How green is your conference, how ethically sound is your corporate event? In a recent survey carried out for the Meetings Industry Association (MIA) in the UK, event organisers were asked about the growing influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on their event planning. Here is what they said:

64 per cent of associations and 77 per cent of corporates think CSR will be extremely or somewhat influential in their event organisation over the next ten years. All corporate respondents said that it is already influencing some aspects of event organisation and only 34 per cent of associations said it was not influencing event organisation.

That is really significant. As you know, Activate Events is committed to promoting environmentally friendly corporate events in Scotland but the idea of doing good in a wider sense, where an event can fit in with an organisation’s CSR programme is very appealing.

Last month we reported on an event we are organising with a company based in Edinburgh helping a local charity as part of a team building event in Scotland. This surely offers many others a template for future corporate events.

The Digital Blue Global blog spotted the MIA survey and delivered their US take on these trends:

CSR is gaining a lot of momentum within US corporations - who set measurable and manageable goals that every part of the organization must work toward achieving. And concludes: Even if you have no demands for “green meetings”, it’s my feeling that it will become important on some level to be aware of and able to measure the impact of your events in terms of sustainability.

We could not agree more.

How often do you tell your team they can do anything if they just set their minds to it? Now is the chance to prove it with our new fire walking event.

We think it makes sense to hold a corporate event in Scotland in winter designed to keep you warm. But don’t worry, nobody who tries out an Activate Events firewalking event ever ends up toast. This is a fantastic exercise for corporate conferences and team building days. After all, few things will knock the confidence of a team which has just strolled across a bed of burning coals together.

People who have tried it report a great sense of well-being, increased confidence and a more positive approach to the challenges they face back at corporate HQ. And just to feel really good, some brave souls have secured sponsorship for their fire walk with all money raised going to charity. So come on, this isn’t the time for cold feet.

Running a conference in Scotland? Then it’s time to consider a conference buster. This is one of our specialities here at Activate Events and Pamela is currently putting together some conference buster ideas for a major oil company in Aberdeen.

The idea is to take the attendees away from the passive conference situation for one hour of positive, active team building so they can return at the end of the session, mentally and physically more alert and able to derive the maximum benefit from your event.

We have several favourite conference busters, including miniature bridge building, rocket building (they get fired outdoors) and Jurassic japes. They all work well for any size of corporate event here in Scotland and they are particularly effective just after lunch - you know, that dreaded time when eyes droop and heads begin to nod in the warmth of the conference centre.

Not all of our corporate events in Scotland are for 150 people. Many are for much smaller groups - like the fourteen or so employees of a Scottish utility company which we propose turning into a cohesive and efficient team this coming January.

Wait a minute, you say, January? In Scotland? Yes, the weather can be a bit rough at that time of year. Fortunately this particular team building exercise takes place mostly inside the famous Crieff Hydro in Perthshire, one of Scotland’s best known hotels. We think that piece of news will probably raise team morale before our guests even arrive.

Even the opening ice-breakers will be held indoors - as will one of our favourite event elements, the trebuchet, where participants compete to construct the most efficient machine capable of launching a given weight as close to a target as possible. Another log on the fire?

In the end the idea is to create increase the effectiveness of communication between the employees, raise morale and promote a really close team feeling through a shared experience. The fact it all happens in the cosy, dry and plush surroundings of a first class hotel in Perthshire rather than outside braving the ravages of a Scottish winter is just incidental. Or a bonus, depending on your point of view.

Remember It’s a Knockout? The classic TV show where we laughed ourselves silly as regional teams attempted daft games involving giant costumes, buckets of water and inflatable dragons? We have our own version here at Activate Events in Scotland. We pay homage to the original 1960’s concept but also introduce our own highly effective and creative team building ideas to help your corporate group or office team return to work refreshed and newly-bonded and with their sides still sore from laughing.
Earlier this year we ran one of these special It’s a knock out corporate days for Cairn Energy, one of Scotland’s best known and most successful companies. You can see one of the pictures above with more on our Flickr pages.
They certainly enjoyed it (so did we). According to Murdo Mackay, the HR director at Cairn Energy “The day was a terrific success and feedback from our staff has been very positive .. the sense of fun and achievement left everyone feeling very satisfied. ” All that and no need for a cheesy It’s a Knockout commentary from Stuart Hall! Hang on - we could probably arrange that as well.

