Examining Green Star certification uptake and its relationship with Building Information Modelling (BIM) adoption in New Zealand

Abstract Although academia has concentrated on issues related to green building recently, Green Star, considered as the primary green rating system in New Zealand, has not caught adequate attention, leading to its slow development with a modest number of certified projects. This research aims to explore the perspectives of the key stakeholders in the New Zealand construction industry towards the use of Green Star, as well as its relationship and possible integration with Building Information Modelling (BIM). Specifically, six themes including 1) benefits of Green Star certification uptake; 2) challenges/barriers to Green Star certification uptake; 3) solutions for Green Star certification uptake; 4) relationship between BIM adoption and Green Star certification uptake; 5) barriers/challenges to the integration of BIM between Green Star; and 6) solutions for the integration between BIM and Green Star were highlighted. The data was collected from 21 semi-structured interviews with industry experts. The results identified a range of benefits and barriers/challenges to the use of Green Star. The research offers a variety of suggestions to encourage Green Star development, with more extensive education playing a critical role, combined with greater integration of BIM with Green Star. The results could be considered baseline information for the construction professionals and academia to have effective strategies towards BIM and Green Star adoption.