Skansen

Skansen is delighted to announce that RICS is set to formally launch Ska Rating to the industry in November having formally assigned ownership from Skansen.

Ska Rating is the new RICS environmental labeling method designed to rate and compare the environmental performance of fit-out projects, initially for office buildings, in the UK, and to encourage good practice in fit out and refurbishment projects.  It is shortly to be formally launched (6th November 2009) by RICS, and under their stewardship is set to become the accepted UK property and construction industry standard.

This is a huge step in a journey that started in 2006 when Skansen implemented a Research & Development programme with the RICS in search of practical measures to benchmark good practice. It became quickly evident that any real benefits would have to be measured and codified in order to remove the ambiguity prevalent in the fitting out and refurbishment industry. Therefore in collaboration with AECOM (then Faber Maunsell) an environmental benchmarking tool for the fitting out industry, enabling clients and their advisers to achieve an environmental rating for their projects was developed. The Ska Rating was born.

During this period we have had huge support from the industry at large particularly from the member organisations of the Ska Development Committee who include:  

Without their support and resources in terms of time and technical expertise, the Ska Rating would not exist as it does today. It has been a huge collaborative effort and we are exceptionally proud to have been a part of it.

RICS is also set to shortly announce the schedule for RICS Ska Accredited Assessor training courses, demand for which is already high!

For more information on Ska please refer to the RICS website on the following link http://www.rics.org/site/scripts/documents_info.aspx?documentID=629&pageNumber=1 or feel free to contact James Pack at Skansen.

Further Comment on Ska Rating:

Tim Robinson, Director of Strategic Business Development at RICS "Thanks to Skansen's insight, leadership and generosity as a Founder, RICS has been able to adopt and further develop a genuinely useful tool for industry".

Paul Harrington, President of CoreNet Global's UK Chapter and Real Estate Director at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, "It is great to see a UK project do so well in the global Industry Excellence Awards, and CoreNet Global's UK Chapter is delighted to have nominated Skansen and RICS for focusing attention on a sustainable approach and measure for fit out projects."

Robin Harris, Immediate Past President of CoreNet Global UK "In 2008, Skansen's Ska Rating tool received the CoreNet Global UK award for Sustainability. The innovation is important as it specifically measures the environmental impact of fit-out projects, which will help both big and small companies improve their environmental performance and ultimately their bottom line. Skansen is now working with RICS to refine and launch the system to the industry, which is a commendable achievement."