37 SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production – La Pastora- Quinto

Group Reflection

Aim2flourish learnings have exceeded academic boundaries. It has been a fulfilling experience whose rewards go from forging international relationships to becoming aware of the real duties of a business leader. These intense, yet entertaining, six weeks have not gone unnoticed, and we would like to share a piece of our minds on how the development of this group project has provided us with useful and, hopefully, long-lasting knowledge.

The company chosen is La Pastora Quinto S.L, a primary-sector Spanish company that dedicates itself to the dehydration of fodder. The aim of this assignment was to find a company that develops innovation for the global good, and since this company’s recent implementations comply with the 2030 agenda and a couple of the UN SDGs, we thought La Pastora was the perfect fit. The firm’s stretch link with agricultural activities has made us learn from unexplored grounds, such as how organic matter is produced and to what extent this is crucial for a sustainable planet.

Along the lines of sustainability, we have had the chance to explore a company that starts making real change from the bottom: more naturally produced animal food that ultimately translates into increased quality of animal-origin products. We have been able to witness the significant impact on the local community. Firstly, by reducing negative externalities (such as nocive carbon emissions) which contributes to a higher CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Moreover, La Pastora aligns with the triple bottom line by taking into account economic, social, and environmental considerations. These led us to realize the direct relationship between the contributions made to society and the benefits reaped by the firm, such as the money saved up from not using artificial and harmful fertilizers or the introduction of the carbon rights market to actively tackle the greenhouse effect.

Having the opportunity to have a closer look at the company’s activity has enabled us to reconsider the course of action in future business decisions, such as giving its deserved relevance to the incorporation of some kind of SDG. This project has reflected the importance of considering broader objectives beyond higher profits to achieve global good. From enhancing working conditions to increase employee satisfaction to reducing contaminating substances, the importance of a sustainable business practice must not be underestimated.

On the other hand, we have learned and grown from the adversities we faced when working as a team under such challenging conditions. Not only was it a difficult task to coordinate and organize the Zoom meetings, but it was also hard to open-up and share your opinions at the start. The cultural differences played a key role in this unequal participation: while there were people who felt more confident in sharing their views, others patiently waited to be asked directly.

Despite these issues, the simple yet useful dynamic of the weekly meetings was commonly known and praised by all members. After discussing the weekly assignment in the meeting, we divided and completed the work on a shared Google document. When all the individual parts were completed, they were reviewed and submitted by a couple of team members. Thankfully, we were able to complete all the parts in the given time, which avoided moments of stress and discomfort amongst the group.
We as a team also learned some important things during this experience that were also related to what we were taught in our courses. First of all, we saw how crucial it is for us to coordinate properly, be organized, and also communicate well. Overall, we can say this was a big lesson in these practical skills.
We also learned about interacting with interviews and how to analyze a company. It was interesting to apply what we learned before in a real situation. Moreover, by understanding different cultures and how they affect decisions and the way people work, we realized that cultural differences play a big role in how people make choices.

Lastly, we also learned to be considerate of each other. Not everyone has the same schedule; we live in different places and in different time zones. Of course, we also have to adapt, but at the same time, we tried to understand and support each other since working together smoothly was the most important part of the project.

In terms of learning that supplemented our work, we identified the following the most. Firstly, of course, everything we learned about cross-cultural issues With this project, we not only experienced them but also learned to handle them. Despite facing these obstacles, we managed to finish successfully. We also understood the roles and responsibilities of each team member and saw how important it is to work together. Applying project management principles, like good communication, planning, and meeting deadlines, was essential. Lastly, we became aware of our strengths and weaknesses, which helped us assign the tasks effectively. Overall, our learning from our courses was like a guide that made our teamwork better.

Summing everything up, it can be said that the beginning was a bit difficult for all of us, but we learned to adapt and made the best of it. What worked was using a WhatsApp group for tracking everyone’s progress and for communication. It was truly beneficial. Google Docs was essential and enabled us to share and collaborate easily within the group. Online meetings (WhatsApp & Zoom) were good for our weekly discussions, and with the use of WorldtimeBuddy.com, we were able to estimate and manage the time differences across the countries.

