Corporate America is still trying to course-correct from the downward spiral triggered by COVID-19. As a result, corporate team building is more important than ever.
And while the pandemic may be behind us, the need for sustainability is as urgent as ever and in the business arena, team building may be our most efficient tool.
The sluggish history of sustainability awareness
The Industrial Revolution provoked the first serious concerns about protecting the environment as cities like London, for example, strangled on coal-choked air and the gagging stench of the Thames River.
Post-World War II technological advances—pesticides, plastics, industrial chemicals, and synthetics—accelerated the problem like a runaway freight train.
Tragically, 12,000 Londoners died in1952 from air pollution, and environmental scientists began to sound alarm bells around the world. But it still wasn’t until the 1960s and 70s that our environmental crisis began to penetrate the global consciousness!
Sustainability awareness wasn’t sustained until…
In 1987 the publication of “Our Common Future,” “…firmly established sustainable development as a critical component of international development”, according to Researchgate.net.
…At long last!
We finally began to wake up in the new millennium! Forbes.com reports, “For many years, the sole purpose of a corporation had been defined by Milton Friedman as an effort to create the greatest profit for shareholders. Now, companies big and small are changing this. In 2019, 181 CEOs came out with a redefining statement: ‘It is more critical than ever that businesses in the 21st century are focused on generating long-term value for all stakeholders and addressing the challenges we face, which will result in shared prosperity and sustainability for both business and society,’ said Darren Walker, the president of Ford Foundation.”
So here we are in 2023 when the meaning of corporate social responsibility is synonymous with sustainability. In fact, today’s business models must include environmental stewardship policies and social sustainability initiatives as baseline measures of “success.”
Why is charitable team building important for sustainability?
The best way to increase company awareness and individual concern about sustainability in your community is to conduct a charitable team building event.
Charitable team building is the gold standard when it comes to strengthening the bonds between colleagues because it shifts our attention from ourselves and focuses it on people in need. And paradoxically that helps put our own “issues” into perspective.
Magnovo’s charitable team building events are designed to sustain the environment, maintain community goodwill, and strengthen relationships among your employees. Each event involves colleagues dividing into small teams each of which “competes” to produce the best donations as quickly as possible. And at the end of the day donors, recipients, and the community itself feel the benefits of such kindness.
Your company can reduce emissions levels in your community by assembling and donating bicycles and wheelchairs. How about upcycling or recycling school supplies for local students? From planting trees to clearing debris to working with your favorite food bank—Magnovo can customize the charitable team building event that best suits your company.
Your offer of resources and support to environmental activists, schools, and social service organizations is the definitive answer to “why is team building important for sustainability”.