During a high-end incentive event to Chiang Mai, we collaborated with local organisation ‘Track of the Tiger’. Our combined mission was to deliver a programme that would genuinely make a difference, not just today, but for generations to come.

Why?

Doing good makes you feel good, and when you feel good you want to repeat that behaviour!

At BI WORLDWIDE, we want our solutions to drive long-term change for our clients that inspire their people and deliver measurable business results. But what if we can also drive long-term change for the planet too?

Including an element of CSR within your event programme is win-win-win.

For your delegates, being given the opportunity to do good as part of an event is proven to increase the sense of inspiration and motivation. Knowing they’re part of an organisation that’s passionate about sustainability also helps to provide a sense of purpose in their work beyond their day to day.

For your business, research shows employees are loyal to organisations focused on sustainability, so demonstrating your organisation’s focus through this activity will not only help with your employee retention but also wider business targets.  

McKinsey research revealed that 83% of C-suite leaders and investment professionals felt ESG (Environmental Societal Governance) programmes would contribute more shareholder value in the next five years.

For the planet, and for the local communities and projects involved, support in the forms of resources and funding from corporates increase their opportunities to reach short- and long-term goals, improving exponentially the environment and lives of the people the projects reach. 

How to include CSR activity in your event programme and support the global sustainable development goals

The global SDGs  are a set of seventeen interconnected goals aimed to act as a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.

The collaboration with ‘Track of the Tiger’ took the form of an agriculture development project within a rural school (aligned to SDGs 1,2,8). Limited funds available to the school through the government are explicitly directed towards providing teachers and equipment for the children. The agriculture project meant the school could reduce the amount of funds needed to purchase food by farming produce. Added to this, the initiative provided life skills that the children could take with them into adulthood in terms of learned farming practices to grow/sell their own food.

The great thing is that CSR activity can take many forms to suit all event programmes and budgets.

6 ways you can introduce CSR into your event programme:

Solar panel installations – Installing solar panel systems on the rooftops of schools provides not only extensive energy savings that can be re-diverted, but it also creates environmental awareness and a valuable educational resource to teach the next generation about physics, technology, engineering, mathematics and environmental sciences.

Reforestation – Working with community-based reforestation programmes to provide a viable agroforestry-based income and from the responsible tourism trade that those activities allow. Costa Rica is a shining example of how deforestation can be stopped and subsequently reversed. In most cases, it is simply about survival for the people who depend on these natural resources, and supporting alternative, sustainable initiatives to the more destructive ‘cash today – gone tomorrow’ ones.  (SDG 15)

Snorkel or marine reserve fees – Since overfishing can lead to decimated coral reefs which absorb a significant amount of Co2, contributing to Marine protected areas via snorkel or marine reserve fees typically provide rural communities with alternative sources of income to fishing.(SDG 14)

Mangrove reforestation projects – Support SGDs 14, 13 and 15 as they not only provide a nursery habitat for many fish and shellfish which contribute to an abundance of seafood, but they also serve as nesting areas for coastal birds and help prevent coastal erosion that can impact many vulnerable coastal communities.

Supplies donations – Visiting a local school or vocational college, donating supplies and sponsoring education. (SDG 1,2,4 and 8)

Can’t go offsite?

Ice breaker or team building – CSR can just as easily be incorporated into a meeting or conference schedule in place of a more traditional ice breaker or team building activity. Without too much effort, a group can come together within the hotel setting and create something meaningful such as building bikes for children, packing rucksacks with sleeping bags and other useful items for the homeless or nutritional food packs to help eliminate malnutrition. At the BI WORLDWIDE Global Conference, Associates have traditionally engaged in an impactful meal-packing experience with the organisation Feed my Starving Children to help improve the lives of malnourished children around the world.

Event gifting -Gifting your attendees with items that have been sustainably sourced from local communities that create traditional handicrafts helps to ensure the protection of national heritage (SDG’s 9 and 10).

No matter the event or location, it’s easy to incorporate meaningful CSR elements to your event, which isn’t only good for your people, it’s good for the planet, and for business.