Current

Since its founding in 2016, Chicago-based Current has put water innovation front and center as an economic opportunity and solution to a deepening climate crisis. Current collaborates with corporations, universities, nonprofits and governments to develop climate solutions that would be too risky or even impossible to undertake alone. The MG team is so grateful to be part of the M. Harris & Co. work with Current.

Innovation for the Great Lakes

Current is an innovation accelerator, and the organization quickly outpaced the available functions on its Squarespace website. After it released a first-in-the-nation blueprint to boost the inclusive blue economy in the Great Lakes, Current was awarded up to $160 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation. The Current team needed its website to help increase partner outreach and engagement — both on its own site and a new site dedicated to the Great Lakes ReNEW effort.

Here’s the ReNEW mission, which is front and center on its site: To invent new ways to extract valuable minerals and toxic forever chemicals from our wastewater. We are doing this for the people and communities in our region most harmed by economic and environmental injustice. Because, in a world of increasing water and resource scarcity, “waste” has no place.

MG Digital Lead Kurt Cunningham migrated the organization to a custom WordPress installation, and we helped rethink, reposition, and relaunch the way it told its story. We focused on breaking down the content into digestible sections and improving content recirculation on related program pages.

How’s the Water?

Spring through fall, Current maintains probes that monitor fecal coliform levels in the Chicago and Calumet rivers, updated online every 15 minutes. It’s the first real-time monitor of its kind and a reliable indicator of whether it’s safe to kayak.

MG Creative Director Jonathon Berlin worked with Current and multiple technology partners to build a web-based front door for the real-time data and make it understandable to the public. M. Harris & Co. team members Melissa Harris and Michael Arndt handled publicity.

Now you can check the water before you fish, boat or kayak.

➤ Check river quality