15 SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy – Energy SolarTech

Group Reflection

Energy Solar Tech, a company started by Alberto Hernandez Poza set out on a mission to make sustainable solar energy more accessible to companies within Spain. The company provides solar panels and outsources energy for companies in order to not only save them money but also help save the environment from the use of fossil fuels. They connect company’s solar panels across the country to the grid while taking on all the risks associated with such work themselves.

The founder of Energy Solar Tech Alberto Hernandez Poza has a large background in both technology and telecommunications. He describes how his company is driven by the possibility of innovating, revolutionizing, and reshaping the energy sector. Their innovative approach to creating renewable energy has made a significant impact for both the people in Spain and the environment. Allowing businesses to transition to using cleaner solar energy has allowed them to improve savings as well as reduce their carbon footprint. The use of fossil fuels has a large detriment to the environment and are a main contributor to global warming and climate change as a whole. Seeing a company take such a large step towards providing clean energy solutions inspires us to want to do more to help the environment. People always think that the actions of just one person have a minuscule effect on the world as a whole. Alberto and his company prove that the actions of just a small group of people can have a large impact on the world around them. In Alberto’s case his impact is providing clean energy solutions, but for us it could be as simple as adopting cleaner habits such as recycling more often or carpooling places we need to go. Even simply providing awareness to environmental issues or companies like Energy Solar Tech that are making a positive impact in the world is enough to make people around the world like us proud to be making strides towards living more sustainable lives.

Reflecting on the lessons learned, we foresee a transformative influence on our future attitudes and actions. As aspiring business professionals, the Energy Solar Tech story has reshaped our understanding of corporate roles in society. It has sparked a realisation that profitability need not come at the expense of the environment or social well-being.

We envision incorporating sustainable practices and innovative business models in our future endeavours. The concept of an energy outsourcing model, as demonstrated by Energy Solar Tech, has ignited our imagination about the potential for transformative business approaches. We are now more cognizant of the importance of aligning business strategies with global sustainability goals. This experience has ignited a passion for exploring and promoting sustainable business practices. The realisation that businesses can actively contribute to solving global challenges has left a lasting impression on our professional aspirations. We are now more open to embracing and championing innovative approaches that prioritise social and environmental impacts alongside financial gains.

Our journey has served as a foundation for understanding the intricate connections between business and social good. Concepts such as the triple bottom line, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable development were not just theoretical constructs but tangible frameworks exemplified by Energy Solar Tech. The story reinforced the significance of integrating these concepts into business strategies for long-term success and societal impact.

The knowledge gained in sustainability courses provided us with a lens to critically analyze Energy Solar Tech’s practices. We recognized the inherent linkages between the company’s initiatives and sustainability principles. This experience served as a bridge between theory and practical application, enriching our understanding of how businesses can contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world.

The company’s work is clearly in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, especially SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy). Energy Solar Tech directly contributes to lowering greenhouse gas emissions and raising the proportion of renewable energy in the world’s energy mix by easing the switch to renewable energy. Also, we can take Energy Solar Tech’s CEO, Alberto Hernández Poza’s story, where he got inspired to establish the company from a totally different background, but he believes in himself and wants to take action to change the world, even from a small start and steps. Because those small actions will eventually develop into something bigger than we can expect.

Energy Solar Tech’s solutions provide organisations rapid cost savings and lower carbon footprints, demonstrating actual benefits in the short term. The company’s long-term impact highlights the long-lasting benefits of its efforts and helps to create a more robust and sustainable energy future. Energy Solar Tech’s leadership position in the renewable energy industry opens up new markets and investment options, which is beneficial to the company’s bottom line. A varied customer is drawn in by the distinctive business strategy, which boosts sales and creates jobs in addition to improving the working atmosphere. Beyond its financial success, the company has a positive social and environmental impact that includes lower carbon emissions, increased energy independence, the creation of jobs, and better access to electricity in rural areas.
Energy Solar Tech and their practices also align with the three pillars of sustainability; social, economic, and environmental concerns. Looking at the economic factor Energy Solar Tech aids companies around Spain cut costs on their energy bills by connecting them and their solar panels to the grid. This means less energy from the grid is being consumed by companies effectively lowering their costs of consumption. This is also great news in terms of the environmental factor. When Energy Solar Tech helps transition more companies to solar energy they are benefiting the environment one firm at a time. More and more companies using solar energy means that day by day Spain’s Carbon footprint is declining. Finally looking at the social pillar of sustainability, Energy Solar Tech makes sure to give back to the world that they operate in. They contribute 5% of annual profits to financing energy development technology in underdeveloped areas in Africa and Central and Latin America. This is not only socially responsible but also allows for economic development in these areas, supporting both the social and economic pillar of sustainability. This shows that even a company started just three years can have such a great impact and change the world for the better.

As a group we can agree that the Aim2Flourish project was definitely a unique experience. As business students we are all used to discussing sustainable initiatives and innovations, as well as corporate social responsibility. Being able to discuss these topics and then actually put them in practice with students from around the world offered a tremendous experiential learning opportunity. We not only were afforded the opportunity to learn more about the corporate world and how to be socially responsible, but also were kind of forced into learning about other cultures and how to effectively communicate with people from around the world. While daunting at first, collaborating with each other while living on opposite sides of the world proved to be a pleasant experience.

There were definitely some challenges that we faced when working with each other on our assignments. For starters the time difference across Canada, Spain, and Indonesia made it difficult to coordinate times we could meet to work together. To combat this some group members had to make sacrifices such as rescheduling plans, postponing events, getting up earlier, and staying up later than usual in order to meet. While meeting was difficult at times it gave us perspective into what it would be like working internationally in the real world. We were all able to contribute in a positive way and assess perspectives of others that we may not have considered without completing this project. We are positive that we all gained practical life skills and are grateful we were able to work together on such a cohesive, friendly, and like minded team.