A next-generation, artificial intelligence-based, sustainability platform for schools

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In April 2022, the UK Government published its policy paper titled Sustainability and Climate Change: A Strategy for the Education and Children's Services Systems. The policy supports a drive for all UK schools to be "zero carbon" by 2030 and announces long term and consistent policies and funding to enable this (in line with wider Government targets for the UK to be carbon neutral by 2050). The policy ensures there will be investment in training teachers in education for sustainable development across the curriculum, and in equipping colleges and schools to give all learners a connection to nature. The Government also commits to investing in adapting and retrofitting the school estate and the Department for Education commits to improving their building specifications, so that all new school buildings from 2022 onwards will be net zero carbon.To support these ambitions, by 2025 every school is mandated to have a Climate Action Plan that will result in zero carbon status. Each school will have a trained staff member who acts as a Sustainability Lead and Climate Literacy Training will be offered to every school with sustainability embedded as a statutory feature of careers guidance.The sustainability responsibility will ultimately rest with site managers (referred to as School Business Managers in schools). The biggest challenges for those managing compliance are they are often reactive, limited by budget, resource and time. There is also often a lack of safety mindset, not necessarily driven by the individual but by the myriad of regulations and legislation they need to interpret and understand. The additional sustainability requirements outlined above will add further weight to these challenges.iAM Compliant was established in 2016 to provide schools and businesses with a one stop shop for premises, health and safety compliance and cut through the red tape. The iAM Compliant platform offers a seamless interface and cloud-hosted solution that brings all the information users need into one central place. Having pushed the innovation boundaries from the outset, the iAM Compliant platform is used by over 500 UK state schools.The main goal of this Innovation Loan project is to extend the current platform's functionality to provide the world's first digital tool for schools to guide them through the process of creating their own Climate Action Plan and help them become more sustainable. The platform will be supported by the development of best in class, accredited learning content.