Studio Knight Stokoe Annual Impact Report 2024

Impact Report

Studio Knight Stokoe is a dynamic landscape architecture and urban design studio.

We work across a wide range of sectors and scales, with a focus on creating resilient, regenerative, and enduring landscapes.

Our studio is founded on the principles of our responsibility to the natural world, social consciousness, and a skilfully considered and composed approach to our craft.

We believe that as designers, we have a responsibility to positively shape places, through

high-quality, distinctive, and empathic design.

Collaboratively, we deliver places that benefit society, nature, and the environment.

Hello and Welcome

Where to begin? Where else but to celebrate reaching the end of our first year in practice. We’ve had a fantastic time so far, and we’d like to thank everyone who helped make this such an enjoyable first year for us. We’ve exceeded our early forecasts for year one, met lots of new people who have become frequent collaborators and friends, and sought to build on existing relationships with our fantastic clients and fellow professionals. We’re already starting to achieve our studio ambitions of being able to contribute tangible benefits to society, nature, and the environment.

We hope you enjoy reading what we consider to be the highlights of our first year. We’re looking forward to everything that year two will bring.

Martin Knight and Claire Stokoe Co-founding Directors

About this Report

As a responsible business, we consider it essential to be accountable and transparent about how we operate and

to

clearly set out the impacts our Company and projects have on society, nature, and the environment. This is our first Impact Report, and we’ll be producing one at the end of each year that we’re in business. This first report is an important milestone for us and includes key metrics that we’ll be measuring against in the coming years.

Our business ethos is geared towards delivering benefits not only to our shareholders but to all those involved, our stakeholders.

Recognizing the interconnectedness of our social, economic, and environmental impacts, we merge our considerations for benefit reporting with our financial reporting.

By assigning equal importance to our impact on people and the planet alongside financial performance, we distinguish ourselves from conventional companies. Our primary objective is to generate positive outcomes that benefit everyone.

Our Impact Reports play a crucial role in shaping a future where businesses actively contribute to society and the environment. Our yearly Impact Report serves as a means to authentically narrate our journey of positive influence, supported by evidence from the B Impact Assessment. It also serves as a documented record of our actions and advancements.

We aim to align ourselves with other ambitious and socially responsible companies to lead a new era of radical transparency, where stakeholders are informed about challenges, opportunities for improvement, as well as our goals and progress.

In our pursuit of becoming a certified B Corp, we are legally committed, as outlined in our Articles of Association, to transparency and accountability regarding our business’s social and environmental impacts, both current and planned.

Our Impact Report caters to both internal stakeholders (employees, directors, board members) and external audiences including customers, partners, and suppliers. It elucidates our improvement objectives, achievements, and forthcoming plans while offering a balanced and thorough examination of our journey.

Published annually on our website, the Impact Report is accessible to all stakeholders, offering a transparent account of our company’s performance.

We perceive our Impact Reports as a potent means of embracing transparency and accountability with our stakeholders.

About Us

Our practice is young and energetic, and despite this, we’ve gained a vast range of experience across a short space of time. We have almost 20 years of professional experience working in practice at some of the finest landscape architecture studios in the UK, where we’ve spent our time honing our craft. We’re committed to helping to make the world a better place through design.

The twin crises of climate heating and mass biodiversity loss are the most serious issues of our time. We’re committed to working collectively with like-minded clients and construction industry professionals to play our part in helping to address these challenges, both at the practice and project levels.

It’s important to us that we help support local and global initiatives to address the societal and environmental challenges the world faces, which is why we’re involved in a range of charitable endeavours, including 1% for the Planet.

When we were setting up the studio, we decided it was essential for us to consider not just the impact our designs would have on society and the environment but also how we do business and operate the company. That’s why we worked towards becoming a certified B Corp.

Our contribution to nature, the environment and society is just the start of the journey and is the baseline for all our projects. It’s important to us to stay true to our values and design philosophy. We care passionately about how good design can effect positive change in the lives of people, nature, and the environment.

Our approach

We design things simply, beautifully, and with multifunctionality and long-term care in mind. We blend artisanal craft and technology.

