LOTUS Rating Tool

Certification and Submission Guidelines

© Copyright Vietnamese Green Building Council. 2010. Permission is given for this document to be
copied without infringement of copyright for use only on projects where a LOTUS assessment is
carried out. Whilst every care is taken in preparing this document, the Vietnamese Green Building
Council cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies or for consequential loss incurred as a
result of such inaccuracies arising through the use of the document. The Vietnamese Green
Building Council reserves the right to amend, alter, change or update this document in any way
and without prior notice.

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Contents

1.  LOTUS Certification ....................................................................................................................................... 3 

1.1  Overview ............................................................................................................................................... 3 

1.2  Timeline ................................................................................................................................................. 4 

2.  Application and Registration......................................................................................................................... 5 

3.  LOTUS Provisional Certification .................................................................................................................... 7 

3.1  Round 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 8 

3.1.1  Notification Form Submission ....................................................................................................... 8 

3.1.2  Submission .................................................................................................................................... 8 

3.1.3  Assessment ................................................................................................................................... 8 

3.1.4  Final results ................................................................................................................................... 8 

3.2  Round 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 9 

3.2.1  Provisional Certification ................................................................................................................ 9 

4.  LOTUS Full Certificate .................................................................................................................................. 10 

5.  Submissions ................................................................................................................................................. 11 

5.1  Project Submission Folder .................................................................................................................. 12 

5.2  General Information Folder ................................................................................................................ 12 

5.3  Category Folder .................................................................................................................................. 13 

5.4  Credit Folder ....................................................................................................................................... 13 

5.4.1  Credit Cover Sheet ...................................................................................................................... 13 

5.4.2  Prerequisite ................................................................................................................................. 14 

5.4.3  Documentation Formatting, Content and Presentation ............................................................. 15 

6.  Glossary ........................................................................................................................................................ 16 

Appendix. 1 ........................................................................................................................................................... 18 

The following document has been created for all LOTUS Rating Tools to guide applicants through
the process of LOTUS Certification and Submission.

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1. LOTUS Certification

1.1 Overview

LOTUS Certification is a formal process to independently validate how a project has achieved the
environmental performance specified in LOTUS Rating Tools. Documentation-based submissions
are provided to the VGBC as evidence of this achievement.

There are two steps to gain a LOTUS Full Certificate:

• LOTUS Provisional Certificate

• LOTUS Full Certificate

These levels are progressive and a LOTUS Full Certificate cannot be issued without the project
having first achieved a LOTUS Provisional Certificate.

• The LOTUS Provisional Certificate is awarded after the completion of the design stage of the
project. The Provisional Certificate certifies that the necessary requirements and strategies are
in place for the building to become a “green building” and is valid for 2 years from completion
of commissioning. This gives the opportunity for a project to be marketed as “green” from an
early stage, before achieving the LOTUS Full Certificate.

• The LOTUS Full Certificate is awarded after a minimum of 18 months of operation and
occupation (minimum occupancy of 50% of design) and is valid for 3 years. This certification
demonstrates that all green building strategies of the design stage were incorporated and
achieved into the final construction and operation. Where the installation differs from that
specified within the LOTUS Provisional Certificate, projects must justify how these changes
provide an equal or greater environmental benefit for the points to be awarded.

This document outlines the steps required to attain a LOTUS Full Certificate:

1. Application and Registration

2. LOTUS Provisional Certificate
3. LOTUS Full Certificate

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1.2 Timeline 

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2. Application and Registration

Registering a project with the VGBC declares the intent to pursue a LOTUS Certification using a
LOTUS Rating Tool and is the first step in the certification process.

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For any building to go through the certification process, all eligibility criteria must be achieved. It is
the Applicant Representative’s responsibility to ensure that only eligible projects are registered for
certification. The VGBC reserves the right to refuse certification of eligible projects. If you are in any
doubt of whether a project meets the eligibility, please contact the VGBC.

Applicants must fully complete an Application Form and submit it to the VGBC.

On receipt of the Application Form the VGBC will check that it is fully completed and all supporting
information has been provided.

• In the event of some missing or inadequate documentation, the Applicant will be notified and
will have the opportunity to provide the missing information.

• Once the Application Form has been confirmed as complete, the VGBC will request the payment
of the Registration and Certification Fee. In addition, a VGBC Certification Agreement with all
necessary terms and conditions will be signed by both the Applicant and the VGBC.

