Our Policy on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence

Simon Penney Waste Consulting uses artificial intelligence (AI) as a supporting tool in research, writing, analysis, planning, communication and administration. Used carefully, it can help us explore ideas, organise complex information and make our work more accessible. Our professional experience, relationships and judgement remain central to every assignment.

How we use AI

AI may help us structure an early draft, summarise information, identify questions for further research, compare possible approaches or present material in a clearer format. Its output is a starting point for human work, not an authoritative source or a finished professional recommendation.

We review and edit material before using it in client work or publishing it. Significant facts, figures, quotations, references and claims are checked against appropriate sources. We assess recommendations in the context of the place, people and organisations concerned. We will not present invented sources or unverified AI output as evidence.

Accessibility and disability inclusion

For Simon, who has dyslexia and ADHD, assistive and AI-supported tools can reduce barriers in reading, organising and expressing information. They help turn ideas and experience into accessible written work while allowing more attention to be given to analysis, relationships and practical solutions.

We support the thoughtful use of these tools by people with disabilities and different learning or communication needs. Access to useful technology can widen participation in education, employment and professional life. The right support will differ from person to person, and people should be able to discuss their needs without assumptions about their abilities.

Confidentiality, consent and transparency

We handle client and personal information with care. We do not knowingly enter confidential or sensitive material into an AI service unless its use is appropriate to the assignment and consistent with agreed confidentiality, security and data-handling requirements. Where a client has specific rules about AI, we discuss and follow those requirements.

We aim to be open about material AI assistance where it is relevant to a client’s understanding of how work was produced. If an assignment calls for a particular disclosure, restriction or approval process, we will agree it at the outset.

Fairness, justice and wider impacts

AI systems can reflect bias, omit local knowledge or give an appearance of certainty to weak information. These risks matter especially when work affects communities with less power or fewer resources. In waste management and international development, we consider whose experience is represented, who may bear the costs of a proposal, and whether affected people have a meaningful voice.

We also recognise that AI has social, economic and environmental consequences. These include changes to employment and skills, unequal access to technology, concentration of economic power, and the energy, water and material resources used to develop and operate AI systems. We seek proportionate uses that offer a clear benefit and remain attentive to their wider costs.

AI should support capable people and institutions, including local professionals and communities. It should not be used to disregard their expertise or weaken fair participation in decisions.

Human authority and responsibility

AI does not make decisions on behalf of Simon Penney Waste Consulting or its clients. A person reviews the work, considers its limitations and decides what advice to give. Final authority and responsibility for the consultancy’s conclusions, recommendations and published material rest with a human.

We will continue to review this policy as the technology, its impacts and the needs of our clients develop.