Ratings Snapshot

In partnership with the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC), it is our pleasure to bring you the Ratings Snapshot

In Aotearoa New Zealand, as in markets around the world, the links between environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, climate risk mitigation and investment appeal continue to grow. 

From multinational companies to small businesses, organisations are voluntarily setting net zero carbon targets and committing to ESG reporting frameworks that help them to measure performance against their own values and goals, as well as providing a way to communicate their performance to stakeholders and investors. 

The built environment contributes 20% of New Zealand’s emissions. 

Building better has the potential to improve health, reduce emissions, and improve resilience to climate change. A plethora of standards, rating tools and frameworks have emerged to help benchmark and measure various aspects of sustainability with some focussed more on occupier and tenant comfort.

 Aotearoa’s property, construction and investment markets are increasingly adopting these tools to measure and verify that building assets – both residential and non-residential – are demonstrating a level of performance that clients and investors are looking for.

This Ratings Snapshot provides an overview of the different rating tools available in Aotearoa and their key objectives, scope, governance and assessment processes. 

Given the ever-evolving nature of these tools, this document is not designed as a comprehensive compendium of all sustainability rating tools. Rather, it is intended to provide stakeholders with an overview of the rating tools available in New Zealand and how they may be applied. 

The document covers tools across the property sector. Urban communities and infrastructure are also included to reflect New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) and Property Council New Zealand’s policy priorities and the interests of our broad member and stakeholder bases. 

This Ratings Snapshot has been produced by NZGBC and Property Council New Zealand based on a version originally developed by the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) and in consultation with representatives from the rating organisations and managing entities of featured standards and rating tools.

A note to the reader

While every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of this document, all good frameworks are updated from time to time. While we will do our best to keep this document up to date, we encourage readers to get in touch with the local team with any detailed questions. This document has been compiled with information provided by the featured standards and ratings organisations, which is presented in good faith. While every effort was made to capture enough information to allow the reader to gain an understanding of each framework, and to ensure it’s accurate, not all information can be presented and detail may have been lost in the interests of readability. Revisions, corrections or additions: NZGBC and Property Council New Zealand reserve the right to change this document
and update it to ensure it reflects the strategic objectives and priorities of the respective organisations. NZGBC and Property Council New Zealand will also review the document periodically to ensure it is up to date.

Date of publication: 8 September 2022

Following up

For detailed information, please consult the website of each framework operator. To update or otherwise follow up on any details in this document, please contact info@nzgbc.org.nz.