• On receipt of the Registration and Certification Fees and a signed copy of the VGBC Certification
Agreement, the project registration is completed. The applicant will then be issued with a
Project Identification Number (PIN) and assigned a VGBC Representative for the certification
process. At this point, the Applicant is to nominate a Applicant Representative for the duration
of the project that will be the primary contact for the VGBC.

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3. LOTUS Provisional Certification

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The Project Design Team will need to identify which level of performance they want to achieve at
the beginning of the design stage.

Following registration, the Project Design Team must prepare all the evidence required by the
LOTUS Rating Tool being used to justify how all prerequisites and selected credits are achieved.
This evidence includes all drawings, calculations and documentation as listed in the Submission
Section for each credit of the LOTUS Technical Manual.

3.1 Round 1

3.1.1 Notification Form Submission

Once the Project Design Team has compiled all evidence to be verified by the VGBC, the Applicant
Representative submits to the VGBC Representative a Notification Form. This contains the date
when all evidence will be submitted to the VGBC. A minimum of two weeks’ notice must be
provided.

3.1.2 Submission

The Applicant Representative submits all required evidence for Provisional Certification
Assessment. The VGBC recommends that all evidence is provided before the beginning of
construction work to ensure the most efficient management of the project.

Further information regarding Submissions can be found in Section 5: Submissions.

3.1.3 Assessment

Supplied data will be analysed by the VGBC Representative to assess whether the LOTUS Credit
requirements are achieved and how many points are verified.

3.1.4 Final results

If all necessary evidence is compliant with the requirements of the chosen LOTUS Rating Tool, a
LOTUS Provisional Certificate and a report detailing the final results will be issued to the Applicant
Representative by the VGBC Representative.

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3.2 Round 2

In the case Round 1 fails to provide the necessary evidence for Provisional Certification or would
like the opportunity to improve on the findings to gain a higher level of certification, the Applicant
has a single opportunity to make a second round of submissions for re-assessment in Round 2. The
Applicant Representative will have the right to provide further evidence to demonstrate to the
VGBC Representative how appealed Credits have finally been achieved. A maximum of 5 Credits
can be open for appeal. Further appeals levy additional costs.

3.2.1 Provisional Certification

At the end of Round 2, a LOTUS Provisional Certificate can be awarded based on the number of
points verified and be classified as either a LOTUS Certified, LOTUS Silver or LOTUS Gold . The
LOTUS Provisional Certificate is valid for 2 years from completion of commissioning. To continue
marketing a LOTUS rating after this time, projects must demonstrate that the building was
constructed and operated as per design in order to achieve a LOTUS Full Certificate.

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4. LOTUS Full Certificate

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Upon completion of the project, the final performance of the building will be assessed through as-
installed and operational data. This is to be undertaken after a minimum of 18 months of operation
and occupation (minimum occupancy of 50% of design) and is valid for 3 years.

As within the Provisional Certificate assessment, the Applicant Representative is required to submit
a Notification Form 2 weeks prior to the date of the final submission. The assessment process for
LOTUS Full Certificate is the same as the LOTUS Provisional Certificate and consists of the two
rounds of assessment. The difference is that instead of verifying design documentation, the LOTUS
Full Certificate assessment verifies as-installed and operational evidence.

The LOTUS Full Certificate will be issued by the VGBC upon completion of this final assessment.

Building projects will be issued with LOTUS Certified, LOTUS Silver or LOTUS Gold certificates
depending on the number of points achieved.

Buildings require performance re-assessment every 3 years in order to maintain their LOTUS rating.

5. Submissions

A single Submission is required as evidence to demonstrate how a project meets the requirements of 
a LOTUS Provisional Certificate and LOTUS Full Certificate. The following sections detail the structure 
of this submission.  

In order to provide evidence for assessment after a Notification Form has been submitted, the
VGBC Representative provides the Applicant Representative with the following pre-arranged
submission folder which includes all Credit Cover Sheet templates.

Category/General Folders  Credit Folders 

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5.1 Project Submission Folder

The Project Submission Folder is the main folder provided that, upon completion, will be returned
to the VGBC Representative for assessment. The Project Submission Folder contains 11 sub-folders
for the LOTUS Rating Tool Categories and a General Information Folder.

When returning the Project Submission Folder for assessment, two CD-ROM copies must be sent to
the VGBC by the day of Submission as agreed on the Notification Form.

