Strategy Spotlight: Taronga Conservation Society 

Matt Romania looks at the strategy mix for social good happening at the Taronga Conservation Society.

Recently I spoke with Belinda Fairbrother to discuss the strategic approach to innovation and collaboration happening at the Taronga Conservation Society, a for-purpose organisation activating to conserve wildlife.

Fairbrother, the manager of guest learning and community impact, has a long-term focus on delivering transformational experiences that empower people to change their attitudes and behaviours, and achieve positive outcomes for wildlife.

“I love that our zoos are sites of inspiration and emotion,” says Fairbrother. “My role allows me to drive innovation both within the guest experience, but also within the way that we engage with the community when it comes to conversation action.”

What’s working at Taronga is an integration between emotion and innovative experiences that ultimately inspire guests and drive action, not just for visitors but the broader community who care about animal conservation. 

This strategy has included building a plane and a supermarket in a zoo through the Tiger Trek experience to help guests learn about the impact of unsustainable palm oil and say thank you to companies that are using 100 per cent Certified and Sustainable Palm Oil.

To date over 4.3 million Taronga Zoo guests visited Tiger Trek during their visit, with over 150,000 emails have been sent to some of Australia’s leading manufacturers supporting their transition to sustainable palm oil. 

This community advocacy is making a difference for wild Sumatran Tigers, with Indonesia seeing the rate of deforestation fall by 75 per cent to its lowest level since monitoring began in 1990. 

The Taronga Conservation Society is also focused on collaboration opportunities to address the biodiversity crisis. Whilst individual behaviour change is a critical part of solving the current biodiversity crisis, Belinda says we require a whole generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators to bring change across every industry and corner of the globe. 

“New technologies and ideas must be at the forefront of tackling climate change and supporting biodiversity and conservation. It was with this thought in mind that I co-founded HATCH.”

Hatch is Taronga’s accelerator program to inspire businesses and founders to tackle some of the most pressing environmental and conservation challenges currently facing our planet, and allows for opportunities for leaders and communities to act quickly to innovate and face the challenges head on. 

“The highlight has been seeing these hatchlings continue their journey’s and attempt to drive new and innovative solutions.” 

Hatch has supported eco-startups like Good-Edi, who created the first edible take-away coffee cup; Carapac, a sustainable, durable, home compostable plastic packaging alternative made from crustacean shell waste; and Xylo Systems, a threatened species management system.

Another focal point in Taronga’s strategy is the new Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Centre, a storytelling aspect of their strategy to complement the existing innovation and collaboration efforts. The conservation team believe that we all have the responsibility to speak for wildlife and to tell their stories and what more of an important story to share than that of the endangered Corroboree Frog as one example. 

Belinda says “amphibians and reptiles are amazing species with clever adaptations that have allowed them to survive their challenging environments. Yet they represent some of the most imperiled species on earth. Despite their ability to adapt, the natural world is changing so quickly that these species are slipping away faster than we can study them.”

The impact of climate change is changing their world and ours, so Taronga are designing a new experience at Taronga Zoo to empower our guests to think of the choices they can make in everyday life to reduce their personal footprint on the environment. 

“This will be a fully immersive experience allowing guests to see first hand the adaptations they made to survive, from being eco-aware eaters to being pioneers in solar power and then it will be our turn to adapt.”

This mix of innovation, storytelling and collaboration at Taronga Conservation Society is raising vital awareness (and more importantly, action) for animal conservation efforts and I look forward to seeing what comes next.

Matt Romania is a strategy and marketing advisor unlocking impact potential for charities, foundations and community groups.