We have a love of patina and texture and creating places that are simple yet nuanced, beautiful and that engage the senses, places that celebrate nature. We like to be playful with forms, textures, colours, and scents to enliven the senses and create enjoyable, inclusive environments and experiences.

Regenerative design

Our contribution to nature, the environment and society is just the start of the journey and is the baseline for all our projects.

It’s important to us to stay true to our values and design philosophy.

We care passionately about how good design can effect positive change in the lives of people, nature, and the environment.

Craft to hi-tech

Our design process combines low-tech craft with hi-tech technical production, from hand-drawn sketches to the latest intelligent 3D modelling software.

We believe ideas are best initially generated and refined by hand before being tested, developed, and realised in 3D.

Our work-flows enable us to work with collaborators in a holistic and fully integrated way.

Inquisitive mindset

Research, development, and academic rigour are crucial elements of our practice.

We strive not to settle but to go beyond currently accepted design standards; through ongoing study, testing and technical development.

We love to learn, and our ongoing professional education is vital to our day-to-day practice.

Empathic designers

We believe that the success of our projects can be measured by our ability to effectively communicate our client’s vision and requirements onto the ground.

A collaborative and open approach to dialogue, communication and engagement is essential and can make the design process more effective and enjoyable for all involved.

Services:

• Landscape architecture

• Urban design

• Master planning

• Planting design

• Garden design

• Strategic landscape design

• Research, analysis & testing

• Creative ecological design

Process mediums:

• Digital hand sketching

• 2D/3D conceptual & technical drawing

• Intelligent 3D modelling

• CGI visualisation

• CGI walk/fly-through

• BIM Level 2 compliant design & project management software

Our commitments to people, place and nature:

• Landscape Institute Registered Practice

• Pending B Corp

• 1% for the Planet Member

• SDG Goals Benchmarking

• UK Landscape Architects Declare Climate & Biodiversity Emergency

Resilience + Regeneration + Empathy

Our studio is founded on what we consider to be three key pillars that govern how we operate as a business and the positive and tangible impacts on society, nature, and the environment that we aspire to contribute to through our projects.

RESILIENCE

As Landscape Architects and Urbanists, we practice and apply regenerative and empathic design principles to create resilient, naturebased landscape solutions for the evolving wants, needs and challenges that societies and our natural world face, now and in the future.

When we think and talk about resilient design, we consider a holistic, multi-layered, systems-based, interdisciplinary approach that intrinsically links landscape, architecture and engineering with the wants and needs of society and the natural environment. Working with communities and nature to help create places that weather the challenges they encounter, regenerating and bouncing back stronger and more resilient.

REGENERATION

The regenerative design process demands a forward-thinking, systems-based approach to design in the built environment. It involves working holistically in an interdisciplinary approach and with communities and stakeholders to establish stewardship systems to ensure the long-term establishment of places, communities, and natural systems.

Learning from and mimicking natural patterns to find solutions to our design needs. It’s about more than maintaining the status quo, more than replacing but enhancing; it’s about improvement and betterment. The built environment is not separate from nature but part of a wider ecosystem. We need to do much better than simply sustaining, by reducing, reusing, and recycling. We need to renew, replenish, and restore.

EMPATHY

For us, empathic design is about collaboration, listening and mutual understanding, designing without ego, and forging connections. We enjoy an open dialogue with our clients, fellow designers, communities, stakeholders, and the natural world, based on mutual respect, on a level where, collectively, we co-design to create innovative design solutions unique to the situation.

Places are much more than their physical components; through an empathic design approach, we can also understand the societal, socio-economic, and environmental context, which proves invaluable in creating places where current and future stakeholders can enjoy a shared sense of ownership and stewardship of place.

Responsible Business

At our Company, we take our responsibility to operate as a responsible business very seriously. We believe that in order to inspire positive change in others, it is essential that we first lead by example. That’s why we strive to demonstrate the values we stand for in every aspect of our day-to-day practice.

