‘Growing demand’ for Ska ratings
Ska is managed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, while BREEAM is handled by the Building Research Establishment (BRE).
Sam Bensky at consultancy Rider Levett Bucknall in Manchester says demand from clients has pushed the number of Ska Ratings he’s handled in the past year from one to six.
“We’ve seen a massive surge in interest in it recently and that’s been client driven. We’ve got a government client with a big sustainability agenda and they’ve really pushed it forward with us.”
He added: “We’re dealing with clients who have really struggled with BREEAM on existing building stock and are now looking at Ska.”
The Ska rating is based on a list of 99 measures, ranked in order of their impact on energy efficiency and CO2. But the project team can select the measures relevant to the building.
“Where you’re only doing a refurbishment, Ska only assesses the elements of work you’re carrying out,” says Bensky.
A spokesman for BRE said BREEAM was being upgraded to better suit refurb jobs.
“The current scheme does account for refurbishments but we’ve put a lot of time and effort into a specific refurbishment scheme. It will be out at the end of the year and pilots are going on at the moment.”
