The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors RICS has released a new Benchmark and certification process called the Ska Rating, that will help designers and contractors measure the environmental impact of their office refurbishment
The Ska-Rating lists 99 measures of good practice ranging from upgrading lighting schemes to how to dispose of the old carpet – or even if you should! Older, more established schemes such as those provdied by LEED and Breeam covered the entire building and transport beyond, which was difficult for those simply renovating an office in one or two floors of the building. The Ska rating scheme was launched in November of 2009 and is currently being explained to the industry through a series of trade seminars. Having attended one such seminar last week, I was encouraged by the desire and now ability to measure the carbon footprint of an office refurb. The online tool is very easy to use and can be seen as a guideline that will assist in any project whether or not the client wishes to have the full assessment made once it is complete.
The Ska rating committee are looking to expand the remit beyond office refurbishment into retail and hospitality and eventually into the domestic arena. Then it will become really interesting! Best of luck to RICS and Ska!
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