Practices including Collective Works, ritchie*studio, Barr Gazetas Architects and Donald Insall Associates, discuss why they refuse to work with certain clients, suppliers or organisations on ethical grounds.
Creating a just space for people
Responses were assessed by Architecture Declare’s Alasdair Ben Dixon, Mandy Franz, Mark Goldthorpe, Tom Greenall and Mitakshi Sirsi, with input from Regenerative Architecture Index ambassador Immy Kaur – social and civil activist, and co-founder and director of CIVIC SQUARE.
Practice Question 4
Does the practice publicly refuse to work with certain clients, suppliers or organisations on ethical grounds?
Front-runner
Collective Works
We regularly review new projects within the practice and have two forums for ethical discussion: weekly partner meetings and fortnightly whole team design reviews.
We have developed a framework for ethical review, and have shared this with other practices. It allows us to consider contentious projects systematically, considering the alignment with our values, our need for experience, and economic factors. It moves beyond a binary yes/no approach and gives individuals the chance to veto a new project on moral grounds.
This has led us to jointly agree about and refuse a recent project for ethical reasons. We discussed this with those involved and shared the news with our team. We’ll continue to develop the framework to ensure transparency as we deal with contentious issues. We are also happy to continue sharing the framework with other practices, and plan to share it publicly in the coming months.
Runner-up
ritchie*studio
We publicly declare that we will not accept commissions that we consider may irrevocably damage the environment; involve military activity or the marketing of civilian firearms; undermine successful democratic or indigenous social structures; engage with countries, authorities or companies that are known to be party to the abuse of human rights; contravene international treaties; or promote adult entertainment, predatory lending, tobacco, and other addictive drugs.
This is part of our Ethical Policy published on our website. Although not a relevant organisation under the Modern Slavery Act, we also operate an Anti-Modern Slavery Policy. Accordingly, we ensure we are aware of and fully consider potential clients’, project funders’ and subcontractors’ policies and ethics in relation to labour protection, and we do not take commissions or enter contracts where either is questionable.
Ones to watch
Barr Gazetas
We only work with clients whose values align with our own, and we would decline opportunities that conflict with our ethical standards. While such refusals are handled privately and professionally, our stance is clear. As a certified B Corp, we are publicly committed to upholding high ethical and environmental standards in all our work and relationships. This certification reinforces our dedication to partnering only with organisations that share our values around sustainability, social impact, and responsible business practices.
Donald Insall Associates
We have an ethics policy which assesses and governs our decisions around working with certain client types or regions. These are considered on a project-by-project basis. Our approach is to consider a detailed report by consulting subject matter specialists in order to establish whether or not we wish to pursue the opportunity. A final decision is taken at the highest level of the practice.
Jan Kattein Architects
Our Corporate Social Responsibility Policy and our Ethical Policy inform our decision-making at every level; from selecting who we bank with to determining the types of commissions we accept. In practice, this means we may earn lower financial returns by choosing banks that do not support arms dealing, or that we must decline opportunities, such as competitions funded by petroleum companies, or projects that conflict with our values. Some might argue this approach is detrimental to business, but we view it as essential for maintaining our integrity.
Our commitment to ethical practice shapes our relationships with clients, partners, and the broader community. We actively seek out collaborations and initiatives that align with our principles of sustainability, fairness, and social responsibility, guiding us to support initiatives that promote positive social change and decline those who, in our view, promote the opposite.
Material Cultures
We have a robust Project Evaluation and Selection Policy for evaluating potential partners and funders. In terms of ethics we assess clients and partners on the basis of their company structure and governance; whether they perpetuate social injustices or human rights violations; are members of lobby groups; are facing a boycott call or third-party criticisms; their EDI cultures and policies; internal representation and leadership; and alignment of values and goals. We assess potential funders in terms of their links to colonial capitalism or white supremacy; policies on pay; job security and benefits; involvement in destructive activities, such as the production of arms, mining, logging or fossil fuels, pesticides, GM, or mega farms; whether they are engaged in reparative processes; and in alignment with our mission and values. This process has resulted in us turning down projects, changing our suppliers, not participating in invited competitions and removing our work from international exhibitions.
RDA Architects
Ethics are embedded in every decision we make at RDA. We’ve turned down high-profile projects, including a major development in Saudi Arabia, because they conflicted with our values around human rights, gender equity, and ecological responsibility. This wasn’t a top-down directive – it was a unanimous team decision, reflecting our studio’s shared ethical compass.
We regularly screen clients and collaborators for alignment with our social and environmental standards. We refuse to work with developers or suppliers who exploit labour, greenwash, or disregard fair practice. This applies equally to small contractors and international developers.
For 30-plus years, we’ve stood by the belief that who we work with matters as much as what we build. We foster a democratic culture in which staff are empowered to speak up and challenge ethical concerns. In a regenerative practice integrity is non-negotiable, and we’re proud to protect that standard at every level.
Sheppard Robson
The practice has project selection criteria shared on our intranet, which allows the leadership to evaluate new projects more rigorously. This includes a review of the commissioning client, the social impact of the projects, and whether the brief is aligned with our sustainability ambitions and Charter.
We have subconsultant evaluation forms, which include questions on environmental management and social responsibility. These are sent to our subconsultants to complete annually as part of our ISO 9001 Quality Management System procedures.
We also have supply chain questionnaires on aspects of environmental and social sustainability for our smaller business suppliers. The initial format of these is intended to gather relevant information and encourage participation. Following this engagement, we will look to introduce thresholds and targets. These are sent out to key suppliers annually as part of our ISO 14001 Environmental Management System procedures.
SvN Architects
We operate under an evolving ethical policy that dictates specific project types we will not pursue. This commitment extends to the extraction of unconventional fossil fuels, such as tar sands and shale oil, as well as the development of new greenfield oil projects and any undertakings directly involving coal extraction, processing, or combustion. Furthermore, we refrain from engaging in ‘mega fossil projects’ that are projected to exceed 1 gigaton of CO2 equivalent emissions.
Recognizing the importance of biodiversity conservation, we will not participate in projects that negatively affect critical habitats unless stringent international standards, like the IFC Performance Standards, are adhered to and a demonstrable net positive outcome for biodiversity can be achieved.
In alignment with global efforts towards peace and security, we uphold a zero-tolerance policy concerning projects associated with controversial weapons, including cluster munitions, landmines, and chemical and biological weapons. This ethical framework reflects our dedication to responsible and sustainable practices within the built environment.
We Made That
We work exclusively for the public sector and charities. All projects (and clients) are appraised for social value, environmental impact, provenance of finance, destination of profits, and human rights record.
We have robust supply chain processes too. As part of our contract start-up processes as a B Corp, appointed subconsultants provide details on ownership diversity, social and environmental impact. This enables us to take evidence-led decisions on our supply chain makeup and identify areas for proactive attention. This has enabled us to talk to specialist suppliers about securing team members with different lived experiences.
We are committed to leveraging our operational spending with a local, independent and impactful supply chain. We have a stated target to support spending with local and independent suppliers. In 2024 this included a £526,000 supply chain spend with local independent suppliers.