38 SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production – Del’s Pastry

Group Reflection

In collaboration between Canadian, Spanish, and Indonesian students, a comprehensive study was conducted to explore the innovative sustainability measures implemented by Del’s Pastry, a Toronto-based company. This cross-cultural initiative provided a unique learning experience for the students involved, fostering a rich exchange of ideas and methodologies.

Del’s Pastry has emerged as a beacon of environmental responsibility in the pastry production industry, guided by a visionary approach to sustainable practices. This collaborative research delves into the company’s groundbreaking strategies, emphasizing its commitment to minimizing environmental impact.

The multinational team of students engaged in a dynamic exploration of Del’s Pastry’s initiatives, showcasing the company’s dedication to reducing plastic usage. By partnering with “The Carbon Neutral Club” and meticulously monitoring carbon emissions, the company is actively working towards setting and achieving ambitious sustainability goals. The company’s commitment to reducing plastic usage, transitioning to recyclable packaging, and introducing initiatives such as cardboard pallets and lighter clamshells has resonated deeply with us. We believe that these measures not only showcase the company’s dedication to environmental stewardship but also serve as a model for sustainable practices in the broader business landscape. Finally, we would like to mention that we have found
inspiration in Del’s Pastry’s proactive approach to sustainability, recognizing it as a commendable effort towards building a more eco-conscious and responsible future.

Here, we have some salient points regarding the story:

• The company is taking steps to reduce the environmental impact of pastry production processes and packaging materials. They have partnered with “The Carbon Neutral Club” to monitor carbon emissions and set goals for reduction. Their packaging is 100% recycled and
  recyclable.
• The company ensures the health and safety of employees through policies such as good manufacturing practices, sick leave, and on-site rapid testing for COVID-19. They are working towards sustainable development goals, including reducing plastic content in packaging materials by using post-consumer recycled materials.
• The company provides employment and training opportunities for marginalized communities, including hiring foreign workers and offering entry-level positions to newcomers with no Canadian experience.
• Efforts are made to reduce energy consumption through practices like minimizing changeovers, using steam for equipment sanitation, and promoting energy-saving habits like turning off lights.
  The process of writing this story made us reflect a lot about course material we have learned over the semester, how it reinforced the learning, and how it challenged it. It also made us challenge assumptions we had with businesses and what they should do in the past.

Throughout the entirety of the course so far, we’ve learned about businesses and their CSR duties, stakeholders, which stakeholders should be prioritized, and much more. Through our story on Del’s Pastry, we reflected on their CSR hierarchy and understood more of the CSR responsibilities that they must follow in order to be successful (Hoong, 2023). They are a profitable business whose goal is to expand and make more money. They follow legal responsibilities by following food safety guidelines and getting multiple audits per year to ensure safety. They have many systems in place to ensure that employees are safe, and COVID is held to a minimum. For ethical responsibilities, Del’s ensures that women have the same opportunities as men in the workplace, with 50% of their employees being women.
They pay their employees competitive wages and make sure each employee is treated equally.
For their philanthropic responsibilities, they get ingredients from locally sourced companies, donate food to food shelters, and hire foreign/low opportunity workers. Also, to ensure they are helping reduce emissions, and ensure packages are properly disposed of, they use the least power they possibly can and have packaging that ensures consumers can properly recycle them.

Del’s Pastry revolves on a tight balance between the firm’s self interest and the well-being of society in order to be successful in their industry. It’s important that they keep this balance as it has been extremely beneficial for them thus far.

Our challenging thoughts we had based on assumptions we created in the past were that we thought firms were based more on the self interest of the company rather than a tight mix of their self interest and societies interest. We found out that having societies interest in mind is also beneficial to your self interest as economical stakeholders are very picky about what they purchase. For example, their sustainability interests have to usually align with a company’s sustainability interests in order for them to even consider purchasing their product.

Overall, what we learned from this story reinforced much of our learnings from this course, and have also challenged our opinions of business practices we thought were successful before. The AIM2Flourish story of Del’s Pastry showcases the impact of purpose-driven business practices and sustainability initiatives. The story highlights how a company, through its commitment to environmental responsibility, social sustainability, and innovation can positively influence its community and contribute to goals such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

As a business person in the future, the story of Del’s Pastry serves as a reminder of the significance of holistic sustainability. It puts a spotlight on the importance of aligning business practices with social and environmental responsibility. Our example of Del’s Pastry illustrates that profitability doesn’t have to come at the expense of the planet or people– it is indeed possible to create a successful business while simultaneously making a positive impact.

