Green Star Crop Coefficients – What are they and how does it work?
Crop coefficients (Kc) – are important values used in agricultural water management to estimate the water needs of crops. They represent the ratio between the evapotranspiration (ET) of a specific crop and the reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) – basically showing how much water a crop uses compared to a standardized reference.
In the context of Green Star – Australia’s leading sustainability rating system for buildings and communities – crop coefficients can play a role in landscape water efficiency credits. When projects include landscape design with vegetation, trees, or crop planting, understanding and applying appropriate crop coefficients helps:
- Accurately estimate irrigation needs,
- Optimize water use by avoiding overwatering,
- Support sustainable water management practices,
- Demonstrate compliance with Green Star’s water efficiency and ecological health criteria.
By using crop coefficients aligned with local climatic conditions and plant types, Green Star projects can better calculate and reduce the water consumption of their landscaped areas, contributing to overall sustainability goals and improving the project’s environmental performance.
