SKA: Helping you pioneer sustainability good practices

In today’s world, organisations are prioritising corporate responsibility towards their employees, society, and the environment. Investors, clients, and colleagues are necessitating robust proof of these commitments.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) are a globally recognised professional body developing international standards in the built and natural environments, helping organisations formalise their achievements. SKA is a rating system of RICS that specifically helps landlords and tenants affirm fit out projects against a set of sustainability good practice criteria. SKA benchmarks the performance of fit outs against each other and the rest of the industry through the accumulation of these “good practice” points, and offers quality-assured assessments and certification from RICS-accredited SKA assessors, enabling you to formalise your sustainability endeavours.

How does it work?

SKA entails more than 100 good practice measures in the categories of CO2 emissions, waste, water, materials, pollution, wellbeing, and transport. An example of a good practice measure would be when wooden flooring is stripped out and sent for reuse in a salvage yard instead of being automatically assigned to landfill.

These good practice measures contribute to a final overall score, falling into Bronze, Silver, or Gold categories depending on their caliber. One advantage of SKA is that its point system is easy to ascribe and understand, useful for stakeholders or other parties who are less familiar with sustainability accreditations. Another advantage is the flexibility of good practice points, which can be adapted to best suit the scope of your project.

The adaptability of SKA

Sustainability isn’t easily (or ever) attributed to a one-size-fits-all approach, and SKA accommodates this. The assessment process is broken up into three stages of the fit out’s life cycle, and adaptable to suit each project.

SKA Stage 1: Design and Planning

The “Measures in Scope” are identified, allowing you to recognise which good practice points you want to try and collect throughout the fit-out process. Clients discern which measures are suitable for their design, and environmental performance standards are set out for how the project should be delivered.

SKA Stage 2: Delivery and Construction

The project is monitored to check if the targets specified in design and planning are being delivered on.

SKA Stage 3: Occupancy

One year after completion, an optional assessment is made to gauge if the finalised fit out is performing against the original brief. SKA accreditation can also be awarded solely upon practical completion.

Getting sustainability certified

Hoping to achieve sustainability accreditations like SKA for your own office interior design and refurbishment projects? Peldon Rose are ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified, and we’ve worked with multiple clients on sustainable design and fit out projects. In-house expertise within our Workplace Strategy team, certified in sustainability frameworks such as Fitwel and LEED, enable us to guide and verify the sustainability of built environments.

Lead by example

At Peldon Rose, we don’t just advise on sustainability, we walk the talk ourselves. In 2019, the design and delivery of our HQ in Wimbledon, Sterling House, earnt a gold star SKA rating. With triumphs such as 100% of waste diverted from landfill, low flow rate showers and shut off taps, smart meeting rooms with automatic awakening and shut down of systems, and sustainable sourcing of materials for our wooden flooring and the large wooden kitchen table, we’re demonstrating what it is to practice what you preach. The same goes for our new partnership with Planet Mark, which is helping us achieve our sustainability commitments over the next three years.

Contact us to find out how we can assist you with yours.