34 SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production – ScanBiotek

Group Reflection

The Aim2Flourish journey has brought us into the realm of business innovation for sustainability, where we explored the profound impact of companies advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Beyond presenting the facts in the initial Aim2Flourish submission, this reflective essay delves into the collective introspection of our team and how Scanbiotek has distinguished itself through its unwavering commitment to driving sustainability. In this critical reflection, we navigate the intersections between our academic knowledge, the cross-cultural dynamic at play, and the challenges and successes encountered during this experimental activity.

Through this submission we provided a story for Scanbiotek, a relatively new company in Bolivia, created by a strategic collaboration between the Danish company, Protena international, and a local Bolivian company, Tusequis. This company was created with the motivation of eliminating pollution in the watershed, and finally turned into a company that turns polluting cow blood into useful resources including feed, fertilisers, and food products. The narrative demonstrates how Scanbiotek’s creative waste management strategy is in line with different Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that align with Aim2Flourish’s values. Our story further states that Scanbiotek’s creative strategy is admirable and consistent with the values of environmental stewardship, sustainable development, and responsible consumerism.

After examining our story, we think Scanbiotek has a creative and admirable approach to waste management. The company’s program promotes social and economic advancement in the neighbourhood in addition to addressing environmental issues. This can be seen through how this company works for many of the SDGs set by the UN, and after analysing the company we got to the conclusion that this 5 goals were the ones that most align with the company’s values and goals:

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
  The company collects millions of litres of blood annually, creating with this dried and concentrated bovine plasma and dried bovine haemoglobin, with which products with high iron content are produced for human and animal consumption.
• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.
  The company was mainly interested in eliminating pollution in the watershed, thus creating a cleaner environment and reducing the amount of money invested in wastewater treatment.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.
  This company uses many innovative solutions to face Bolivia’s environmental issues, in this case, where blood is discharged into the environment causing contamination.
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
  Scambiotek contributes significantly to the meat industry’s financial efficiency by enabling savings of 8.5 million dollars in wastewater treatment. Also , the company collects 12 million litres of blood annually, which are turned into different products.
• SDG 17: Partnership for the goal.
  Our company is based on the partnership for the goal mainly because this is a company that started as a strategic collaboration between two companies from different countries searching for the same goal.

Even though Scanbiotek can be related to many of the SDGs, the primary UN goal we related to the company is, Responsible Consumption and Production, (SDG 12). This can be seen in their ability to turn what is frequently thought of as waste—cattle blood—into useful resources is an excellent illustration of how companies can support sustainable development. Scanbiotek’s waste management strategy supports this objective. A crucial component of corporate social responsibility and sustainability, the story emphasises the value of responsible production and consumption. It draws attention to how companies can support several SDGs by using creative and ecologically friendly methods.

On the other hand, in this group project we not only learned how a company can have more than the goal of being economically successful, but also to help the environment and society we live in. Prior to initiating the project, our professors gave us many classes to teach us how to communicate and work together with our project partners, mainly taking into account that we each come from different backgrounds, teaching us how to be respectful and cooperative, a skill we used later when we got to know all these new people. We learned the ups and downs of having to work with new people, who have a completely different lifestyle and culture than us. In our case we were six people who not only have a different first language but also, who have different time zones, and obligations.

During our time working together we agreed to have a weekly meeting in zoom for us to address our concerns and coordinate individual plans for the upcoming week. Of course, sometimes there were connection problems which posed a bit of a challenge in the communication between us. However, we also created a WhatsApp group chat, which was another way of communicating with each other, in a more informal way, and this let us talk with each other, daily if we had any questions or inconveniences with the project or the company. After analyzing all the ways we communicated with each other we got to the agreement that the things that worked the most for us, were zoom meetings and the WhatsApp group chat, this being cause this tools helped us to keep in contact with each other on a daily basis and it also allowed us to get together every week even though we were in different places with different time zones. I think something that we noticed that wasn’t working for us was mail, this was because many times we mixed up mails or we didn’t get any answers, so that’s why we mainly used those other two ways of communication.

In conclusion, this reflective essay serves as a collective introspection into the multifaceted experience of exploring Scanbiotek’s sustainability story. This critical reflection has gone beyond a mere recollection of facts that goes over team members’ experience, academic connections drawn, and the potential future implications of this experience. This journey has not only enriched our understanding of its sustainability in business but has also contributed to our personal and professional growth. With a candid exploration of what worked and what did not, this paper offers a comprehensive narrative that not only honours the experiences encountered but also paves the way for continuous learning and improvement.

