1The Challenge
What was the challenge?
EY wanted a CSR programme that went beyond a token gesture. The ask was to create something that would genuinely connect their people to a cause — an experience where participants could see, hear, and feel the difference they were making, with the impact documented and brought back to the whole organisation. Running across four separate sessions over two weeks, with 500 to 600 participants per day, the programme also demanded consistent, high-quality delivery at significant scale — the same energy, meaning, and standards across every session.
2Our Solution
What solution did we design?
The Solar Fusion Challenge was the centrepiece — a CSR activity where teams assemble solar lights donated to communities without reliable access to electricity. The activity is powerful precisely because the output is real: every light a team builds goes somewhere it is genuinely needed. The Thought Bulb handled full NGO coordination, ensuring the donation pipeline was seamless and the community impact was authentic. A CSR video was produced featuring interviews with beneficiaries — footage woven into a final blooper video giving every participant a chance to see the full arc of what they had built together. Teams of 10 kept the activity intimate and meaningful even within sessions of 500–600 people.
3How We Did It
How was the programme delivered?
The programme ran across four sessions at ITC Taj, Kolkata: 6th May (500 participants, 150 solar lights), 8th May (500 participants, 150 solar lights), 13th May (600 participants, 180 solar lights), and 15th May (600 participants, 180 solar lights). Each 75-minute session followed a consistent format — teams formed, roles assigned, challenge begun. The CSR video team captured interviews with NGO beneficiaries alongside activity footage, documenting the human story behind every light. That footage became the emotional anchor of the blooper video. The same lead facilitator carried all four sessions, ensuring continuity of quality and tone across the entire series.
4Key Outcomes
What were the results?
Across four sessions, EY's teams assembled 660 solar lights — 660 tangible, lasting contributions to communities that needed them. More than 2,200 employees participated, each walking away with the rare experience of having made something with their hands that would outlast the day itself. The CSR video gave the programme a second life inside the organisation — a piece of content capturing not just the activity, but the meaning behind it. In a world where CSR can feel performative, this programme was the opposite. It was built, assembled, and delivered — 660 lights at a time. 2,200+ participants. 4 sessions. 660 solar lights. Real impact, documented and felt.
