at the following levels of engagement:

PLATNUM $50,000

GOLD $20,000

SILVER $15,000

BRONZE $10,000

As there is already a lot of interest in this sponsorship, work will begin at once.

Milestone targets:

August 2006	Sub-committee formed
September 2006	Sub-committee developed clear plan and process
	Memorandum of understanding with BRANZ and GBCA complete, work begins
October 2006	Funding secure
	Sub-committee begins work
November 2006	Tested on pilot buildings
	Reviewed and changes made
December 2006	Draft released to market
March/April 2007	Official launch, certification begins.

This timeline is based on cooperation of many stakeholders, it is agreed that we can deliver to this timeline, but in the case of unforeseen circumstances we request your understanding if we are to extend slightly if required to deliver a quality tool to the market.

8.4 In Summary

This project has gathered together a great deal of information on sustainable building practices, both in New Zealand and overseas. However, the data contributing to the direction taken has not been solely of a technical nature.

Early on in the process it became apparent that market acceptance and support from industry will be essential for the successful implementation of a sustainable building rating scheme. As such, industry consultation and engagement have been a priority throughout the course of the project. The result is a high level of interest in the concept of green buildings, both from the public and commercial sectors, with a lot positive feedback which exceeded our expectations.

Our partnerships the Green Building Council of Australia and BRANZ Ltd are the first step of the implementation process. In addition, market drivers such as the Govt3 programme are well-placed to drive demand for “green buildings” and the use of these tools once developed for New Zealand.

The Green Building Council is committed to partnering with government to ensure we can continue to improve the performance and reduce the impact of the built environment in New Zealand.

8.5 References

BRE (online):
http://www.breeam.org/ (Downloaded February 2006).

CASBEE Website:
http://www.ibec.or.jp/CASBEE/english/overviewE.htm (Downloaded February 2006).

GBTool:
http://www.buildingsgroup.nrcan.gc.ca/software/gbtoole.html (Downloaded February 2006).

Green Building Council Australia (online):
http://www.gbcaus.org/default.asp (Downloaded February 2006).

Green Globe 21 (online):
http://www.greenglobe21.com/ (Downloaded February 2006).

Green Office Scheme (online):
http://www.branz.co.nz/main.php?page=Sustainable%20Construction#office (Downloaded February 2006).

Green Star (online):
http://www.gbcaus.org/gbc.asp?sectionid=88&docid=952 (2006) (Downloaded February 2006).

Hargreaves, R (2005) Compendium and Evaluation of Building Environmental Impact Schemes being used in Australasia. BRANZ SR 135. Judgeford, Wellington.

NABERS (online):
http://www.nabers.com.au/ (Downloaded February 2006).

Sustainable Insight (Australia) Newsletter (2006) Issue 0603, March 2006.

Turner, J. A. (2005) Green Building Assessment Tools for New Zealand Office Buildings, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Civil Project 2005.

TUSC (online):
http://www.tusc.org.nz/index.cfm/home (2004) (Downloaded February 2006).

URS (2006) Green Building Assessment Tool Research Project: Interim Report, URS New Zealand Ltd, 9 May 2006.

World Green Building Council (online):
http://www.worldgbc.org/default.asp?id=1 (Downloaded February 2006).

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