Dunblane has one of the three great hydro hotels of Scotland, beloved by generations of Scottish families. However that doesn’t mean it can’t move with the times. Today we’re working on a some ideas for new fun theme events at Dunblane Hydro in partnership with our friends at Tapestry Audio Visual in Falkirk. One idea we have been planning is a fantastic Narnia themed event with a magic wardrobe leading through to a snowy forest and various adventures beyond.

Stopping short of supplying a real lion - particularly one with a strong religious agenda - we shall still do our best to conjure up the atmosphere of Narnia. Defeating the white witch will involve all sort of elements within the team building exercise.

We always take the weather into account at Activate Events when organising corporate events in Scotland but if we don’t get what we want we can always create it - even if that takes us into another world. Hence our second vision for an amazing celestial wonderland where guests arrive through fluffy white clouds to be served champagne by angels - accompanied by harps of course. Heavenly fun.

Piperdam in the Sidlaw Hills is a fine part of the Scottish countryside. It is only five miles from Dundee but you would hardly believe it was so close to the city when you are out walking on a fine Scottish autumn afternoon or visiting the local Osprey Centre.
Activate Events works closely with the Piperdam Golf & Leisure Resort nearby and we are currently putting together some ideas for Johnson & Johnson to create a fun corporate event to finish off a busy day in the resort’s conference centre.
Once again, the idea is to add value to the company’s team building activities and to that end we have been looking at creating either a Piperdam treasure hunt involving a 90 minute dash round some of the local highlights or putting together Jurassic Japes, with two teams trying to locate and restore the remains of a family of local dinosaurs (no, not The Broons!). Finally there’s also a plan to build inexpensive hot air balloons followed by a mass launch into the sky above the Angus countryside. Watch out for reports of unidentified flying objects from the concerned citizens of Dundee.

If we came up with a list of favourite clients, Hilton Hotels would definitely be on it. We are currently working on a themed evening for the Hilton Caledonian in Edinburgh, one of the city’s grandest and best-known hotels, right at the west end of Princes Street and a great venue for event management in Scotland.

We will be catering for 150 guests and the plan at the end of the evening is to leave a happy revitalised corporate team.

The Hilton Caledonian is accustomed to playing host to the rich and famous, particularly during the Edinburgh Festival. That is just as well as we are planning a Hollywood evening for the occasion, a corporate event which will make everyone feel special.

Guests will get the full red carpet treatment on arrival with paparazzi photographers and flashing cameras before they enter a room packed with Hollywood icons, past and present. Games will be played and dinner served, then the jet set treatment continues with a glitzy casino loaded with wads of fake money. Should be fun.

Where do team builders go for a spot of team building? The answer for Activate Events last week was Aberfoyle, where we had a great day out at Go Ape. This company specialises in rope bridges, high wires and Tarzan swings and, basically, anything which involves hanging people from the tops of trees (but in a good way). In no time at all we were flying through the greenery of the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park in Aberfoyle.

There is no doubt we will incorporate something like this into our corporate events and team building sessions. There are huge benefits to be gained, particularly for those people more used to sitting at desks than swinging through trees.

Here is a short movie of Sean going ape on the Big Zip Wire, the longest zip wire in the UK. Don’t try this at home (or at least not until you have taken the washing in).

It’s a QuickTime movie but if that’s not convenient, it’s also available on YouTube for a slicker viewing experience!

[qt:/images/big_zipwire.mp4 320 256]

If you enjoy motor sports programmes on TV and you have always wondered what Tiff Needell’s first name stands for, we can tell you: it’s Timothy. No we have no idea how Timothy became Tiff but we do know that somewhere along the line Tiff became a fantastic car driver.

We are currently putting together a fantastic motor sports corporate event for early next year which will combine thrills and spills with a large lump of laughs.

Remember the Wacky Races on TV? Then you probably have a good idea of what this is going to be like. First our visiting corporate group will be obliged to build their own Wacky Races-style carts,then they will get to race them round a purpose-built track.

There will be a Formula One theme for the event and the odd top racing driver wandering round – or at least someone doing a good impression. And at the end of the day, guess who is the guests speaker. Yes, Timothy Tiff Needell.

There is a serious point to this sort of corporate event of course with many lessons to be learned along the way on team building, effective leadership and driving your business onwards to greater things. That’s why we call it F1 for Success.