As a Company we fully align ourselves with the 10 Principles of the UN Global Compact. For us, it goes without saying to take responsibility for our operation’s impact on people and the environment, and in recognising the varying scales of impact our decisions make. Our Company operational management, Code of Practice, and Policies are informed by the principles set out below.

10 Principles of the UN Global Compact

HUMAN RIGHTS

Principle 1

Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and

Principle 2 make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

LABOUR

Principle 3

Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; and

Principle 4 the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;

Principle 5 the effective abolition of child labour; and

Principle 6 the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

ENVIRONMENT

Principle 7

Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;

Principle 8 undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and

Principle 9 encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

ANTI-CORRUPTION

Principle 10

Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

UN Sustainable Development Goals Aligned with the 10 Principles of the Global Compact

The SDGs, which stands for Sustainable Development Goals, are 17 global goals established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. These goals are set to be accomplished by the year 2030. The SDGs represent a remarkable opportunity for all sectors to unite behind a common global agenda that aims to eradicate poverty, safeguard the planet, and guarantee that all individuals can experience a shared and longlasting prosperity.

HUMAN RIGHTS

LABOUR

ENVIRONMENT

ANTI-CORRUPTION

Code of Practice

As a professional Company and a registered practice of the Landscape Institute (LI), we are committed to advancing the LI’s mission of safeguarding, preserving, and enriching both natural and built surroundings for the betterment of the public, primarily through the advocacy of landscape architecture and excellence in design.

Our Code of Practice underscores the importance of integrity, expertise, and professionalism among our staff members. It mandates adherence to the professional conduct standards outlined in our code, irrespective of an employees position within the Company. The Code delineates our expectations regarding employee conduct and attitude towards colleagues, supervisors, the Company as a whole, as well as society, the natural world, and the environment.

Company Policies

Our Company Policies cover various topics and are set up to help our employees understand what they can expect of the Company and what the Company expects of them. Policies are reviewed bi-annually, and we welcome feedback from our team to help guide the next iteration of each document.

Stakeholder Engagement

We believe that empathic engagement is an essential and often enjoyable part of the design process and a key aspect of how we operate a responsible, accountable, and transparent business. We have defined engagement and feedback mechanisms in place to help us pro-actively engage with various stakeholders.

STUDIO ENVIRONMENT

Our studio workplace should provide a positive, and safe working environment. Employee work and leisure time should be respected and protected.

EQUALITY

All employees, collaborators, and stakeholders shall be treated equally and with respect.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Having a talented and committed team of employees who can continuously develop professionally is crucial to the company’s success and to project quality.

COLLABORATORS

Our collaborators should not, in the areas they work in, cause or contribute to the violation of human rights, corruption or negative societal or environmental impact.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Our business and projects should not cause, contribute to or be linked to the violation of human rights or corruption.

CLIMATE + BIODIVERSITY EMERGENCIES

The climate and biodiversity emergencies are two of the most serious issues of our times. We work actively to prevent negative environmental impact, in our business operations and in our projects.

Risk Management

POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCE RISK MANAGEMENT

Employee sense of purpose, belonging and job satisfaction are essential to a positive work environment. Without them, there is a risk of damage to an individuals, and the Company’s well-being.

The consequences could be serious, and potentially legal in nature, not just for our employees, but also for the company’s reputation, brand, and attractiveness.

Shortcomings in projects and damage could lead to losses and reduced trust. Inadequately trained employees, could introduce project risk.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package to employees, opportunities for ongoing professional development, and a 360 degree appraisal programme.

Code of Practice; Anti-discrimination, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy; Bullying Policy.

Good opportunities for development make the company attractive; CPD Policy; and a 360 degree appraisal programme.

The consequences could be serious for our collaborators, and us, whether directly, or through association.

Although this is considered a low risk, the consequences for the Company could be serious, e.g. reputational damage, financial or legal consequences, and damage to employee and collaborator’s trust.

This is considered a low risk. Our strength in sustainable business management, and resilient and regenerative design contributes to a high level of trust and a strong brand reputation.

Corporate Responsibility Policy; Code of Practice; analysis of collaborators.

Code of Practice; Sustainability Policy; Corporate Responsibility Policy.

