BRANZ tools and web resources
Whole-building whole-of-life framework
The framework provides tools, data and information to support decision making for sustainable building design. It assists calculation of the climate change impacts and other environmental impacts of our buildings.
Level: The authority on sustainable building
Level will help you design and build homes that have less impact on the environment and are healthier and more comfortable and have lower running costs.
REBRI: Reducing building material waste
REBRI provides a toolbox for reducing the amount of building material waste generated at construction and demolition sites that would otherwise be sent to landfill.
BRANZ Publications
BRANZ publications include research reports, good practice guidance, fact sheets and practical information for builders, architects, designers, building officials and tradespeople.
BRANZ Bulletins
- BU684 Thermal modelling tools for houses
- BU679 Introduction to calculating whole-of-life carbon footprints of houses
- BU669 Tools for measuring carbon in new-build houses
- BU655 Building blocks for new-build net-zero carbon houses
- BU651 Climate change, net-zero carbon and the building industry
- BU608 Building life cycle assessment
- BU603 Environmental product declarations
- BU596 An introduction to life cycle assessment
BRANZ Facts
- Sustainable construction #1: Passive solar design
- Valuing sustainability #1: Cost-effectiveness of adding resilience features in New Zealand houses
- Valuing sustainability #2: Cost-effectiveness of water conservation measures and rainwater tanks in New Zealand houses
- Zero-carbon build environment #1: A carbon budget for New Zealand houses
- Zero carbon built environment #2: Usage and uptake of engineered wood products in New Zealand
- Zero carbon built environment #3: Increasing the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in concrete production in New Zealand
BRANZ Research reports
- ER105 Biomaterials for low-carbon built environment: Fostering the new good (July 2025)
- ER99 Best practice urban form for emissions reduction. Carbon neutral neighbourhoods (2025)
- Climate change impacts on marae
- ER89 Climate change adaptation of buildings in New Zealand – research prioritisation assessment
- SR490 Climate change readiness in the construction sector
- ER86 SESOC Top Tips for Low Carbon Design
- ER83 Modelling the Role of Time in Carbon Footprints for Building Elements: Testing Different Methodologies
- SR477 The future of work: Equipping construction professionals with the skills to transition to zero carbon – a national survey
- ER80 Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in communities – evidence and opportunities for change in Aotearoa
- ER79 Overseas programmes for improving the operational carbon emissions from existing residential buildings – lessons for Aotearoa New Zealand
- SR479 Embodied carbon of New Zealand office and residential building services
- SR478 Housing stock strategies responding to New Zealand's 2050 carbon target
- ER76 Digital enablement of businesses, government agencies and consumers to make green building product purchases
- ER75 Adaptation of new buildings for climate change
- ER66 Removing the barriers to the use of significant levels of SCMs in concrete production in NZ
- ER63 Carbon budget of New Zealand buildings: A sensitivity assessment
- SR473 Roadmap for evaluating building performance for low-carbon houses
- SR470 Marginal abatement cost curves for the built environment: Developing a methodology
- SR418 New Zealand Whole-building whole-of-life framework: LCAQuick v3.4
- SR426 Measuring our sustainability progress: New Zealand's new detached residential housing stock (first update)
- SR403 The built environment and climate change: A review of research, challenges and the future
- SR351 New Zealand whole-building whole-of-life framework: Development of datasheets to support building life cycle assessment
- SR350 New Zealand whole-building whole-of-life framework: Development of reference office buildings for use in early design
- SR349 New Zealand whole-building whole-of-life framework: An overview
Build Magazine articles
- A data cornerstone for a low-carbon environment (July 2025)
- Climate resilience with advanced data analytics (July 2025)
- Carbon-neutral retrofitting for climate change (March 2025)
- Clever design for a low carbon future (March 2025)
- High quality data for carbon footprinting (November 2024)
- Designing to achieve net zero (November 2024)
- Take actions to address climate change (August 2024)
- Carbon-friendly office fit-outs (June 2024)
- Better tools for lower-carbon design (December 2023)
- How material durability influences embodied carbon (October 2023)
- Much ado about biogenic carbon (August 2023)
- Building back better in a changing climate (June 2023)
- Materials under the changing climate (June 2023)
- Waste in a low-carbon circular economy (April 2023)
- Towards zero-carbon construction (February 2022)
- First step in building for climate change (February 2022)
- Designing for the climate (February 2022)
- Designing for a climate change-conscious world (February 2022)
- Coastal risks can be reduced now (February 2022)
- Carbon reporting metrics (February 2022)
- Skills for zero-carbon transition (December 2021)
- Low carbon retrofits (October 2021)
- BRANZ carbon foot-printing tools (August 2021)
- Coastal adaption and managed retreat (June 2021)
- Climate change risk and the build environment (February 2021)
- Refurbishing for net-zero carbon (February 2021)
- Carbon budget for NZ housing (February 2021)
- Climate change and construction (December 2020)
- Preparing for climate change (October 2020)
- EPD growth in Australasia (June 2020)
- Design to cut carbon - the time is now (April 2020)
- Cutting carbon is a material issue (February 2020)
- Time for climate superheroes (February 2020)
Updated: 5 August 2025