9 Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Team Building Activities
When it comes to running a team building even for your group, there’s a huge aspect of if that often goes overlooked:
Sustainability.
The next time you’re tasked with orchestrating a large corporate meeting, you have a unique opportunity to practice sustainability–and we don’t mean just choosing an eco-friendly venue. You can build your team’s culture and boost morale with games that are incredibly low-waste, use locally sourced materials, and keep the carbon footprint as small as possible. You can even fulfill your corporate social responsibility by turning it into a charity team building event and donating to a sustainable cause.
Finding a team building game that’s actually fun and harmless for the environment might seem tough, but it’s really quite easy.
Below are 9 sustainable team building activities that will give your team an unforgettable experience.
9 Sustainable Team Building Activities
Before we go on, here’s something unique about the Leaders Institute:
As a team building company that tries to integrate a charity experience in every game, our end product often is the donation itself. Whether it’s bicycles, canned food, or backpacks of school supplies, all of it goes onto someone who needs it.
Which means that, when it comes to sustainability, the only things a given sustainable team-building activity might leave behind are:
- Your standard shipping materials, such as recyclable cardboard and paper
- Recyclable papers, such as those used for instructions or scripts
- Reusable materials that our instructors kindly ask you to return after the end of the event
There are also a few standards that we try to practice whenever possible when organizing our events:
- As much as possible, we use locally sourced materials
- We try to minimize our carbon foot print as much as possible by using instructors closer to your event
- Travel and shipping are our biggest waste creators, so we try to minimize our impact as much as possible by partnering with companies like FedEx who have their own sustainability promises
So keep all of that in mind as you read through our list of sustainable team building activities. These activities’ pages will be listed with a sustainability icon on our website.
1. Build-A-Bike
As far as team-building activities go, this is by far one of our most popular. It’s a great way to boost morale for your team members while also making a positive impact in your community.
Teams are tasked with building a bicycle. They can only get the bike parts, however, if they work together in solving a series of questions. We invented this game in 2005, and since then the format has been wildly popular with teams of all sizes. Anywhere from 10 to 1000 members can participate in a Build-A-Bike event.
How is it sustainable?
The bicycles that your team builds will go directly into the hands of local children. We’ll take back any other materials we use as part of the ice breakers. The only thing that remains will be the recyclable packaging that the bicycles came in.
We always do our best to send a local instructor to your event, thus helping us reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible. However, we do also offer a self-facilitated version of Build-A-Bike that we can send you to help increase sustainability even further (talented instructor not included—you’ll have to source one for yourself!).
2. Amazing Builders
This is another team building event with a great opportunity to show your support for sustainability.
Amazing Builders is an team obstacle course race designed to develop teamwork. Each team races through an indoor obstacle course while blindfolded. The items used in the obstacle course are none other than your choice of item to donate to charity.
If you wanted to customize your Amazing Builders game to include a donation to a sustainable organization, this is the perfect opportunity. You can also opt for our favorite donation of choice: backpacks full of school supplies.
Your team will have a blast as they lead their coworkers through the course to pick up all the items, knowing that each item will be donated to the local community or to a sustainable cause of your choice.
How is it sustainable?
Much like Build-A-Bike, Amazing Builders does not require much more than the donation items themselves. Items will be shipped in recyclable packaging, and we do our best to send an instructor who is local.
3. Ace Race
The Ace Race is a mini golf team building activity that we recommend this event for highly competitive teams. Teams create a whole mini-golf course using non-perishable foods, and then race to complete them the fastest. The amount of food needed to build a 9-hole course adds up quick. Before you know it, you’ll be supplying over 800 lbs of food to those in need.
How is it sustainable?
Once again, shipping and packing is the only obstacle to sustainability here. The non-perishables used in the Ace Race are recyclable, as well. The other materials used to make up the DIY golf course will be packed up by our instructor to be reused at a future event.
4. Charade Murder Mystery Team Building
The Charade Murder Mystery starts off like any other team building activity—until one of your team’s executives suddenly falls to the floor as the murder victim. The group is then divided into teams to interview a set of suspects and to find who the killer is.