Individual Reflections

Micaela: This project was an experience that fulfilled me mentally, opened doors for me to get to know new people. This not only showed me how many companies are working for a better world, but also how us the young people are looking for different more innovative ways to help the world we live in.
My only challenge with this project was that we were unable to meet in person, and everything was done online. The reason for this is due to the fact that talking with each other over the internet can sometimes lead to miscommunication. In our group almost all of us, got together in zoom every week at an appointed time. However I believe that is harder getting to know and to work new people though a machine, this being why I believe that the distance and different time zones was our biggest challenge. Never the less this also helped me notice how the level of effort for a project varies greatly for each individual, for example when Evan and Pavdeep woke up 6 am for the interview with the CEO Scanbiotek.
On the other hand, the project showed me to be more patience and it helped me to see how in many ways the cultural background of a person is something very influential in the way they work. Many times, something you believe is very normal or something that you expect from someone is not what they are going to do or what they believe is correct or polite. So even though this project was indeed challenging I believe this will prepare me for
the future and future jobs I might have.

Evan: I’ve had a great experience working with my team from the University of Navarra and Kenyatta University. Originally, I was unsure of how our story would go as I did not have any information on Scanbiotek being from the University of Guelph and living in Canada all my life. I quickly realized the great initiatives this company was offering and how hand-in-hand it was with the concept of CSR and the SDGs. Scanbiotek, is an example of an amazing innovation that tackles environmental issues and generates revenue. Scanbiotek helps Bolivian slaughterhouses comply with environmental regulations by turning an environmental issue into a successful enterprise by gathering, drying, and recycling cow blood from slaughterhouses.

I feel like our team learned quite a lot from this project and this was for sure an experience I will not forget! Chemistry was an issue at times, but we continued to communicate through our ‘WhatsApp’ group chat to arrange meetings and deadlines for work every week. I have been able to develop teamwork and leadership skills throughout my past 2 years in university and I think that contributed to our success with assignments thus far. Going forward, keeping our meetings via zoom on Fridays and communicating through ‘WhatsApp’ has seemed to work. Although, we have to keep in mind the time zone of our fellow group members when working on tasks and sending chats.

Overall, this group project really challenged my organizational, teamwork, problem-solving, and time management skills which I feel I really improved with. Sustainable development is a common global aim, and the best approach to motivate and inspire cooperative action toward these goals, in my opinion, is to highlight the role that businesses play in advancing this cause for Aim2Flourish. It was definitely tough working with different time zones, but I believe we did the very best we could. I think the valuable skills I gained from working on this project will help me get ready for whatever employment/school opportunities I might have in the future.

Stefanie: Right from the start, I was very enthusiastic and interested in joining this project. Initially, I found it fascinating to have the opportunity to interview companies as interesting as Scanbiotek, from which we can gain extensive insights and delve deeper into understanding the SDGs, which I consider highly important. Additionally, I was thrilled at the chance to connect with people from diverse corners of the globe and share insights about my country and its culture.
Collaborating with individuals across different countries presented challenges, as numerous complications emerged throughout the project due to communication difficulties, varying schedules, and different communication styles. Nevertheless, I believe this experience greatly contributed to enhancing my leadership and communication skills, fostering patience and a greater understanding of the diverse ways people think, work, and express themselves.
What I liked most about this assignment was discovering the Aim2flourish website and the opportunity to read some of the fascinating stories shared there. Sustainable development is a shared global goal, and I firmly believe that highlighting companies’ contribution to this cause is the most effective way to inspire and encourage collaborative action towards these objectives.

Pavdeep: This experiential activity test was a great experience. I found that this activity was more rewarding than challenging. Working with the University of Navarra and Kenyatta University added dynamic and diverse dimensions as we got to hear unique viewpoints on the project. Without our peers from the University of Navarra, we would have never learnt about the great initiatives Scanbiotek partakes in.

Despite the time difference and challenges coordinating with the two institutions, we were all mutually able to decide to focus on Scanbiotek as our company. Weekly meetings provided a platform for real-time discussions, and constant communication through text ensured that everyone was on the same page. By sharing the workload and leveraging each team member’s strengths, we successfully navigated the challenges, aligning our efforts toward the common goal of completing the project. In the context of SDGs, our collaboration with Scanbiotek underscored the importance of global partnerships in achieving shared sustainable goals.

One thing I would do differently when approaching this project would be to set goals to finish certain assignments before the due date. Doing so allows a stress-free environment and allows us to show our best work. Overall, this was a great experience as I got to navigate the Aim2Flourish website and learn about different companies around the world.