A school where everyone has a role to play.
Climate Action Schools embed sustainability systems into schools operations and divert resources from landfill and join the circular economy.
WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO
We help Queensland schools embed sustainability into their operations, curriculum and culture.
In a way that actually sticks — generating valuable outcomes for students, staff and your P&C. From there, we connect your school to industry and create simulated work environments ready to plug straight into curriculum — so students build the skills the workplaces of the future are looking for.
Highly Commended Environmental Innovation of the Year
Waste Recycling Industry Queensland, 2025
Nationally recognised
HVIA Community Leadership Award — won by our partner Cummins for supporting Climate Action Schools
Thanks to our partners for their contributions to the Climate Action Schools program:
SEE THE SYSTEM IN ACTION
A Tuesday at a Climate Action School
This isn't a school that added another sustainability program. It's a school where people started asking better questions — together.
7:15 - THE CLEANERS
The people doing the work help design the system.
A simple question about the morning routine uncovers an easier way of working. Teachers move bins beside classroom doors. Cleaners spend less time walking. The solution works because the people closest to the work helped create it.
LEAN IN ACTION - 5 WHYS + 5S
8:45 - STUDENTS ARRIVE
Students know the system because they helped build it.
Some head to the Sustainability Skills Centre before class. Yesterday's resource recovery data is on the whiteboard. They can see what is working — and what could work better.
LEAN IN ACTION - 8 WASTES
10:30 - LEARNING CONNECTS
The school itself becomes part of the learning.
Students investigate data from their own school, ask why a problem is happening and explore what could change.
LEAN IN ACTION - 5 WHYS + ROOT CAUSE
11:45 - A TEACHER + CAS COACH
Ideas don’t have to become another job for one teacher.
A teacher has an idea. Could food resources become next term’s science investigation? She talks it through with her CAS coach and leaves with a clearer way forward - and someone walking beside her to help turn the idea into action.
LEAN IN ACTION - CO-DESIGN + CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
1:00 - THE BUSINESS MANAGER
The numbers begin to tell a different story.
Resource recovery improves. Operational costs change. Circular income can flow back to the school community. The data supports better decisions, grant applications and measurable progress.
LEAN IN ACTION - MEASURE + IMPROVE
2:15 - INDUSTRY CONNECTS
Students begin to see where these skills can take them.
Industry partners share how they use the same improvement thinking in their workplaces. Students discover careers they may never have considered.
LEAN IN ACTION - SHARED LANGUAGE + INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS
3:30 - THE PRINCIPAL
Sustainability is becoming part of how the school works.
Nothing feels forced. No initiative relying on one person to keep it going. The school environment itself communicates the standard - and people across the school understand the role they play.
LEAN IN ACTION - CULTURE + CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
The Roadshow is on the road. Ten Queensland towns, August to October 2026.
See datesA PLACE FOR IT TO COME TOGETHER
The Sustainability Skills Centre (SSC)
The SSC is a working hub inside the school where resource recovery, curriculum, LEAN thinking and industry connection come together.
Divert. Earn. Learn.
DIVERT: Recover resources that would otherwise go to landfill.
EARN: Create savings and opportunities for circular income.
LEARN: Connect school systems with curriculum, industry tools and future pathways.
What can better systems change?
~ 0%
reduction in waste costs
$0K+
circular income generated
~ $0K
saved per year in operational waste costs
Results from Woodridge State High School.
No wrong door
Where is your school at?
Curious, already doing a few things, or ready for a coordinated approach across your school — wherever you are, the first step is the same, and it's free.
Start here
Start with a conversation.
Tell us about your school in our 3-minute conversation starter. Then join a free 30-minute Leadership Briefing — with other school leaders, or one-on-one. No obligation. Just clarity on where you are and what makes sense next.
Tell us about your school — 3 min
Join a group briefing
Book a 1:1 instead
Free · 30 minutes · online · bring your Principal, Principal Delegate or preferred school leadership.
“Is this going to be a lot of work for our staff?”
It's the question we hear most — and it's exactly what the system is built to solve. Most sustainability programs rest on one passionate teacher, and stall the day that person gets busy. We work differently. We improve the systems your school already has. The people doing the work help design the solutions. Set roles and simple written processes mean the system keeps running, whoever is on deck that week.
It asks for better systems rather than more hours. And a CAS coach walks beside your staff the whole way, so good ideas stay part of the job instead of becoming an extra one.
Which of these sounds like your school?
Work your way down until you hear a voice that sounds like yours — then you'll know what comes next.
Going further
“We're underway, and we're ready to go further.”
Your system is running. Now you can widen it — student programs, industry tours, and connection with other Climate Action Schools doing the same work. Your school becomes a place others come to learn from.
Browse all programs →Full partnership
“We're ready for someone to walk beside us.”
The Critical Support Partner is our co-designed program. We work alongside your team on resource recovery, better ways of working (LEAN) and getting everyone on board (NeuroPower), with coaching and industry connections the whole way. The Sustainability Skills Centre gives the work a permanent home in your school. Savings, grants and circular income help cover the cost.
Divert & Earn — 6 months from $15,000 + GST Divert, Earn & Learn — 12 months incl. Industry connections $25,000 + GSTReady to act
“We have a plan, and with support we can make it happen.”
The System Explained gets everyone on the same page — cleaners through to leadership. It brings your Sustainability and Environmental Management Plan (SEMP) to life and maps a clear path for putting it into practice.
The System Explained — $275 ppExploring
“We're gathering information — this could be us in a year or so.”
Perfect place to start. A single PD session gives your team a shared language and practical tools they can use straight away — and shows you what the work actually looks like, well before any bigger decision.
Practical Sustainability for Schools — from $195 ppOr catch us on the Regional Roadshow → — the same workshop, in person, coming to ten Queensland towns between August and October.
Not sure which one sounds like you? That's exactly what the free briefing is for.
Not looking for a whole-school pathway?
There are other ways to connect with Climate Action Schools.
FOR EDUCATORS
Build industry currency. Professional development and industry tours connecting sustainability, curriculum and the workplaces of the future.
FOR STUDENTS
Learn by doing. Hands-on industry programs that build confidence, practical skills and future pathways.
FOR INDUSTRY
Help build what's next. Connect ESG investment, industry knowledge and future workforce development with schools.
You don't have to have it all figured out.
Every school starts somewhere.
