27 3L2R in Canada

Team 49 Poster

Team Reflection

This assignment is a very good way of learning what sustainability truly is and how businesses and companies can impact it in a positive way. It is impressive the force economic decisions have in order to achieve a sustainable environment. Learning directly from a real-life sustainable business helps us to learn how to think globally and act locally, and to see that sustainability can be done in very different and at the same time similar ways.

It is also important in this worldwide project to connect with international students and exchange culture, language and ideas. We have learned how to connect with people from different continents and had the great opportunity to work with them learning how to manage the different time zones but also to put together the team effort to achieve this analysis of a sustainable company. Not only did we gain learning from this project, but we also gained new friends.

The business we decided to focus on is a Canadian electrical services company called 3L2R, dedicated to extending the life of electrical systems through innovative maintenance. With a team of 10 skilled workers, 3L2R reduces costs and environmental impact by repairing and recycling equipment that would typically be discarded.

3L2R supports goals aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) by helping companies lower costs and environmental impact through sustainable solutions, or Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) by rethinking and upgrading older systems. This company shows that sustainability doesn’t always require big investments; instead, it illustrates how to achieve environmental responsibility and cost savings through innovative reuse, benefiting both companies and the environment.

What we have most enjoyed is the opportunity to have a look at a real company, focusing on the positive ways that a business can have, and realizing that in most cases being able to make a change doesn’t come from an innovative breakthrough on technology but it comes from people that worries about making things right by helping others. The company we have chosen is a great example because by helping other businesses on managing on a more efficient way the materials they already have, this company can make a living out of this and reduce the impact that companies in the sector normally have on the environment.

To sum up, this project has been a great experience for the team members to learn about real examples of applying SDGs, and also to learn to work and communicate with people from other cultures.

Individual Reflections

Poldo:

This project has been an opportunity to deepen my understanding of sustainability while also dealing with the complexities of working with an international team. Collaborating with people from different backgrounds helped me see the value of diverse perspectives, as each teammate brought unique insights shaped by their own country’s approach to sustainability. Analyzing a real-world company helped me see a new perception of sustainability, showing me that it doesn’t have to be secondary in a business. In fact, I’ve seen how it can be central to a company’s profitability and growth. Working with teammates from different time zones and cultural backgrounds also brought challenges, such as scheduling meetings and communicating effectively in a shared, non-native language. Despite these hurdles, we’ve learned to work together, and I’ve managed to express myself understanding each other very well. This experience has taught me valuable skills in virtual collaboration and professional communication, which will be useful in future international projects and jobs. Coordinating through time zones has been challenging, but we managed to organize meetings that worked for everyone. We communicated regularly on WhatsApp and Mail to ensure everyone stayed updated, and I appreciated the chance to learn about my teammates’ academic paths and experiences beyond the project itself. Altogether, this project gave me insights into sustainability and prepared me for the kind of global collaboration I hope to be part of in my career.

Iñigo:

This project has offered me the opportunity to learn about sustainability from a new perspective, it has also given me the opportunity to learn how to work with people from different places in a way of being able to take the different views and experiences all my teammates and I have had about this topic and try to connect them in a way to add value to this Project. I have enjoyed being able to analyze a real company because I have seen a new way of being sustainable. I often thought that sustainability was a secondary objective for companies, but I have realized that a company can make profit from taking sustainability as its main objective. I have enjoyed doing this task with people from other continents as it has added difficulty to this task as we had to set an hour to have meetings and speaking on another language always adds difficulty and even more if it is with native speakers, so for that I am very grateful with my Canadian teammates as they have being very respectful when the rest of us couldn’t find the best words to communicate. To finish I would say that I have acquired some useful skills that will help from now on, such as how to communicate and deliver projects through online meetings and messages.

Abrar:

Working with a collaborative and well-organized team that had a fair distribution of tasks was one of the most positive and impactful experiences I’ve had. This atmosphere allowed us to achieve our goals smoothly and without pressure, as each member felt valued and clearly understood their role’s importance in reaching the final outcome. Communication within the team was seamless and highly effective, as we freely exchanged ideas and perspectives, creating an environment open to innovation and creativity. Everyone was willing to offer support whenever needed, making us feel like a unified team with a shared and meaningful goal.

This experience taught me that cooperation, mutual respect, and fair task distribution are essential for any team’s success and harmony. Fostering these values contributes to a motivating work environment that encourages us to give our best in every aspect. I aspire to be part of similar experiences in the future, as they truly enhance teamwork skills and make each member feel valued in their role.

Raghad:

Through this assignment, I came to understand that working on our cross-culture project with a varied group was a an amazing experience that really improved my communication and teamwork abilities. Collaborating with people from different backgrounds enabled us to take advantage of our unique perspectives and skills, which improved our conversations and the caliber of the project as a whole. And I became more interested in learning more about other cultures after being exposed to other cultures. We maintained open lines of communication and scheduled frequent meetings to guarantee alignment and clarity. This strategy fostered a feeling of cooperation within our group in addition to keeping everyone in agreement. I improved my ability to actively listen, respecting other people’s viewpoints and fostering a more cooperative environment. Also Managing my personal commitments while meeting team deadlines taught me a lot about time management. Effective work prioritization was necessary to make sure I made a significant contribution while also being considerate of my teammates’ time. This event served as a reminder of how crucial respect and accountability are in a group context. Overall, completing this group project was an enjoyable experience that improved my interpersonal skills, showed me how to resolve conflicts, and promoted personal development. As a result of this experience, I now have a greater respect for teamwork and the variety of viewpoints that people contribute.

Abigail C: 

This assignment gave me the ability to work within a cross-cultural environment, it increased my knowledge and experience working across time zones and working through other cultural and language barriers. This project challenged me to step into a leadership role and adjust my way of approaching situations. I had to adapt my communication style to ensure the understanding and clarity of my group members, to encourage an environment in which they felt comfortable participating and sharing their own ideas. This cross-cultural experience enriched my understanding of diverse perspectives on sustainability, as each group member brought a unique perspective influenced by their own experience from their specific country.  This project challenged me to step into a leadership role and pushed me outside of my comfort zone when we were tasked to reach out to companies. I gained experience talking and reaching out to leaders in the sustainability field. I was most nervous about selecting a company to be interviewed, and apprehensive about putting myself out there, to ask for an interview from big companies I aspire to be working for in the future, but to my surprise I received positive feedback, and acceptance from all the companies I outreached to. This opened more opportunities for me beyond the COIL project, I gained both experience and confidence when approaching leaders. This helped me develop my professional communications skills while also expanding my network with people who are also passionate about sustainability. Through this project I was able to apply the teachings from our in-class discussions and use skills such as accountability to successfully deliver the interview and AIM2flourish story, while also teaching me different cross-cultural perspectives of sustainability.

Abbygail R:

This assignment allowed me to increase my knowledge of what sustainability is and how important it is in entrepreneurship. By seeing a real-life experience of what a real sustainable business looks like, I could apply the practical knowledge in class to a real-life scenario. Also, the main focus of this project was to make connections with students internationally and to learn what it’s like to work with partners in different time zones. I found it a little tricky to keep track of the different times, but it was helpful to use a conversion clock to keep track of it all. We were always able to hold meeting times that worked with everyone and we were keeping each other updated over WhatsApp with any changes to availability. I really enjoyed meeting everyone and connecting with my team!  It was really interesting to learn about everyone’s degrees and courses, as well as be able to discuss more than just our project during weekly meetings. Overall, this experience strengthened my knowledge of sustainability and gave me the skills to work in an international environment that I may experience down the line in my career.