Incentives & Benefits of upgrading to v3

The release of Green Star - Office Design v3 and Green Star - Office As Built v3 represents a milestone in the assessment of the environmental attributes of buildings. It reflects World Leadership in rating tool development and is expected to further drive sustainable building in Australia.

The GBCA strongly encourages projects registered under either of the Green Star - Office v2 rating tools to consider upgrading to Green Star - Office v3 and take advantage of the many improvements. Research undertaken by the GBCA indicates that projects in early stages of development can upgrade with minimal difficulty.

Benefits of upgrading

Green Star - Office v3 provides additional clarity of assessment expectations and options for demonstrating compliance. While the GBCA will issue a comprehensive package of all improvements within Green Star - Office v3 that can be transferred to 'v2' projects, some will be limited to 'v3' projects to avoid disadvantaging already certified projects. The upgrade allows you to take full advantage of all improvements.

The new generation of Green Star also contains deemed-to-satisfy criteria; better caters to a wider range of projects; facilitates the collation of documentation and provides a more streamlined path to Green Star - Office As Built assessment. In addition, a number of initiatives to assist project teams, such as submission templates, are under development for Green Star - Office v3.

Incentives for upgrading

To encourage industry uptake of this more mature rating tool and to acknowledge the leadership that it will take, the GBCA is willing to offer additional support and incentives to upgrading projects at no cost payable to the GBCA:

- Upgrade free of change;
- The technical staff will provide additional time (interstate if required) to discuss the implications of upgrading with you;
- Receive a FREE Green Star - Office v3 Technical Manual
- Receive one additional CIR free of charge;
- Receive mention in the next Year Book and GBCA marketing material for your project; and
- Enjoy two (2) guaranteed Innovation points to acknowledge leadership and exceeding of Green Star benchmarks.

These incentives will be available to any projects already registered for Green Star - Office v2, but for a limited time only. To secure an upgrade, projects will need to execute an amended Certification Agreement by 31 October 2008.

NB: Project teams are advised to thoroughly review Green Star - Office v3 to ascertain the implications of upgrading. It is expected that the earlier the project is in the development phase, the easier and more cost-effective the upgrade will be. The upgrade must be implemented fully, i.e. no negotiation of credits or combining of different tool versions can be undertaken. GBCA staff are not in a position to review evidence or guarantee results of assessment, as assessment is conducted by third-party Certified Assessors. Projects may be invoiced for the additional services listed above if they do not upgrade.

Feedback

The GBCA is seeking feedback. What are your thoughts on the challenges and benefits of upgrading to Green Star - Office Design v3 and Green Star - Office As Built v3? What additional assistance could the GBCA provide to facilitate this transition? Please send any questions or feedback to: Greenstar@gbca.org.au