Sustainability Certifications
We provide a range of sustainability certifications:
HomeStar assessment
HomeStar is an independent rating tool that certifies the health, efficiency and sustainability of New Zealand homes.
A home is rated on a 1-10 scale: a rating of 1 Homestar means it needs significant work, and 10 Homestar indicates international best practice. Most existing New Zealand homes only achieve a 2-3 Homestar rating. A new home built only to Building Code would achieve 3-4 Homestar.
At 5 Homestar, you have a home that’s better than Building Code; but 6 Homestar is the level at which you’ll start to notice a real difference in terms of better warmth, dryness, health and water efficiency. That’s because it’s certified as having:
- better levels of insulation than Building Code requires, so your home is cheaper to heat
- moisture-control measures
- water-efficiency measures such as dual flush toilets and low-flow showers, to save you money on water and/or hot-water bills.
There’s no one way to achieve a Homestar rating – although houses have to score a mandatory minimum number of points in energy, health and comfort, there are many options in other areas. For example, some people might opt for photo-voltaic panels for solar energy; others may want to score high for good waste practice.
GreenStar assessment
Greenstar is a commitment to standards of best practice and leadership for the development of environmental tools for buildings in New Zealand. These include:
- A common language and standard of measurement
- Promotion of integrated whole-building design
- Awareness of green building design
- Recognition of environmental leadership
- And reduction of environmental impact of development
Net Zero Energy
Net zero energy building standard seeks to eliminate environemental impact within a buildings footprint whilst minimising building operation costs.
Living Building Challenge
The Living Building Challenge building standards ensure very high levels of sustainability. It does not only look after the planet but also the people and resilience of communities.