Sustainability analyses in all projects; CPD Policy; Environmental Policy; Quality Management Policy; Code of Practice; Thought leadership.

We take the identification and management of risks very seriously on both Company and project levels. The decisions we make and the situations we might find ourselves in, as individuals, designers, and a Company, can have immediate and more far-ranging impacts on society, nature, and the environment. As a responsible business, we identify what we consider to be high-level, overarching risks, which are set out in the table above. We also perform our duties as Designers under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 on all projects.

50% of company ownership and leadership team are women

100% of staff are chartered professionals

100% of studio energy use sourced from renewables

1.63% of revenues donated to charitable causes

31% success rate on tendered projects

71% of all journeys by active travel/public transport

11.83% operating profit for 2023

495,902

kg CO2-eq targeted carbon sequestration by trees over 50 years

141 new trees are proposed on our projects

2 projects target BREEAM ‘Outstanding’

100% of our projects are linked to the global SDGs

50% of our projects are conducted under certification systems

100% of our projects actively engage with stakeholders

100% of our projects integrate inclusive design principles

100% of our projects are brownfield/adaptive/ refurbishment reuse

100% of projects utilise renewable energy systems

86 new trees

>22,500 new plants

PLANT, Basingstoke

Landscape Vision

Redefine and rejuvenate the perimeter landscape and the terraced roof gardens for a contemporary office environment built on the foundations of the original vision for the gardens.

To be informal, elaborate, romantic, overflowing, and tumbling.

Plant (formerly Mountbatten House) is a Grade II listed commercial building in the town of Basingstoke, built in the 1970’s. It is cited as one of the 15 most important modern listed buildings in the UK. The landscape and terraced roof gardens were recognised as of equal significance by the award of a separate Grade II listing for the entire site. Plant is affectionately known as ‘the Hanging Gardens of Basingstoke’.

The renowned garden designer James Russell advised the building architect’s, Arup, on the garden design and the project is considered one of his most accomplished pieces of work. This is in no small part to the complexity of the design and detailing of the roof gardens, drafted and constructed prior to an established green roof industry.

The proposals for the site honour James Russell’s original vision for the gardens, that they are informal, elaborate, romantic, overflowing and tumbling. Whilst ensuring that garden spaces become more inclusive and replacement planting is suited to current and anticipated climatic conditions.

The project is targeted for completion in Summer 2024.

CANONS HOUSE, Bristol

Landscape Vision

Re-envision Canons House and its environs to create a sequence of beautiful and distinctive gardens with their own rhythm and movement that function as vital green counterpoints to the dominating hard landscape of the Lloyds Amphitheatre and Bristol Harbourside.

A landscape in motion.

Canons House is an iconic Grade II listed architectural landmark on the Bristol harbourside. The building occupies a prime position close to Millennium Square, within walking distance of Bristol City Centre and cultural landmarks, including Queen Square, Arnolfini Arts and M Shed. The Phase 1 (crescent) building holds one corner of the harbourside, connecting Hannover Quay and Bordeaux Quay and is an impressive backdrop to the public realm and events space of the Lloyds Amphitheatre.

The client, Longstock Capital, envisions a fullscale refurbishment of the building and associated

35% biodiversity net gain target

landscape to deliver a ‘...unique, flexible Grade A office space of the highest possible standard...’.

Studio Knight Stokoe are leading the landscape design feasibility, exploring works to the public realm, perimeter and arrival sequences, existing courtyard gardens, and roof gardens.

RESILIENCE IS BUILT TOGETHER

A thought leadership piece by Claire Stokoe of Studio Knight Stokoe and Wendy Perring of PAD Studio

Thriving communities are crucial in ensuring a more promising future for the planet. This can only be achieved through a resilient and collaborative approach to architecture and landscape architecture. As placemakers our work must respond to the world’s current crises, not just in designing sustainably, but resiliently.