This exercise encourages us to visualize incorporating similar sustainable practices as well as initiatives into future business endeavors. It reinforces the concept that businesses can be agents of positive change, in terms of shaping a better world for everyone while still being profitable. In the future, taking from this story, We can see ourselves seeking ways to integrate sustainability into business operations, whether that’s by prioritizing environmentally friendly packaging, fostering a culture of health and safety among employees, supporting marginalized communities through employment and training opportunities, or even establishing partnerships that promote carbon neutrality and reduce environmental impact.

Our example of Del’s Pastry demonstrates that a business can be successful and socially responsible. This realization will undoubtedly shape future decisions and actions, pushing for more purpose-driven endeavors that contribute positively to society and the environment. All of us Canadian, Spanish, and Indonesian students were proud to conduct a great interview and create a story worth telling about Del’s Pastry. Due to our societies cultural differences and unique opinions, we thought this experience was worthwhile and very unique to anything we’ve done in our times at University. We believe that Del’s Pastry gave us the information we needed to further our understanding on class material and business practices in today’s society.

Individual Reflections

Roan: I think that this experiential activity was definitely very unique, and because of that – it was challenging. I felt as if there were some difficulties getting specific timing down for meetings and getting everyone on board for the same things. In the end, it did work out – but it was definitely a challenge. I feel as if we managed the cross-cultural dynamics in a positive manner, as sometimes people could not attend meetings and had to be explained the situation we were in as a result of that. I think that in the future, there could have been a more productive schedule for us which would’ve gotten everyone on board sooner and made everyone more efficient as a result. I think everybody brought a nice perspective to the process and had great opinions on how we would handle the projects we were doing; it was nice to see different opinions from different countries. Overall, it was a challenging but fun experience.

Santi: Navigating the complexities of coordinating with Canadian and Indonesian students on Del’s Pastry’s sustainability project presented its share of challenges, primarily stemming from differing time zones. Scheduling proved to be a logistical puzzle, demanding flexibility to accommodate everyone’s availability. Yet, despite these obstacles, the experience has been profoundly rewarding. The cross-cultural collaboration has brought a rich diversity of perspectives to the forefront, fostering an environment where each participant contributes unique insights. This shared learning journey has not only deepened my understanding of sustainability but has also underscored the global impact of conscientious business practices. The project serves as a testament to the potency of virtual collaboration, illustrating that a collective commitment to learning and sustainability can surmount geographical boundaries. In this shared endeavor, I have not only gained a heightened appreciation for Del’s Pastry’s environmental initiatives but have also connected with like-minded students from diverse corners of the world, all united in the pursuit of advancing sustainable business practices.

Jessica: This unique team project was definitely challenging. In my humble opinion, having three different time zones to work with was very unrealistic. It was difficult to arrange a meeting with a time that was convenient for everyone. Other than communication issues, there weren’t any other challenges such as cross-cultural dynamics. Although a lot of work wasn’t completed synchronously, everything was completed (with delays due to unforeseen circumstances). I’d say the tasks assigned were distributed with equal weights to each group member. Overall, it was an enriching experience to collaborate with others with a different educational background.

Kairul: My feelings when following aim2flourish for six weeks in group 46 were very enjoyable, because I met new friends from Canada and Spain and then I also did new things so it was a new experience and learning for me, then my friends in my group are also very kind, friendly and fun. Even though I missed the zoom several times because I fell asleep due to the time zone difference when zooming, of course, we were still able to do our jobs well. And also during zoom we also talked a little about football and our favorite football team. This will be a very pleasant experience because even though we have never met each other in person, we can build communication and cooperation to be able to do all the assignments given every week from the first week to the next week. The last one was closed with a zoom together with all the participants who took part in this activity. Which will be a very valuable experience
for me.

Bibby: While I was working on this aim2flourish project I felt happy and I got a lot of things. First, I have a new experience of having friends and also working together on projects. Second, this is also my first time having a Zoom meeting at night (like 1pm) because my foreign friends have different times in each country. Oh yes and finally, I am very happy to contribute to working on this project as I was part of making my team’s company poster. For this project, I really enjoyed working on this project.

Uri: Starting a project with a multicultural team from India and Canada offered a special chance to combine different viewpoints. We experienced cross-cultural teamwork, which also offered insightful learning. Understanding and negotiating cultural differences is essential in today’s globalized world, and your project with partners from Canada and India is an excellent example of successful cross-cultural cooperation. The various backgrounds probably contributed a range of perspectives and methods of working, which enhanced the project experience as a whole. Nevertheless it’s important to consider the difficulties that arose during the cross-cultural cooperation. Miscommunication, differing work styles, and time zone disparities might have posed hurdles. For initiatives in the future, identifying and resolving these issues is essential since it promotes smoother teamwork and a sharper focus on objectives.