We are a new type of not-for-profit organisation that brings together the resources of the business community and the goodwill of the Australian public. We work to create and promote positive social and environmental change.
Rather than talk about the problems, we seek to “do something” by:
- building alliances between councils, businesses, government and the community
- identifying problems and then finding answers that achieve measurable benefits for the environment, community and Australian business.
'Do Something' was established by Planet Ark founders Jon Dee and Pat Cash, and Tina Jackson, former Executive Director of the National Trust of Australia.
Do Something is about helping society and the environment.
Our environmental campaigns are designed to bring about real and measurable change.
Our social campaigns are about getting Australians to look after each other - especially those who need a helping hand. Through different media channels including TV, radio, print, the web, and email, we will be encouraging, educating and assisting Australian businesses and people to volunteer, donate, and fundraise more for charities and local organisations.
In particular our aim is to get more resources behind smaller organisations and charities that operate at the community level. Here, small amounts of resources can be leveraged many times over for the benefit of all Australians.
As part of our work, we campaign on environmental and social issues. Sometimes on our own, but more often in partnership with others. Some of our initial campaigns draw on the environmental expertise of Do Something Founder and Managing Director, Jon Dee, and Chair, Tina Jackson. These include:
Feed Sydney – to alleviate food poverty in Sydney and NSW
In partnership with OzHarvest and Cumberland Courier Newspapers,our Feed Sydney campaign aims to raise funds to help charities collect, store and distribute food to people who are doing it tough. The inaugural Feed Sydney Month was held 1 - 30 June 2010.
Visit our campaign site here.
FoodWise – to reduce food waste and maximise charitable donations of food
Australians currently spend $5 billion a year on food that we buy, but don’t eat. As a result we send three million tonnes of food waste to landfill every year. Our FoodWise push is about saving money and the environment at the same time.
Visit our campaign site here.
Save Paper – to reduce paper usage at work
The average Australian employee uses 10,000 sheets of office paper every year. Australia as a whole uses 1.6 million tonnes of printing and writing paper every year. The environmental impact of this is significant.
While businesses can't go without paper, there are some very good reasons to use less paper - and go 'Paper-Less'. To do this, we’ve established the Save Paper campaign, which aims to:
- maximise the financial savings that come from reducing paper use
- combat climate change by reducing the amount of trees, energy and water that are used for paper production
- reduce the amount of paper going to landfil
- maximise the boost in productivity and efficiency that comes from going digital in the workplace.
Visit our campaign website
here.
Go Tap – to reduce bottled water usage
Bottled water is an environmental menace, and when you consider the facts, a sheer waste of money. So we’ve formed Go Tap, an initiative driven by an alliance of organisations and individuals working to reduce single-use bottled water usage and its environmental and financial costs.
Visit our campaign site here.
Ban the Bag – to encourage a national ban of non-biodegradable plastic check-out bags
Despite our reduction in plastic bag use, Australians still use over 4 billion plastic checkout bags a year – all made from non-renewable fossil fuels. We may only use plastic bags for minutes, but they can take hundreds of years to break down. Plastic bags pollute the environment and harm marine life. Do Something is working to help end Australia’s reliance on non-biodegradable plastic checkout bags.
Our Ban the Bag campaign aims to:
- lobby for a national roll-out of the South Australian ban on non-biodegradable plastic check-out bags
- encourage retailers around Australian to ban non-biodegradable plastic check out bags
- promote public and media acceptance of the need to ban non-biodegradable plastic check-out bags
Visit our campaign site here.
East Timor Now – to encourage investment, trade, tourism and volunteering in East Timor
We want to help raise the flag for this fascinating, culturally rich new nation - a country with untold potential. The East Timor Now campaign is a call to action to Australians to get behind and support East Timor on its road to economic independence. Our aim is to promote tourism, trade, investment and volunteering in East Timor.
Rock Aid Armenia – assisting Armenia’s earthquake victims, the effects of which are still being felt 20 years on
In 1989, when a devastating earthquake hit Armenia, Jon Dee rallied prominent rock musicians – including David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Ian Gillan (Deep Purple), Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) and Brian May (Queen) – to record a cover of Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water. The original campaign raised more than $100 000 in proceeds from the UK top 40 hit, which were used to benefit the victims of the earthquake. 20 years on, Rock Aid Armenia is releasing a 20th anniversary remix to raise funds for a music school that was never rebuilt when it was first destroyed in the 1989 earthquake.
Like to know more about 'Do Something' or any of our campaigns?
Email us today. We’d love to hear from you.
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