SKArating helps client, design, construction and supply teams in the built environment deliver interior fit-out projects sustainably. The system and methodology integrates a set of industry agreed good practice measures into daily project delivery. Founded on practical good practice measures and an open-source tool, the SKA process not only helps you to set practical goals at the start of the project, but also helps you to monitor and to get awarded at the end for delivering against the target. This consistent, industry led approach, is designed to help support systemic change in the fit-out process.
Our Mission?
SKArating exists to help you strengthen and improve the sustainability of interior fit-outs and refurbishments across commercial, retail and higher education spaces.
We want to support you in creating truly sustainable environments; with environmental, social and economic impacts all accounted for and driven to high performance. To do that, we will connect and align roles, organisations and initiatives along the full life-cycle of spaces, helping to create systems that deliver to Net Zero Carbon and 100% Circularity.
This updated SKArating roadmap outlines how the system is evolving across the three pillars of Sustainability — Environmental, Social & Wellbeing, and Economics & Value — through to 2030. It will be the first scheme globally to be offering all three assessments of sustainability under one scheme and system. We are extremely excited to be enabling this and supporting our clients and teams efforts to make sustainability easier and more impacting in real terms.
What’s new, and what’s next?
Environmental:
Offices v2.0 is launching summer 2025 and Offices 2.1 by 2029
Higher Education v2.0 and Retail v2.0 launching end of 2025 and early 2026 respectively.
The new Multi-Residential Accommodation scheme is starting development in Q2 2025 and the industry will be invited soon to participate.
A focus on alignment with Net Zero, circularity, and climate resilience driving all the environmental schemes.
Social & Wellbeing:
New scheme for Offices and Higher Education launching v1.0 by 2026 and v1.2 by 2030. More sector schemes to be added following initial consultations before 2030.
Bringing occupant health, equity, and community impact to the forefront and ensuring a fit-for-purpose social and wellbeing scheme for the interior fit-out sector is developed.
Economics & Value:
A first-of-its-kind focus on economic sustainability for fit-outs — v1.0 due by 2030
Helping teams consider lifecycle value, not just capital cost and space performance, all under one scheme.
Leveraging Life-cycle Costing (LCC) and performance efforts with industry partners, already active and opening doors to the interior fit-out sector to integrate in a sustainable way.
Ultimately, SKArating has been built by our community, all working in the sector and keen to drive change, built as a system that we can all use to hold ourselves to a long-term vision. A vision where a triple bottom line approach is easy to align to, completely accessible in any fit out, and which delivers real value and positive impact.
SKArating is evolving and growing to meet the challenge – and opportunity – of a regenerative future.
We would love you to join the conversations that are driving us and open new ones; we wish to include all who share our vision of a better future and help understand and address any barriers you may have. We wish to ensure the scheme works for everyone and helps us collectively deliver the change needed.
Join us at an event in the near future, as advertised in our socials, to find out more and talk to the committee, or feel free to email us your thoughts and interest topic at support@skarating.org to pass on to relevant parties.
In this podcast, Elina Grigoriou and Dave Wakelin, board members of SKArating, discuss the evolution and updates to the Offices scheme following the industry workshops and research stages in 2024. They also touch on some wider strategic directions for the whole system and open up about the process of developing and updating the scheme.
Key updates include:
The strategic scheme alignment with Net Zero targets by 2030, the alignment to 100% Circularity, including a broader focus on social/wellbeing and economic/value sustainability;
the use of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for decision-making, and the removal of outdated measures;
how the workshops and broader stakeholder involvement have enhanced the scheme’s relevance and practicality;
and the goals to streamline standards, improve performance, and ensure the system and all the sector schemes remain a practical tool for the industry.
If you would like to receive more information or have any questions about the Offices Scheme update, please sign up for our newsletter in the footer below, or contact us via email at support@skarating.org.
The Competent Professional course is created for those looking to explore the scheme in more depth without becoming an assessor, this pathway offers comprehensive learning and progression opportunities, helping individuals become more knowledgeable in the SKArating scheme and wider environmental sustainability of interiors.
