78 Lacturale in Spain

Team 99 Poster

Team Reflection

Our group found that throughout this experience we gained interpersonal skills while trying  to communicate with businesses to set up interviews and with each other. We found it to  be a lot less troubling to contact a company to set up a meeting. It was a great opportunity  to understand and navigate how to communicate and work with people living in different  time zones. No matter what business we end up in we will be in situations where we will  get to work with people from around the world, having some experience will help us in  these situations. We also found that we gained inspiration from this company, when we  were deciding what company to interview Lacturale was the unanimous choice because  we could all get behind their values. Lacturale also stuck out to us because they aren’t just  another giant company practicing these values for good recognition, they actually value  the environment and the work they are doing. As far as it affects our career trajectory, in  the future when looking for employment we’ll be drawn to companies that really respect  their values.

What: 

After learning about the business practices of our chosen company – Lacturale, we were  refreshed and pleased to see that a company can be both successful and eco-conscious at the same time. In our interview with Lacturale, we learned about the use of biogas  plants, which use organic waste from their livestock to generate clean, renewable energy. The integration of sustainability into Lacturale’s core operations proves how important  ecologically our selected firm is. Our interviewee and valued Lacturale team member – Maite Azpiroz – explained that the idea of biogas was born when Lacturale’s president was  on a trip to France. As he is a farmer himself, Juanma realizes the importance of the state  of the environment and was pleased to learn about the renewable energy framework. His  agricultural background and passion for sustainability created the perfect recipe to bring  this innovation to Lacturale. This method of energy production creates significantly less  greenhouse gas emissions and is sourced locally.

Now what: 

After looking into this company and going through the aim to flourish process we believe it  will have an effect on how we go about our careers in the future. As consumers we are  constantly exposed to big companies that say they are environmentally friendly or  sustainable when in reality they are just doing it for public affection. Having researched  and interviewed Lacturale we realize now that there are companies out there that put real  effort and focus into goals like Responsible Consumption and Production. Companies like  Lacturale are everywhere, you just need to know where to look. This will have a big impact

when looking for places we want to spend our careers. Going through this course we’ve  learned how important corporate social responsibility is. Knowing what we know now, we  feel that we will spend more time looking into corporations, their core values, and how they  aim to follow through on those values. What did the team learn? We collectively learned that working with people from different backgrounds is incredibly  beneficial when brainstorming ideas. We each had access to various perspectives that we  have never been able to utilize. Though we all know how important communication is, this  project highlighted the value of three-way confirmation to minimize unnecessary  miscommunication. We as a group learned that our personal values can be transferred to  our careers.

How: 

We communicated via WhatsApp and met weekly through Google Meet. During our  meetings, we would allocate tasks and decide who would submit each item. The group  members who live closest to our firm conducted the interview and shared relevant  information with the rest of the group.

What worked:

We found that meeting at the same time every week using what’s app worked really well for  us and we were able to get an understanding of what needed to be done efficiently. Using  various different applications to help us with completing assignments. For example, we  used Canva to do our poster and World Time Buddy to figure out the time zones for each  group member.

Individual Reflections

Individual reflection – Alejandro Híjar

I believe being able to get involved in these kinds of projects is always enriching from  different perspectives. Firstly, I would like to talk about working with people from very different parts of the world.  Before this project I didn’t have in mind the difference in time zones. We worked it out very  easily, but now I realize how important communication is. More precisely that all members  of the group must listen to each other, which I believe we did great. To me this part of the  experience was very important because I will have it in mind in the future, as in a global world  I will probably need to work with people in different time zones. Secondly, I want to dig into the project itself. I already knew the company and I contacted them. At first, I wasn’t so sure how to do it or how they would react. Having the experience  of doing it was helpful for me to learn how to communicate with businesses. This for me was  a huge deal since I never had to do this kind of contact before, and I believe I learned thanks  to it. Lastly, I want to make a point on the agenda 2030 goals adapted to businesses.  Sustainability is one of the biggest challenges for the future. Therefore, I understand the  convenience of establishing goals so that societies know in what direction they should go.  Lacturale is an example of a business that made everything that was in their hands to make  their activity sustainable. The thing is that we all try to transform the way we do things to  accommodate to the goals, which will make a more sustainable world for the future. So, after working on the Aim2Flourish assignment I understand better the benefits of the goals.

Individual reflection – Filipe Faria

This experience was great for me because I love working with people from other countries,  getting to know them and working on my english speaking and communication skills. I got  along well with my teammates so that helped during the process. Regarding how it affected my views, I loved the company we chose and their ideas on how  to maintain sustainable growth and help local communities and their own business with  taking good care of their animals, while also using machines and other technologies to  make it work with their values. Everyone was eager to help when difficulties arose, and we divided tasks and  communicated like we’ve known each other for a while I feel like.To close things up, this was a very enriching experience, and I’ll always hold sustainability  values as close to me as I can, be it in my career or in personal life, I’ll always look towards  the future to make a better place for everyone and will do everything in my power to help.

Individual reflection – James Fowler

I found this experience to be very enjoyable and rewarding. Working alongside my cross national group members granted me a wider perspective of the world and highlighted how  similar individuals from other countries are to me. I felt very fortunate that my group  members were so friendly and intelligent – allowing great conversations and a healthy  working environment. I was especially impressed with everyone’s English skills,  considering that English is not the first language of many of my group members. Navigating an international schoolwork environment was challenging at times. There were  some miscommunications, which only led to a few amusing moments, nothing detrimental  to our project. Managing meeting times across various time zones was difficult, but thanks to tools like World Time Buddy and Google Meet I often forgot I we are a cross-national  group. I felt everyone was eager to help when difficulties arose, which fostered a  collaborative spirit. Our diverse backgrounds enhanced our brainstorming sessions and  allowed different perspectives to be considered, that we usually would not have access to. My group members took the initiative to contact our company and conduct the interview,  as the company was not based in my country. They did a wonderful job drawing  conclusions and highlighting the sustainable practices of Lacturale. This project taught me  that I could work internationally in the future and highlighted the importance of  adaptability.

Individual reflection – Leire Solórzano

It was an enriching experience in every sense of the word. Getting the opportunity to work  with people from all around the world was great and I’m pleasantly surprised by how well  we communicated and worked together. Also, thanks to this project I feel more connected  to the SDG goals that are vitally important for us and for our future careers. I loved getting  to know all the insight from a local company as it is Lacturale, and will be consuming their  products from now on as I value their true commitment to sustainability and to building a

better world. Overall, I think this project is a great initiative that gives us, students, the  chance to meet people from other countries, to stablish communication with companies  and most of all to fully understand the SDG’s.