How is it sustainable?
Very little is required for a Charade Murder Mystery event. Our instructors bring a folder containing the evidence and the suspect scripts—and that’s it! What really carries this event is the fun your teams will have from playing their roles, whether they’re a suspect or an investigator. The evidence files and scripts are conveniently laminated so that they can be taken back by the instructor and used at another event.
5. Camaraderie Quest
Camaraderie Quest is a customizable scavenger hunt for your group, in your chosen location. Wherever you choose to hold your event or meeting is where we’ll design the hunt. (The more interesting your location, the more interesting the scavenger hunt will be). Teams will be given a QR code to scan with their smart phone, taking them to a website where they can fill in their answers.
How is it sustainable?
Camaraderie Quest requires nothing but an instructor and a smart phone, thus making it one of our team building games that produces the least amount of waste.
6. I’m In It to Win It
This is an interactive game show team-building activity where members compete for points while becoming a stronger team. If your team is wary of the idea of “team building,” then I’m In It to Win It will change their perceptions entirely.
How is it sustainable?
Not only is this one of the most fun games we’ve created, but the game creates very little waste. The majority of the props used in this game are reusable, and the ones that aren’t are recyclable.
7. My Rich Uncle
My Rich Uncle is an escape room team building game, but it’s designed a little bit differently than your average escape room. We designed this game so that teams can play it in the same room, adding a competitive element that will have teams scrambling to win.
How is it sustainable?
There are several props required in My Rich Uncle, but our instructors will bring them to you. All of the pieces are made of recyclable materials, and those that aren’t will be used for another My Rich Uncle event in the future.
8. Improv Training
Our Improv Training workshop is unlike anything else on our list. If you’re looking for something that will teach your teams how to act in high-pressure situations, this is the session for them.
How is it sustainable?
Other than the travel costs associated with bringing an instructor to your space, this is a 100% waste-free team building activity. No props are required!
9. Creating a Team Culture
The majority of team building activities on this list are great for celebrating teams. And while they do have elements of team building that will help improve communication, team work, and creative thinking, sometimes what you need is a more direct approach. For those times, we recommend one of the interactive workshops from our Creating a Team Culture series. These are designed to address specific areas of your team’s performance, such as leadership, time management, strengths/weaknesses, and more.
How is it sustainable?
Aside from some pamphlets that aid in the teaching experience, no other props or items are necessary for Creating a Team Culture. These documents can also be disseminated digitally instead of being printed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sustainable practices are incorporated into your team building games?
- Whenever possible, we use recyclable materials in our shipping and any props that are disposable.
- Non-recyclable props are taken back with our instructors so they can be used for another team building event.
- We always do our best to send local instructors to your event, in order to cut down on carbon emissions as much as possible.
How do you ensure the sustainability of the venues used for your games?
One of the benefits of booking a team building event with the Leaders Institute is that we send our instructors and materials to your event, wherever it is in the United States (and sometimes outside!). We do not choose the venue for our clients, but for sustainability, we would recommend to choose a venue that prioritizes energy efficiency and proper waste management practices.
Are your team building activities designed to promote awareness about sustainability?
Our priority is ensuring that your team building event is congruent with your organization’s core values and mission. Therefore, we are happy to customize the message of our event to resonate with your sustainability goals and values, whether it’s climate change, environmental awareness, or any other topic. Just let us know when booking your event!
Do you partner with any sustainable organizations or charities?
A key component of our charity team building events is coordinating your event with a charity of your choice. We’ll help facilitate the connection between your event and your chosen organization or charity and, when possible, coordinate guest speakers from the organization to speak to your team. This is an excellent way to make a lasting impact while boosting employee morale. Let us know what your unique needs are.
Need Help Coordinating a Sustainable Team Building Event?
Get in touch with us using the form below to learn more about our sustainable team-building experiences. Tell us about your goals, and one of our team building experts will help you come up with an innovative solution to fulfill your corporate responsibility.
