A note for our project teams, property owners and developers who are working hard to transform our built environment with environmental sustainability as a priority.
With the annual GBCSA Convention in a few months, and the end of the year in sight, it’s important that project teams involved in certifying projects with GBCSA are aware of key dates that may affect their planning.
Green Building Convention
The 17th annual GBCSA Convention takes place 5-7 November 2024.
We plan to communicate and celebrate highlight projects at Convention, through the GBCSA Leadership Awards, as well as through convention media.
Should you wish to have projects included as entrants into the 2024 convention awards, they are required to be certified on or before 1 October 2024.
Please note that during this time our team will be fully involved at Convention, and so will unfortunately not be available to process certifications or payments.
Festive Season Closure
GBCSA’s annual closure for the festive season is from 20 December 2024 to 8 January 2025.
During this time, we will not be available to process certifications or payments. Should you wish to get projects registered and/or certified in 2024, and benefit from the current rates, we urge you to get your projects registered in good time.
Please consider the full payment process when factoring in the time required to finish the invoicing and payment requirements of your company.
In general, please consider the entire certification process required for Round 1 and Round 2 within your project programme. Green Star APs and/or EDGE Experts are responsible for communicating this to project owners and guiding projects teams by taking these timelines into consideration.
Please take note of the following timelines in relation to Convention:
GREEN STAR, NET ZERO & EWP CERTIFICATION
The entire GBCSA assessment timeline is 12 weeks – seven weeks for Round 1 and five weeks for Round 2.
Additional time should be added if Clarifications are needed in Round 1, as well as time for the project team to gather Round 1 and Round 2 data and closeout information for the process.
- If you wish to receive a Green Star Round 1 result before the GBCSA Convention, please ensure that this is submitted by 8 August 2024
- If you wish to receive a Green Star Round 2 result before the GBCSA Convention, please ensure that this is submitted by 23 August 2024
EDGE CERTIFICATION
The entire GBCSA assessment timeline is seven weeks – four weeks for Round 1 and three weeks for Round 2.
Additional time should be added if Clarifications are needed in Round 1, as well as time for the project team to gather Round 1 and Round 2 data and closeout information for the process.
- If you wish to receive an EDGE Round 1 result before the GBCSA Convention, please ensure that this is submitted by 30 August 2024.
- If you wish to receive an EDGE Round 2 result before the GBCSA Convention, please ensure that this is submitted by 6 September 2024.
ZENDESK AND ASSESSMENTS
There will likely be interruptions to Zendesk tickets and assessment periods over the GBCSA Convention.
- Please ensure Zendesk tickets are submitted by 21 October 2024. These will have the standard two-week turnaround time.
- Any tickets after 21 October 2024 could experience delays.
- Any projects submitted close to the Convention period are subject to the availability of GBCSA staff, assessors, moderators and/or reviewers.
- Any projects submitted after 12h00 on 1 November 2024 will be assigned to the Assessors and Moderators after 11 November 2024.
Please take note of the following timelines regarding project teams seeking certification and registration before year end:
GREEN STAR, NET ZERO & EWP CERTIFICATION
The entire GBCSA assessment timeline is 12 weeks – seven weeks for Round 1 and five weeks for Round 2. Additional time should be added if Clarifications are needed in Round 1, as well as time for the project team to gather Round 1 and Round 2 data and closeout information for the process.
- If you wish to receive a Green Star Round 1 result before the GBCSA shutdown, please ensure that this is submitted by 21 October 2024.
- If you wish to receive a Green Star Round 2 result before the GBCSA shutdown, please ensure that this is submitted by 4 November 2024.
EDGE CERTIFICATION
The entire GBCSA assessment timeline is seven weeks – four weeks for Round 1 and three weeks for Round 2. Additional time should be added if Clarifications are needed in Round 1, as well as time for the project team to gather Round 1 and Round 2 data and closeout information for the process.
- If you wish to receive an EDGE Round 1 result before the GBCSA shutdown, please ensure that this is submitted by 13 November 2024.
- If you wish to receive an EDGE Round 2 result before the GBCSA shutdown, please ensure that this is submitted by 20 November 2024.
ZENDESK AND ASSESSMENTS
There will likely be interruptions to Zendesk tickets and assessment periods over the GBCSA office shutdown.
- Please ensure Zendesk tickets (normal TCE or clarification submitted only) are submitted by 29 November 2024 These will have the standard two-week turnaround time.
- Any CIR & Eligibilities, or tickets requiring TAG submitted after 29 November 2024 will experience delays due to the office shutdown period.
- Any projects submitted close to the shutdown period are subject to the availability of an assessor, moderator and/or reviewer.
- Any projects submitted after 12h00 on 13 December 2024 will be assigned to the assessors, moderators and/or reviewers after 8 January 2025, which is subject to assessor and moderator availability.
ACTIVATION AND PAYMENTS
- If there is a project that you would like to be fully activated before the GBCSA office shutdown, please ensure that a signed certification agreement and payment is received by 9 December 2024.
- If you would like your project to benefit from 2024 fees, please ensure the GBCSA receives payment and that the signed certification agreement is uploaded by 31 December 2024. Full activation, however, will happen once the GBCSA team is back from the end of year shut down.
- For bulk registrations, please make certain of your account procedures for the invoicing and payments process when seeking to benefit from 2024 fees – this process can take between 2 – 4 weeks from project registration (for Green Star and EDGE via the Certification Engine or manually) to tax invoice, to make payment runs.
The GBCSA team will not be contactable from 12h00 on 18 December 2024.
We expect that 2024 could be an excellent year for Green Star, EDGE, Net Zero and EWP certifications as building owners and occupants continue to reap the health, environmental and financial rewards delivered by certified green buildings. We look forward to supporting professional teams in meeting their green goals in the coming months.
Thank you for your support.