Ecosystems are complex and dynamic; they can bounce back from periodic disturbances or significant stressors. If we start thinking of our built environment along these same lines, a more resilient model emerges. A model that goes beyond sustainability: it is interdisciplinary, holistic, multi-layered, systemsbased, and transformative, an approach where architecture is intrinsically linked with landscape architecture. This resilient model requires designers to become adaptive and consider ‘future shock’, creating places with a strong sense of identity that can flex and metamorphose into something new, to work in tandem with the natural world and support our communities’ ever-changing needs.

Resilient landscape architecture is complex; it’s partly about resistance, and designing for the worst-case scenario. Critically though, it is flexible, adaptable and ever-evolving. Elements are designed so that they can be mended, replaced, or retrofitted, with materials that are easily sourced. Planting and trees should be functional as well as beautiful; not just carbonsequestering, pollution cleansing, food for pollinators and wildlife, but providing communities that ever important connection to nature.

A recent example of pairing resilient architecture and landscape architecture is Studio Knight Stokoe’s (SKS) project ‘Plant’ in Basingstoke (previously known as Mountbatten House). In a regeneration of this 1970’s office building, SKS has collaborated with a talented team of architects and contractors to retrofit and redevelop the site’s gardens. Updated

planting across six levels of roof gardens is designed for succession; to evolve and build resilience to constrained growing conditions and increasingly challenging environmental conditions brought about by climate change. The revived landscape reuses and recycles many existing features, with a sensitive introduction of new elements to avoid pastiche. The original rainwater capture and storage system has been retained and retrofitted with a more efficient, low water-use irrigation system. Revitalising and embedding resilience across the site’s landscape is essential to create an environment suitable for the community to thrive into future generations.

Also set within a Grade-II listed park, PAD studio’s community sports pavilion for CourtX in Southsea replaced an asbestos-clad, traditional pavilion that was an environmental health hazard. Ten existing grass courts were painstakingly restored and the new building was conceived as a community pavilion which would facilitate wider community engagement. Completed in 2017, it remains firmly embedded within the local community and is now primarily a venue for a wide variety of art and community events. Charging only a nominal membership fee, it is accessible to all. The building was adapted previously to cater for the high demand for meeting space locally, however

this reinterpretation provides a meeting place that successfully enhances community engagement.

Another example of resilient architecture and landscape architecture working together in place-making is the design and development of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Lee Valley. This comprehensive scheme involved a close collaboration between several architects from EDAW Consortium, Arup and WS Atkins, and landscape architects from LDA Design and Hargreaves Associates. It was originally developed for the London Olympics in 2012 yet was designed with a vision of future legacy; transforming a contaminated river and post-war industrial site into a new urban district of nearly 7,000 homes, cultural facilities and economic development opportunities. A biodiversity action plan was also integrated over various landscapes created within the site. By embedding resilience in all aspects of its design, this site continues to support surrounding ecosystems and allows residents, visitors and businesses to continue to develop and thrive.

Resilient architecture places people and communities in a position of ownership; it enables them to develop roots, and invest emotionally and financially in placemaking. However, resilient architecture needs resilient landscape architecture to ensure communities can exist and develop harmoniously alongside our natural world now and in the future.

CHAPTER HOUSE, London

Landscape Vision

Create a stimulating and enriching environment that helps provide for the day-to-day needs of pupils and staff, alongside invaluable engagement with and enjoyment of the outdoors and the natural world.

A garden of opportunities.

>9,000 kg CO2-eq sequestration over 50 years

Chapter House is located in Westminster, London, east of Vincent Square. A former office, the existing building and the rooftop are being re-imagined and transformed into a modern, twenty-first-century school for Westminster Under School.

At ground level, the landscape proposals for the Hide Place garden focus on creating an outdoor garden area for pupils and staff that provides invaluable outdoor space and immediate connections with nature.

The landscape proposals for the Chapter House roof garden offer a rare and invaluable opportunity to provide meaningful and enriching outdoor garden space in an inner-city educational environment.

We worked closely with the School to design spaces that align with their values and that could support the educational process and activities favoured by the school’s pupils, including outdoor reading spaces, a flexible space for meditation, chess tables, a productive garden, and an outdoor dining area.