Registrations are now open for existing Assessors wishing to renew as a Competent Professional if this pathway represents their role more accurately. Training courses for others wanting to become a Competent Professionals are in the final development stages and will take place in January with pre-bookings now open.
Professional Competency levels are a new part of the SKArating training and accreditation pathways. Each competency level encompasses a set of capabilities that candidates must meet to join and progress through each stage of SKArating training and accreditation. Key themes within these competencies include professional conduct, communication and management, systemic thinking, technical and sustainability knowledge, scheme and assessment knowledge, and the rules governing the system. As candidates complete each training level, they advance through these competencies, gaining progressively greater skills and expertise. Candidates aiming for accreditation as either a Competent Professional or Assessor must demonstrate proficiency at the highest and relevant competency levels. The introduction of these competency levels is designed to ensure that accredited candidates possess the experience and skills required to excel as SKArating Assessors or specialists within the industry.
To find out more about the Competencies Matrix, please take a look at the Pathways Guide here:
The approach and level of Assessor auditing and support for competency during the first year of Assessors has also been improved with new audits occurring on first projects. The aim is to guide Assessors in advance, avoid malpractice and maximise opportunities for project performance.
To maintain the standards of SKArating and ensure clients receive consistent and robust certification quality across the community and market, the auditing processes, benchmarks, and consequences have been updated to clarify outcomes. Under this updated system, Assessors will undergo an audit within their first year of accreditation, then adhoc and at least once every three years, or sooner if any “red flags” arise, whether from issues in their assessments or concerns regarding professional conduct. Assessor audits will be measured against set benchmarks that identify potential “major fail” items or general errors, resulting in a Pass or Fail at varying levels of “Consequences.” A Pass may be awarded either unconditionally or with recommendations, while a Fail will require retraining in the scheme, temporary suspension of accreditation, or a total ban from assessor status.
The new auditing initiative is designed to be a fair process for all Assessors, helping to uphold the scheme’s high standards while supporting professionals to gain strength in environmental sustainability and improve the wider industry.
To find out more about Quality Assurance (QA), please find the QA home page here and the QA Guide here.
To find out more and ask questions about the changes, sign up for our public online briefing session on the 20th November 12-1pm GMT:
We are delighted to announce changes to the scheme. With these improvements, we aim for high standards, improve the quality and effectiveness of SKArating, and provide greater openness and transparency for users and assessors alike.
The changes being introduced are:
New Competent Professional Pathway
For those looking to explore the scheme in more depth without becoming an assessor, this pathway offers in-depth learning and progression opportunities, helping individuals become more knowledgeable in the SKArating scheme. Please see below to see the new Pathway flow. Registrations are opening to this in November for existing assessors wishing to renew as Competent Professionals. Live training courses for Competent Professionals are starting in January and booking will be open imminently.
Enhanced Accreditation Process
Selecting the right pathway for you is now advised through undertaking a competency approach and self-assessment. We support all who wish to upskill and drive sustainable fitout projects whichever pathway they wish to take. Starting with the Competent Professional Accreditation pathway can lead to the Assessor Accreditation pathway following the achievement of the required competencies. The competencies matrix is a great way to plan the various knowledge and experiences needed to develop oneself into a high calibre professional.
New Auditing Process
A streamlined and clear auditing process will soon be introduced—stay tuned for more details!
If you’d like to learn more, ask questions and join the discussion, sign up for our online briefing(s) via the links below:
We are pleased to announce that important updates to our scheme are being introduced over the next month. These changes aim to improve the quality and effectiveness of SKArating, increasing openness and transparency, ensuring clients are getting what our scheme states, and assessors are supported to undertake and be rewarded for high quality assessments.
Over the next few weeks, we are introducing new operational processes that further ensure the quality of our assessors and open up new accreditation opportunities for professionals who wish to explore different roles with regards to SKArating assessed projects.
Key updates include:
New professional and accreditation pathways to support professional development and for those not pursuing an assessor role.
Enhanced support, guidance and auditing for assessors.
Improved quality of delivered assessments throughout the scheme’s implementation.
Further details will be shared over the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more information on these changes!
