CIOB headquarters achieves Ska Gold standard

The new CIOB headquarters in Bracknell has achieved a Ska Gold sustainability rating. Prior to moving from its long term home in Ascot, the Institute took the decision to create a sustainable office environment that puts technology and employee comfort at its centre.

Project managed by fit-out specialists Morgan Lovell, the headquarters achieved 39 measures across energy use, CO2 emissions, waste, water, materials, pollution, transport and employee wellbeing.
Sustainability best practice was considered at every stage of the project and some of the measures included:

•    at least 90% of construction and demolition waste was either recycled or diverted from landfill

•    a project-specific construction travel plan was devised prior to work on site to reduce road transport movements and deliveries

•    materials and furniture with a low environmental impact were used

•    sub-metering technology was installed to monitor and manage energy use

Sophie Hutchinson, Sustainability Manager at Morgan Lovell, said: “This award demonstrates that sustainability best practice has been a cornerstone of the entire process, from space planning, the procurement of goods, the construction phase, and the handover phase. The whole team worked well together to ensure these goals were met.”

Chris Blythe, Chief Executive at the CIOB said: “We knew that moving away from our traditional offices in Ascot would require us to adopt a ‘practice what we preach’ attitude with regards to sustainability, but the Ska Gold rating goes beyond this, and we have worked hard to create a modern and comfortable environment for employees and visitors to the building.”

The CIOB joins a high profile list of companies including Mott MacDonald, RWE Npower and Nationwide which have achieved the RICS’ Ska Gold rating, and is one of the first to achieve the rating under the most recent version of the standard.