With sustainability now a core priority in the UK’s built environment, SKA Rating is becoming an essential tool for responsible commercial fit-outs. Sustainability considerations are increasingly crucial for both landlords and tenants, not only due to heightened environmental awareness but also due to regulatory shifts and market demand.
Prioritising a sustainable approach in your commercial fit-out has clear environmental and economic advantages, including reduced construction and operational costs, increased asset value, and higher occupancy rates. A sustainable build also strengthens a company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy—a critical factor as stakeholders and investors continue to prioritise organisations that champion environmental responsibility.
The SKA rating is a Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) environmental assessment method, benchmark and standard for non-domestic fit outs. It helps landlords and tenants assess fit out projects against a set of sustainability good practice criteria known as good practice measures (GPM). The SKA rating is one of the many accreditation schemes established to help businesses prioritise sustainability in a quantifiable way.
The SKA rating was developed in light of industry feedback that previously available tools for assessing buildings weren’t always suitable for fit out projects. So, a team of designers, contractors, occupiers, agents and consultants were involved in the creation of a new assessment: the SKA rating.
The SKA guide documents over 100 GPM that the project team can implement – some measures have a higher sustainability impact than others, and are ranked accordingly. To ensure teams target an appropriate range of measures, each project must achieve a certain number of the highest-ranked GPM in order to be scored. These measures are referred to as gateway measures and are the key to achieving certification.
To learn more about rating schemes for sustainability and occupant wellbeing – including step-by-step breakdowns of the assessment processes – download our free guide.
download nowThe GPM that make up the SKA assessment criteria cover 8 different categories:
The SKA certification process has 4 steps. The following breakdown explains each step in detail.
The SKA assessor begins by reviewing the scope of relevant assessment criteria, deciding which apply to the project and creating a custom scorecard.
The assessor works with the project team during the design stage, ensuring the implementation of as many ‘in-scope’ measures as possible. At the end of this period, a design stage assessment is issued in order to provide an indicative rating for the project.
Throughout the construction stage, the assessor works with the project team to collect evidence demonstrating specified measures have been delivered. The final assessment is submitted after handover.
Once the handover assessment is submitted, the assessor is able to download the certification. From this moment, the project is certified and certification can be displayed.
A BREEAM assessment is another tool for certifying the environmental qualities of a construction project. Depending upon an organisation’s sustainability objectives, a SKA rating or a BREEAM assessment may be better suited to their project. The following comparison between the two is designed to give businesses a rough idea of which accreditation scheme they’d like to pursue.
BREEAM
SKA rating
We work directly with consultants to make sure our clients’ projects achieve all desired certifications. For every project with a sustainability objective, a consultant will work with the project team to align the design with all necessary scoring criteria.
“Sustainability is such a broad term and can mean so many different things. The SKA rating offers a simple and easy-to-follow framework that not only describes and defines what a sustainable office looks like, but outlines the most important elements to focus on. Following the Ska guidelines ensures that the project can achieve a certain level of sustainability in an objective way.”
London SW1 | Other
London W1A | Creative Industries
London EC1 | Gaming
London EC1 | Other
London W1A | Creative Industries
London EC2 | Financial