9 effective CSR event ideas to build purpose-driven remote teams

Words like “sustainability” and “purpose” are now part of the corporate world. But for the new workforce, these cannot be only buzzwords. They must translate into concrete actions. This is not news to you if you are in charge of your company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR). But now, workplaces face a new challenge: how to adapt the CSR activities for the remote workforce? Continue to read this article and discover 9 effective CSR event ideas for remote teams.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Work Happiness

According to the 2016 Cone Communications Millennial Employee Engagement Study, “64% of millennials won’t take a job if the company doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) values”. The same study refers that “83% would be more loyal to a company that helps them contribute to social and environmental issues (vs. 70% U.S. average)”. The study “purpose at work”, held by Linkedin, states that 73% of purpose-oriented people are happy in their jobs, compared to 64% of their non-purpose-oriented peers. These numbers are representative of a new paradigm, where the 3Ps of the triple bottom line, are equally important: people, planet, and profits.

Purpose-driven events and team bonding

Corporate social responsibility has 4 dimensions: environmental, ethical, philanthropic, and financial. These 4 dimensions are transversal to all the areas of the company and shape its culture. But philanthropy, as an act of empathy, has the potential to bring people together. That’s why philanthropic team events should be a part of your corporate social responsibility strategy. They will help to build your company culture and team strength. 

CSR event ideas to boost your company culture

Engaging your remote team in meaningful activities is a great way to shape your company culture! Check here the ideas we have for you!

1- The Workplace Kindness Challenge

Having a sense of belonging to a community can have a major impact on employee retention. In fact, in the Gusto report “community at work”, we can learn that over half of the employees (54%), have stayed longer in a job because of a strong sense of community. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has created a workplace kindness challenge that may be what your remote team has been longing for. This challenge consists in doing 50 activities that will bring more kindness to your team’s interaction. Define a time frame for the employees to complete the challenge, and host a final event where you can pick randomly the team members and invite them to share about some of the actions. We are sure there will be some amazing stories to tell!

2- Virtual fitness challenge

A virtual fitness challenge is an ideal activity to keep your team members healthy and give back. You can create a group on an app like Charitymiles. It’s a free app, but participants will be sponsored by companies to run or walk. The money raised will be given to a charity of your choice! If you want to run the extra mile, and your CSR budget allows it, maybe you should consider being an app sponsor, and leveraging your impact.

3- Make a pledge for the SDGs

One of the best CSR event ideas to raise awareness among your remote team is to host a virtual event with the theme of the Sustainable Development Goals. Use this game to create an individual competition or even to assemble smaller groups in breakout rooms. After the defined time, find everyone again in the main video room:  what did they learn about the SDGs? And, most important, who has the highest score? The game finished with the invitation to make a pledge for the SDG of your team member’s choice. Ask them to choose one and document their journey. This material can then be the pretext for another event on this theme.

4 – CSR virtual volunteering event

Corporate volunteering is one of the favorite choices for companies to give back. Promote a weekly virtual volunteering moment with your remote workforce! There are a lot of international, national, and local institutions or associations that are willing to receive virtual volunteers. We have here some ideas for you:

• UN Online Volunteers Program – here you will find different assignments on UN institutions and other partners who work toward the SDGs.
• Translators without Borders – This platform curate non-profits to provide translations by registered volunteers. They are also open to project managers, designers, and web developers that may apply.
• Amnesty Decoders– Defines as a global network of digital volunteers that help to report Human Rights violations.
• Be my eyes – This app connects low-vision individuals with volunteers that may help them with different situations via a video call.

At the end of the year host an online event where the team can share their volunteering experiences.

5 – Fundraising Virtual Event

Learning more about your remote team’s hobbies it’s an important way to connect with them. What if you go the extra mile, and host a fundraising virtual event with your team? Maybe a concert by your musician coworkers, a cooking class, or a webinar on the field of expertise of your team members – sales, marketing, excel, HR, etc. It’s a different way to give back, but it’s also a way to motivate and create new bonds within your team.

6 – Wine to Water

Wine to water is the name of a non-profit that hosts a water filter building workshop. The filter is then sent to developing countries that suffer the most from the lack of clean water. This workshop is accessible in a virtual format, ideal to gather your remote team around a common purpose.

7 – Working diversity and inclusion through a multicultural cooking class

If you take part on a remote team, chances are that you have coworkers living in different countries or with multiple backgrounds and origins. Organizing regular online multicultural meals is a chance to learn more about each other’s cultures. One of the team members will lead a cooking class for the whole group, and at the end, you can discover these new flavors with a virtual meal together!

8 – Measuring and reducing the carbon footprint

If your CSR department has already a sustainability policy in place, you should already be measuring and offsetting your company’s CO2 emissions. Being a part of a remote team has already an important environmental impact. Host a short online event to share how your remote team is positively impacting the planet, and don’t forget the measure the CO2 savings of that event! You can do it easily with SCOOCS.

9 – Impact Trips

Last but not least, we have an in-person CSR event idea for you. Why not gather your remote team in Portugal, Spain, Italy, or Croatia? With Impactrip you can organize a multicultural walking tour, an eco-dive, or a volunteering program abroad! Yes, it is possible to do sustainable tourism!

We can help you to build better CSR events!

SCOOCS is a virtual and hybrid event platform with multiple engaging features that will help you to turn your remote workforce info a community at a fair price. Learn here about our features, and how they may help you to achieve your CSR goals.