NZGBC Embodied Carbon Calculator Released

24th May 2023

The New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) has released an Embodied Carbon Calculator, Guide and Methodology. The release follows months of consultation with members and the wider built environment sector.

The calculator will help projects seeking Green Star certification measure, verify and compare embodied emissions in new buildings and major refurbishments. It is intended to align with MBIE’s Building for Climate Change (BfCC) programme.

NZGBC’s Green Star Design & As Built NZ v1.1 awards points based on a reduction in upfront embodied carbon. A minimum reduction of 10% is required to achieve a Green Star rating.

In addition, projects must demonstrate that whole-of-life embodied carbon is no higher than a defined maximum to show that the carbon footprint is not simply shifted from the first stage of the building’s life to the later stages.

The New Zealand built environment, including infrastructure, contributes 20% of the country’s carbon emissions and reducing embodied carbon is one of the greatest challenges faced by the industry.

The use of carbon footprint data from independently verified EPDs of construction products is rated the highest quality in the methodology.

The Embodied Carbon Calculator, Guide and Methodology, developed with thinkstep-anz, are available here.