Adding sustainability and givelab content to onsite planning resource

GitLab is committed to minimizing our environmental impact. When planning team onsites, you have an opportunity to contribute directly to this commitment by incorporating sustainability considerations into your planning process, while creating meaningful experiences for your team. 

The following guidelines will help you integrate environmental responsibility into your onsite planning:

The following ideas will help you integrate environmental responsibility into your onsite planning:

1. **Transportation:** Create a shared channel or spreadsheet for coordinating ride-shares to/from the airport.

1. **Walkability:** Choose locations where team members can walk between the hotel, activities, and restaurants. This reduces transportation needs and encourages team interaction.

1. **Hotels:** Select accomdations with sustainability commitments such as LEED certification or green building standards, renewable energy programs, water conservation and waste reduction initiatives, and local sourcing policies.

1. **Carbon footprint analysis:** Use this prompt with Claude to compare destination options:

1. **Hotels:** Select accommodations with sustainability commitments, such as LEED certification or green building standards, renewable energy programs, water conservation and waste reduction programs, and local sourcing policies.

1. **Carbon Footprint Analysis:** Use this prompt with Claude to compare destination options:

"I'm planning a team onsite for [NUMBER] people traveling from [DEPARTURE CITIES, COUNTRIES, OR STATES] to [POTENTIAL DESTINATIONS]. Please estimate total CO2 emissions for round-trip flights to each destination and rank them from lowest to highest carbon impact."

### Close the loop

After a meeting, key decisions and outcomes should be communicated to all key stakeholders, including folks who were not directly in the meeting. At a minimum, plan a Slack post that highlights the onsite goal, what was achieved, and next steps.

## Activity Planning

The all-remote structure at GitLab is efficient and collaborative. It works really well for problem solving, independent work, and all forms of collaboration \- not to mention things like getting up to date on GitLab to-dos and Slack messages.

Make the most of onsites with intentional time to get to know one another.

1. **Set and iterate group norms:** Spend 5-10 minutes at the start of each day to set and review group norms. Decide together things like work you’re going to set aside, if/when you’ll take breaks as a group, and how you’ll communicate during each activity. These might be similar to norms your team follows on all-remote team meetings, but recognize that it might be different \- like making sure everyone knows where the restroom is and that everyone has a comfortable seat or space to work.  

1. **Personality assessments:** Increased awareness of our own strengths and working styles helps us work more collaboratively with others. Use a framework like [Clifton Strengths Assessment](https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/). Assign the assessment as prework then have a discussion to share results.  

1. **Ice Breakers:** Don’t cringe \- ice breakers don’t have to be super cheesy or put people on the spot. A great ice breaker gets authentic conversation started. Here are a few ideas to get you started. Be mindful of how underrepresented groups and neurodiverse team members might feel during these activities.  

   * Conversation Deck: Purchase a deck like [The Teamwork Game](https://www.theschooloflife.com/shop/teamwork-game/). Pick a card to start a conversation in small groups, then share.  

   * Temperature Check: ask folks to share how they are feeling to start the day on a color or number scale. Give space to elaborate if comfortable.

1. **Incorporate flexible social time:** Plan team lunch or dinner, exercise classes, group walks, cooking classes, or tours to explore the city where you’re meeting. Be mindful of mobility limitations and your team members’ individual needs.1. **Balance team building with independent time:** We all need space to recharge. Avoid booking each day solid with activities. Ensure there is time for folks to return to their hotel room or spend time alone to feel ready for each day’s activities.

1. **Give back to the community:** Turn your team onsite into an opportunity to strengthen bonds while supporting local communities by volunteering through the [GiveLab program](/handbook/legal/esg/#givelab). Corporate volunteerism has been proven to boost engagement and help team members develop new skills, all while living our CREDIT values. Whether it's participating in a neighborhood cleanup, supporting a local food bank or animal shelter, or teaching coding workshops to local students, these activities create meaningful impact. Check out our [Team Volunteer Guide](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YAhDFOxI1rYdGKC4U0dJwteaTOj6Y2be8JizoQhirdQ/edit?usp=sharing) for a walkthrough of available options, including custom offerings, then open a [Volunteer Event Issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/-/issues/new?description_template=volunteer_support) to get started.

1. **Set and iterate group norms:** Spend 5-10 minutes at the start of each day to set and review group norms. Decide together things like work you're going to set aside, if/when you'll take breaks as a group, and how you'll communicate during each activity. These might be similar to norms your team follows on all-remote team meetings, but recognize that it might be different - like making sure everyone knows where the restroom is and that everyone has a comfortable seat or space to work.

1. **Personality assessments:** Increased awareness of our own strengths and working styles helps us work more collaboratively with others. Use a framework like [social styles](/handbook/leadership/emotional-intelligence/social-styles/), [Clifton Strengths Assessment](https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/), or the [Enneagram Assessment](https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions/). Assign the assessment as prework then have a discussion to share results.

1. **Ice Breakers:** Don't cringe - ice breakers don't have to be super cheesy or put people on the spot. A great ice breaker gets authentic conversation started. Here are a few ideas to get you started. Be mindful of how underrepresented groups and neurodiverse team members might feel during these activities.

     - Conversation Deck: Purchase a deck like [The Teamwork Game](https://www.theschooloflife.com/shop/teamwork-game/) or this [Best Self Question Deck](https://www.amazon.com/Conversation-Starter-Icebreaker-Deck-BestSelf/dp/B07RRQWHN9?th=1). Pick a card to start a conversation in small groups, then share.

     - Temperature Check: ask folks to share how they are feeling to start the day on a color or number scale. Give space to elaborate if comfortable.

1. **Incorproate flexible social time:** Plan team lunch or dinner, exercise classes, group walks, cooking classes, or tours to explore the city where you're meeting. Be mindful of mobility limitations and your team members' individual needs.

1. **Balance team building with independent time:** We all need space to recharge. Avoid booking each day solid with activities. Ensure there is time for folks to return to their hotel room or spend time alone to feel ready for each day's activities.

1. **Give back to the community:** Turn your team onsite into an opportunity to strengthen bonds while supporting local communities by volunteering through the [GiveLab program](/handbook/legal/esg/#givelab). Corporate volunteering has been proven to boost engagement and help team members develop new skills, all while living our CREDIT values. Whether it's participating in a neighborhood cleanup, supporting a local food bank or animal shelter, or teaching coding workshops to local students, these activities create meaningful impact. Check out our [GiveLab Team Volunteer Guide](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YAhDFOxI1rYdGKC4U0dJwteaTOj6Y2be8JizoQhirdQ/edit?usp=sharing) for a walkthrough of available options, including custom offerings, then open a [Volunteer Event Issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/-/issues/new?description_template=volunteer_support) to get started.

### Consider Utilizing Design Thinking Exercises