Our Impact

When we were setting up the studio, we decided it was essential for us to consider not just the impact our designs would have on society and the environment but also how we do business and operate the company. That’s why we’re working towards B Corp certification.

Why B Corp

B Corp companies meet the highest standards of social and environmental impact. We’re working towards being one of a few landscape architecture and urban design practices to achieve Certified B Corporation® status.

B Corp™ is a global standard. The certification process has helped define how we have established our practice and how the practice will continue to evolve over time. Becoming a B Corp means that how we operate our business and the work we do is impact-focused. In essence, we practice what we preach and strive for our work to have a positive impact on both society and the environment.

Journey to B Corp Certification

We started our B Corp journey in November 2022, the same time we launched the Company. For a year, we were a B Corp Pending, and we used the time to develop and finalise our Company practices and Policies and gather key metrics in advance of submitting for assessment at the end of our year pending.

In November 2023 we formally submitted for assessment and are excited to continue the journey.

B Corp Impact Assessment (BIA)

The B Corp Impact Assessment is a management tool used by businesses worldwide that helps companies assess their impact on various stakeholders, including their workers, community, customers, and the environment. When setting up the Company, the BIA provided an essential framework for how we considered and enacted internal policies and practices.

GOVERNANCE evaluates a company’s overall mission, engagement around its social/environmental impact, ethics, and transparency.

WORKERS evaluates a company’s contributions to its employees’ financial security, health & safety, wellness, career development, and engagement & satisfaction.

CUSTOMERS evaluates a company’s stewardship of its customers through the quality of its products and services, ethical marketing, data privacy and security, and feedback channels.

ENVIRONMENT evaluates a company’s overall environmental management practices as well as its impact on the air, climate, water, land, and biodiversity.

COMMUNITY evaluates a company’s engagement with and impact on the communities in which it operates, hires from, and sources from.

Our Results for the Year

We’ve been up and running for over a year, and have a lot of exciting news to share.

+ Progress continues at Plant. The CField Construction team are underway on site;

+ We’ve been working on two new projects, one in Bristol and another in London. We’ll share more soon;

+ We’re working with a talented team of designers for a new international ideas competition entry, with a theme and brief that really resonates with our design ethos;

+ Our B Corp journey continues and we’re excited to move into the Verification stage;

+ Martin has enjoyed working with Design West across various fascinating design reviews in the Southwest;

+ We’re enjoying meeting and working with many new friends and collaborators and building long-standing relationships with our fantastic clients;

+ We need to be better at looking ahead for future projects and collaborations;

+ We like to focus on what we love and do best. Over our first year, we’ve learned that some areas of the business benefit from the involvement of other passionate specialists: website design, financial audits, PR and communications;

+ Finally, we’re going to make a concerted effort over this next year to be better at communicating what we’re up to, how we work, what’s important to us, and engaging with bigger issues.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Review

Our Company aligns our KPIs with the B Corp Impact areas for Governance, Workers, Customers, Environment, and Community. We track critical Company and project metrics across these areas and are working to set internal targets for year two. As part of our commitment to responsibility, accountability, and transparency, we’ve summarised a selection of our key metrics from this past year on the following pages, covering Social and Environmental Performance, Studio Sustainability Charity, Volunteer, Community Service, and Pro-bono Services; Stakeholder Feedback; and Financial Performance.

50% of company ownership and leadership team are women

100% of our projects are linked to the global SDGs

100% of staff are chartered professionals

11.83% operating profit for our 2023 financial year

Bid Success Clients

Social and Environmental Performance Review

We consider our social and environmental impact as critical measures of our success. Our contribution to nature, the environment, and society is just the start of the journey and the baseline for all our projects. We need to stay true to our values and design philosophy. We utilise proprietary software platforms to help us analyse our designs and potential impacts, including carbon cost of materials and sequestration measures. The importance of our performance in these areas is an overarching theme of our Code of Practice and Company Policies.