The Applicant Representative must use the folder structure detailed above. More information
about the General Information folder, the Category folders and the Credit folders can be found in
the next section.

5.2 General Information Folder

All project information should be provided in the General Information Folder. If information is not
provided within the area, this could cause problems validating evidence when assessing individual
credits.

The following information must be provided:

• A summary of the project including:

− Brief description of the site, building fabric and building services

− Summary of environmental features
− A list of LOTUS Credits targeted and all prerequisites
− A list of consultants (LOTUS AP, Mechanical, Electrical, Fire, Commissioning Agent,
Architect, Building Owner, etc)
− An area schedule (GFA, Site Area, Residential Area, Car Park, Roof, etc),
− Any unique aspects of the project that may affect its assessment (e.g. design
documentation references multiple building names, changes in the Project Team
members, etc)
− Summary of the challenges experienced in compiling your LOTUS Submission
− Provide copies of correspondence between the Applicant Representative and the
VGBC Representative that may impact the project assessment

• A full set of project documentation, including:

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 − design drawings and specifications for all architectural, mechanical, fire, electrical,
hydraulic and building controls are provided on a separate CD-ROM to assist the
assessment.
− The VGBC recommends specifications are provided in .PDF format

5.3 Category Folder

Within each Category Folder, one for each LOTUS Rating Tool Category, applicable folders for each
Credit can be found.

5.4 Credit Folder

Each Credit Folder contains a single Credit Cover Sheet as described in Section 5.4.1 Credit Cover
Sheet.

5.4.1 Credit Cover Sheet

The Credit Cover Sheet summarises how a project has achieved the credit requirements and links
all applicable documentation as evidence. Its aim is to introduce the credit criteria and provide
feedback on the assessment of the credit.

In order to make the assessment easier and quicker, Credit Cover Sheets for all Credits have been
supplied and formatted for submissions (Section 5: Submissions). The Credit Cover Sheet for each
credit being targeted, including all those with mandatory prerequisites, must be completed for
Submission.

Each Credit Cover Sheet contains the following sections that must be completed for Submission:

• Project Review: Complete the table

• Points : Tick the right box for the number of points claimed for the credit
• Approach and Implementation: Insert a detailed summary to explain how the credit
requirements have been complied in terms of intent, solutions found, methodology used,
main features, results and challenges
• Specific Information: Complete the section when it does exist on the Credit Cover Sheet
• Documents submitted: Complete the table by

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 − Adding the exact name of the electronic file in ‘Document Name’.
− Explain within the ’Document Intent’ why the document has been provided.
− Inserting the electronic document in ‘Document Link’ using Insert/Object/Create
from File (Appendix.1).
− Adding a ‘Reference’ which will be used to guide the VGBC Representative when
assessing multiple documents within a Credit (e.g. page 10 - 25, section 3.4, table.
4.3).

5.4.2 Prerequisite

LOTUS ratings cannot be awarded unless all prerequisites have been achieved. For each
prerequisite, a Credit Cover Sheet must be completed clearly showing how the prerequisite
requirements have been met.

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5.4.3 Documentation Formatting, Content and Presentation

All documentation that will be included within a Credit Cover Sheet is to use the following format,
content and presentation guidelines:

Formatting

All reports to be in A4 format

All report headings to contain the Project Identification Number (PIN), the Applicant name, the date, the
LOTUS Rating Tool version used and the applicable Credit name as in LOTUS Rating Tool

All plans, drawings, perspectives to be in a maximum A3 format, in the final draft and in the right
orientation for reading with the scale clearly indicated

All document titles to be coherent with the name of the credit and its content to avoid any confusion (e.g. :
E-1 Report ; E-1 Appendix A)

Content

All documentation to be in English. When clearly impossible, all relevant information required for the
assessment must be highlighted and translated into English. Vietnamese to be available in the future

In all reports, the description and methodology developed should be detailed

All calculations to be clearly developed and explained. Results standing alone will not be accepted

All calculations to be submitted in the required SI units from the LOTUS Rating Tool

Presentation

All documentation provided for the assessment must be inserted in the electronic folder provided after
registration. Each document has to be inserted in the right folder corresponding to its Credit

Each Credit Folder must contain its own Credit Cover Sheet fully completed except for the credits not
targeted

All important and required information for every single document must be clearly highlighted

All presentation styles (fonts, spacing, titles, arrangement, etc) to be coherent thorough the whole
submission

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6. Glossary

Terms Definition

Applicant The Applicant is the person/organisation applying for LOTUS Certification of a

project.
The Application Form is the first step of registering a project with the VGBC.
Once completed, the VGBC will check to see that all relevant information is
Application Form present and correct, register the project and request the payment of a
Registration/Certification Fee and the signing of the Provisional Certification
Agreement.

