Life by design: creating the world of tomorrow
As a global community, we continue to face complex and substantial challenges, many of which are entirely unprecedented. 836 million people still live in extreme poverty. 103 million youth lack basic literacy skills and more than half of them are women. In the US, 80 percent of all antibiotics are consumed by the livestock industry. Energy is the dominant contributor to climate change, accounting for around 60 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. Speaking of emissions, global emissions of carbon dioxide have increased by almost 50 per cent since 1990. In Australia, we have our own challenges. Australia currently sits in 44th place on the Global Gender Gap Index, placing us behind Rwanda, Nicaragua, Estonia, Colombia and yes — the United States. Further, every year, 1 in 5 Australians will experience mental illness of some kind.
No challenge is too big… or small
Whilst these are substantial problems, they’re not insurmountable. It may seem obvious, but we can’t overcome and tackle them by accident. It needs to happen by design and with intent. We need to forge meaningful partnerships across NFP’s, government and private sectors to drive and deliver sustainable change.
The work we do at Isobar has always been transformative at its core. We seek to have the kind of impact that isn’t iterative but radical in its result.
It’s not news that our world is becoming increasingly digitally-enabled. This proliferation of digital-everything is presenting new opportunities, offering new solutions and affording us previously unimaginable outcomes. As an agency with our pedigree firmly anchored in technology, we believe and understand our legacy to extend beyond the products and services we craft. Yet this is more than simply a sense of obligation. We’re passionate about using our skills and the tools available to society today to contribute to the realisation of a world with ongoing prospects for all.
Isobar Good is a division of our business dedicated to taking action today, with the aim of actively creating the sustainable and enduring communities of tomorrow. In conjunction with like-minded businesses, we have co-designed a series of programs which have been specifically developed to not only define and articulate the contribution an initiative can make toward some of these meaty problems, but also determine the path forward. It’s the difference between working on a campaign to raise funds for fighting homelessness or to shut down a dirty mine and actually looking to tackle the root cause of homelessness or growing the accessibility and utilisation of clean energy.
In 2015 the UN launched the Sustainable Development Goals — seventeen goals created with the ambition to create a sustainably prosperous world for all. It’s these goals which we use as the key litmus test for determining the scope and context of any given Isobar Good project. Moreover, it provides us with a framework for measuring the results of the work we deliver. It’s not just about a successful project launch, but the actual results that project achieves.
Importantly, we’re committed to this as an organisation and commitment means offering our most adept talent, delivering projects on time and on budget and holding those projects accountable to the same standards in terms of results that we would any other. Crucially, this involves not working pro bono. For a number of reasons, we believe that conducting this work under commercial arrangements is essential to its success. It means that we’re able to offer the best people for any given job, not just those who are available or not otherwise committed to a charged task. In line with the overall ethos of this division, it also makes the work truly sustainable for us as an organisation. Perhaps most significantly, it puts more on the line for everyone and holds all those involved to the highest standard. For our client partners it translates to commitment across the board, not just with those most personally passionate about the subject matter.
Whilst this marks the first time we’ve spoken widely about Isobar Good, this doesn’t represent a standing start. Amongst many projects, we’ve worked with Monash Hospital to understand and overcome the challenges chronically ill teenagers face transitioning from paediatric care to adult care. Together with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service we’ve mapped their digital fitness as an organisation to help unlock the generosity of Australians in donating one of their most valuable yet least costly assets.
We couldn’t be more excited for the potential our Isobar Good division represents. Whilst we’ll never lose sight of today, the opportunity to be part of creating a tomorrow of which we can all be proud is the stuff not just meaningful careers but lives, are made of.
Erik Hallander, Managing Director