What didn’t work so well (at least in the beginning) was managing the time differences. Sometimes our progress slowed down a bit due to busy schedules, and therefore some meetings had to be postponed. Also, the fact that we didn’t really know each other so well and only through online meetings. Sometimes it was a bit awkward, but luckily not in a way that it had a negative impact on our work.

To conclude, we gained valuable insights on sustainability beyond the textbooks through our Aim2Flourish journey with La Pastora Quinto S L. It was focused on the importance of the triple bottom line while showing that the company had positive impacts on organic matter and local communities. However, the experience demonstrated some difficulties and successes of working in a multicultural team and pointed out the significance of good communication skills and the ability to adapt. Nonetheless, the team made progress despite the hurdles by taking advantage of tools such as WhatsApp and Google Docs.

Individual Reflections

Daniela: Taking part in an exclusively virtual experience has been new to me. Even though I had already participated in projects which were not completely developed presently, I had not had the chance to work at a global scale with unfamiliar students until now. When doing this new activity I inevitably faced many challenges: from the difficult coordination due to the huge time differences to the cultural differences reflected in misunderstandings, working at an international level has its difficulties. Not sharing a common language is an underestimated advantage that we are used to taking for granted.
However, despite these disadvantages, I have been able to improve my teamwork skills as well as having closer contact to first- hand experience on how to lead and enhance a company. Being in contact with a CEO has given me a more practical view on business management. It is also worth mentioning the social conscience I have acquired after exploring more in- depth some of the SDG´s and its´targets.

Mikhael: Participating in working on international projects and also learning about businesses and companies that provide benefits to many people and analyzing companies that are in accordance with SDG principles is a new experience for me even though I have not been able to contribute much but it makes me learn a lot and get to know new friends even though I have not been able to get along. Here I also learned a lot about how to handle a job even though there are some obstacles such as time differences and language barriers. Despite these obstacles, I learned a lot and was able to get to know many people, take responsibility and gain knowledge that can be useful for the future.

Gerraldy: A new and challenging experience, but also fun for me. This is my first time participating in an international scale project, and I am very proud to be able to participate in this activity. Some of the challenges I faced when participating in this activity were the time difference which was very noticeable (I even had to do meetings at my bedtime haha!!). Sometimes, due to time differences, we cannot have meetings, which hinders us in this activity. I also met my new friends from 2 different countries, and they are great people, even though there are other obstacles, such as language barriers, it doesn’t prevent us from interacting with each other, so we use English. However, despite the obstacles like time difference and language, I learned a lot from this experience.
Starting from how to analyze companies, from the companies we choose, and the companies chosen by the entire team to be interviewed, I learned a lot about the uniqueness of various companies. I also learned about 17 SDGs, which I was familiar with for the first time, and learned about how a company supports SDGs.

Natalia: This experience was new to me; I was used to working face-to-face with people I already knew. However, this project presented me with a challenge I had never faced before. This group project forced me to work with a team that had significant differences among its members.

This project inevitably led to several challenges. Firstly, we had to coordinate the significant time zone differences among team members. Moreover, given that we come from three different cultures, we had to adapt to each other’s working styles and find a way for all of us to be comfortable. While some of us have a more proactive attitude and enjoy expressing our opinions, others preferred to remain silent, listen to the opinions of others, and only share their own views when they deemed it appropriate. As a result, I’ve had to learn to ask others for their opinions before sharing mine, as they might not express their thoughts initially, choosing instead to listen to others as a sign of respect.
Despite these challenges, this experience helped me improve my teamwork skills. Additionally, it provided me with a closer look at how a company works to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 agenda to improve the environment. This made me more conscious of the importance of taking care of our planet.

Samet: Working on a virtual international project was new and exciting, but also had its challenges. Dealing with time differences and diverse cultures made the coordination a bit tricky sometimes. We had to find ways to communicate and plan effectively since we also had other things to do and were not only working on the project 24/7 (university, work etc.). Despite these challenges, I really enjoyed the work. Not only generally with people from different parts of the world but also with my group. Figuring out meetings where everyone was available was tough sometimes but we still managed it.
Overall this experience taught me a lot about teamwork on a global scale and made me more aware of potential obstacles and challenges. Sometimes it might be easier to work alone, but I had fun learning how to face these tasks with this group work and would also do it again.