The Applicant Representative is responsible for all elements of the certification

and submission process within LOTUS Rating Tools. Normally a LOTUS AP, the
Applicant Representative
Applicant Representative will directly liaise with the Client Manger throughout
all stages of LOTUS Certification.

A Category is a grouping of Credits that have a similar area of focus and

Category
perceived environmental impact.

The Certification Fee, value dependent on the size of the project, is a one off
charge by the VGBC for the total administration process of LOTUS Provisional
Certification Fee
and LOTUS Full Certification and is bound by the VGBC Certification
Agreement.

Each Credit (86 in total) has a specific intent that, if followed and achieved,
Credit allows the user to gain points within a LOTUS Rating Tool. In addition, some
Credits have mandatory Prerequisites.

The Credit Cover Sheet is the standardised template for all credits provided to
the Applicant Representative by the VGBC Representative. Credit Cover Sheets
Credit Cover Sheet
are the only documentation allowed to be used within the all certification
processes to apply for credit points.

The LOTUS Certified Rating is the result obtained after a Submission has been
LOTUS Certified Rating assessed by the VGBC Representative. A project can achieved 3 levels of
certification, LOTUS Certified, LOTUS Silver or LOTUS Gold in both LOTUS
Provisional and LOTUS Full Certificate.
The LOTUS Accredited Professional or LOTUS AP has undergone training and
LOTUS Accredited successfully passed the LOTUS Rating Tool examination. Upon Accreditation,
Professional (LOTUS AP) the LOTUS AP is then deemed qualified to work either as an internal or
external resource within a LOTUS project.

The LOTUS Technical Manual is a user’s guide to attaining a LOTUS Provisional

and Full Certificate. It provides technical guidance for all LOTUS Credits in
LOTUS Technical Manual
order for users to understand intents, requirements, approaches and
implementations, calculations and submissions.

The Notification Form is submitted by the Applicant Representative to notify

the VGBC that the Client is ready to provide ALL submissions in order to be
Notification Form assessed for LOTUS Certification. The Notification Form must be submitted a
minimum of 2 weeks prior to the main Submissions in order for the VGBC to
organise the period in which the project will be assessed.

Prerequisites Prerequisites are mandatory minimum levels of performance and can be found
at the Category and Credit level. If a LOTUS Rating Tool is to be used for LOTUS

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Provisional Certification
Agreement
Project Design Team
Project Identification
Number (PIN)
Project Manger
Registration Fee
Submission
Submission Section
VGBC Certification
Agreement
VGBC representative
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Certification, ALL Prerequisites must be attained.
The Provisional Certification Agreement is signed prior to Registration
Confirmation and sets the boundaries of legal responsibility towards the
project for both parties.
The Project Design Team are the core team of experts involved in the design of
a project that must integrate the principles of sustainability into the design
process in order to gain points for certification.
The Project Identification Number (PIN) is a unique 8 digit reference number
issued at the Registration Confirmation. This reference number must be
protected and is for the use of the Applicant Representative when providing
submissions to the VGBC.
The VGBC Representative is the nominated within the Registration Process and
will be the VGBC primary representative that liaises with the Applicant
representative throughout the duration of the project.
The Registration Fee is a one off charge by the VGBC for the administration
process of registration to a LOTUS Rating Tool and is bound by the VGBC
Certification Agreement.
The Submission is the process where all documents are provided to the VGBC
Representative for assessment.
The Submission Section details all requirements that will be assessed for
LOTUS Certification.
The VGBC Certification Agreement is the legally binding contract signed
between the Applicant and the VGBC upon registration.
The VGBC Representative is nominated after registration and the person
responsible for all communication throughout a LOTUS Project and will
directly liaise with the Applicant representative.
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Appendix. 1 

Step 1 : Select location then Insert object

Step 2 : Select ‘Display as Icon’ tick box

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Step 3 : Browse the document to insert and click OK

Step 4 : The document selected is inserted and an icon is displayed

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