Project Sites

Project Types

495,902

kg CO2-eq targeted carbon sequestration by trees over 50 years

100% of our projects integrate inclusive design principles

100% of our projects promote and help facilitate active travel

141 new trees are proposed on our projects

50% of our projects are conducted under certification systems

50% of our projects provide new spaces for public benefit

2 of our projects exceed minimum 10% biodiversity net gain

2 projects target BREEAM ‘Outstanding’

Studio Sustainability Review

Our Company is committed to an environmental ethos that aims to set the standard for resilient, regenerative, and empathic landscape and environmental design. Governed by the Landscape Institute (LI), a Royal Chartered body for landscape architects in the UK, we adhere to a Code of Practice emphasising environmental responsibility that extends to studio and practice sustainability. Our Environmental Policy and Sustainability Policy establish structures and approaches for environmental stewardship and expectations of our studio and virtual home offices.

Forms of Travel

100% of studio energy use is electrical

100% of studio energy use is sourced from renewables

Charity, Volunteer, Community Service, and Pro-bono Services Review

As a Company and as individuals, we must help support local and global initiatives to address the societal and environmental challenges the world faces, which is why we’re involved in a range of charitable endeavours, including 1% for the Planet. Over this last year, we’ve also developed our Charity and Pro-bono Services Policy to help guide our charity, volunteer, community service, and pro-bono services strategy for the years ahead.

1.63% of revenues donated to charitable causes

Although we’re proud to have met our charitable donation commitment to 1% for the Planet, we’re very disappointed that we’ve not engaged in any volunteer, community service, or pro-bono services this past year.

We’re prioritising addressing this area for year two and look forward to sharing more on our progress throughout the year on our website and social media channels.

Stakeholder Feedback Review

We’ve engaged with a wide range of stakeholders this past year, with our clients, local authorities, and charities the most frequently engaged with. Project engagement feedback has been an essential part of helping to develop and refine our project proposals. As a Company, we’ve established our Stakeholder Engagement Policy and Feedback and Complaints Policy to help define our approach to stakeholder engagement and feedback. As this has been our first year in business, feedback has only started to filter in, and we’re looking forward to sharing an update in our Impact Report at the end of year two.

Stakeholder Engagement Consultees

Example of stakeholder engagement feedback received during a workshop on a residential project: ‘...not sure the proposed community uses would work...’

100% of our projects actively engage with stakeholders

The design team took the feedback away and responded by refining the project ambitions and presenting ideas back to stakeholders, including:

Wild and communal landscapes weaved into the site; shared streets form safe child and elderly friendly spaces; edible community growing landscapes; enhancement of existing habitat corridors; community stewardship hub and workshop, including shared laundry, kitchen, tool and maintenance facilities; site-wide sustainability strategy; bike storage areas and discrete parking clusters.

Financial Performance Review

Our financial statements are prepared annually by accounting specialists, who prepare an ‘Annual Report and Financial Statement’, which is reviewed by the Company Directors. Our first year in business has ended positively, with an operating profit of £4,254. We’ve met our commitment to 1% for the Planet, committing 1.63% of our revenue to charity. We’ve also established our Financial Disclosure Policy, Internal Financial Controls Policy, and Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy to help govern and guide this side of the business.

Credits

This Impact Report has been prepared by Studio Knight Stokoe. Indicators, metrics, and procedures represent a moment in time and may have changed by the time of reading this report. The report has been prepared in line with the guidance document ‘Writing a B Corp Report’ set out by B Lab UK. It seeks to provide a structured, accountable, and transparent representation of our last year in business. The report covers our first year in business, society, and the environment. The report refers to the financial year of September 2022 to September 2023.

The report also relates to our commitments according to the UN Global Compact, its ten principles, and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The report is available upon request and from a link published on our website, https://knightstokoe.co.uk.

Images:

Studio Knight Stokoe, Martin Knight, Katie Ford, Tom Hull, Hayes Davidson, Mitchell Eley Gould Architects, Jonathan Tuckey Design, Office Sian.

Graphic design:

Studio Knight Stokoe

Contact:

Martin Knight, Co-founding Director hello@knightstokoe.co.uk

If you’re interested in working with us, we would love to hear from you. We’re always looking to meet and collaborate with like-minded individuals and groups.