Sustainable Business Awards—Finalist.
Isthmus are among 75 finalists announced for the Sustainable Business Awards.
Good businesses operate with a conscience, making sure people involved in or affected by their activities are better off than they would be otherwise. They bring about positive outcomes for the environment and economy. They create change for good for the people and planet around them.
In 2016—Ralph Johns—our CEO wrote: “We want to evolve our business to be led by a representative and diverse group of talented people. We think that’s good for business, as well as being firmly in line with our values.”
We are really pleased to be finalists for the Social Impactor award. This award will be presented to an organisation that is deliberately and consistently improving people’s lives through its day-to-day business practices—one where social good is integrated throughout the whole organisation.
We are committed to closing the diversity gaps that exist in our industry through many interlinked and overlapping initiatives with an environmentally and socially conscious studio culture. We are a founding partner of The Diversity Agenda. The evolution of our business leadership to a representative and diverse group of people began with our Women in Leadership discussion which began in 2016.
We developed a navigational design tool—Te Kāpehu—to help make conscious choices about how our work can uplift the mauri of people and the environment.
Engagement with mātauranga māori grew from our purpose: Advancing the relationships between land, people and culture. This kaupapa is core to all our actions. It saw the introduction of Matariki celebrations in 2008 and has become a more strategic focus in recent years. In 2013 we introduced Matariki Day—an extra day of annual leave for all staff.
With Auckland Council’s He Maunga He Tangata internship programme we provide opportunities for Māori and Pacific Design graduates.
Our focus on wellbeing comes from recognising and taking responsibility for stress, as one of our industry’s key workplace health and safety risks. We also support and include neuro-diversity and people who are struggling with their mental health.
Rachel Brown ONZM—founder and CEO of the Sustainable Business Network—says: “The latest IPCC report on climate change has left no doubt about the imperative to change our ways of living and working. Businesses need to step up—their customers, employees and the planet are demanding it. The 75 finalists in these Awards are leading the way. They include corporates, small enterprises and individuals from the public and private sector, showing that whoever you are you can play your part.”
The winners will be announced on 25 November.