30 BGIS in Canada

Team 55 Poster

Team Reflection

Reflecting on BGIS’s approach, we see how business can be a powerful force for social good. Managing buildings, construction, and engineering allows BGIS to integrate sustainable practices and community-oriented values across projects. This focus on service creates a family-like culture where employees are motivated by a purpose larger than profit, leading to meaningful work that benefits both the business and the community. BGIS embodies the “triple bottom line” approach by prioritizing financial, social, and environmental goals. Their commitment to energy conservation and eco-friendly solutions illustrates a proactive stance toward sustainability. However, driving change can be challenging, especially in organizations resistant to abandoning old methods. BGIS overcomes this by fostering creativity and persistence, essential for addressing systemic issues.

We can draw valuable lessons from BGIS about balancing growth with meaningful contributions to society. Their structured measurement systems ensure accountability and progress, highlighting the potential for businesses to drive positive change. Moreover, BGIS’s proactive anticipation of customer needs, as seen in their Blue Zone project, inspires us to shape market demands through innovation.

A profound takeaway is BGIS’s emphasis on building a legacy that prioritizes employee welfare and community impact. This reinforces the notion that work is about creating sustainable livelihoods, reminding us to consider our broader impact. Aligning our work with a greater purpose allows each member to contribute meaningfully. BGIS also highlights the importance of visibility in community contributions, showcasing values beyond economic success, such as their partnership with CIBC for cancer awareness. This visibility strengthens the brand and resonates with stakeholders. Ultimately, BGIS exemplifies how companies can blend economic viability with community commitment, making a lasting impact that extends beyond profits.

The story shared by the leader at BGIS when reflecting on BGIS’s approach underscores a community-focused approach to business. As country manager and head of operations for Canada, they run a facilities management, construction, and engineering company across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The role comes with a variety of daily challenges, from employee management to global business development. The leader emphasizes that a happy and engaged workforce leads to better service, fosters strong team dynamics, and prioritizes employee satisfaction and community contribution over profit.

A pivotal moment for the company came when the CEO became concerned about environmental health regarding pesticide use in schools, which led to the adoption of greener practices. Their commitment to sustainability, including energy conservation and natural cleaning products, reflects a proactive approach to environmental stewardship, which is critical but also came as a surprise to us as a company that was unaware of the existence of green businesses. The leaders acknowledge the inertia that often exists in organizations, making it difficult to implement innovative and sustainable practices. They emphasize the need for momentum and leadership support, something we didn’t know organizations faced. Using a scorecard system to track metrics like employee engagement enhances accountability and transparency within an organization, and we find it great to track metrics on a regular basis to ensure a company’s success.

Rachel Shory and Candice Remy’s interview with BGIS CEO Mike Greidanus revealed their dedication to sustainability and philanthropy, which surprised us with their commitment. He called on companies to embrace purpose beyond profit, believing that companies with a strong mission attract the best talent and achieve lasting success. In short, we find inspiration in the leader’s vision for integrating purpose, sustainability, and community engagement into business operations, challenging us to think about how our work can positively impact society and the environment. They emphasize that companies can and should be forces for good.

The BGIS story resonates strongly with our academic knowledge of sustainability, triple bottom lines, and corporate accountability, reinforcing the importance of integrating social and environmental performance into business strategies. It also aligns with the idea that success should not be driven solely by profit, but also consider the impacts on people and the planet. However, it also highlights gaps in our understanding, particularly regarding the practical challenges organizations face when implementing sustainable practices and the psychological barriers to change. In addition, the focus on leadership that prioritizes the well-being of society and employees challenged our previous assumptions about organizational motivations, broadening our perspective on what effective business leadership entails. Overall, this case study has deepened our appreciation of the role of corporations as forces for good in society. (Bgis, 2024).

Exploring the AIM2Flourish story of BGIS has fundamentally shaped my understanding of how businesses can prioritize sustainability and social impact alongside profit. As a future businessperson, I will integrate these values into my leadership style, focusing on accountability, community well-being, and environmental responsibility. This exercise reinforces the idea that successful businesses must operate with a purpose beyond financial gain, fostering a culture that encourages meaningful contributions to society.

Finally, our team learned a lot through this experience and different cultures, we know that we differ in many things, but when we meet to study together, we must cooperate and unite to achieve faster and get the best grade, and we learned that we have to be patient and adapt to each other.

We benefited a lot through this experience, including learning other cultures, because learning other cultures allows us to see things from multiple angles, and we also enhanced understanding and tolerance between peoples, and learning different ideas from other cultures was a great benefit to us,

it was a wonderful experience, and the biggest benefit is that it paved the way for us to the future.

We divided the tasks between us by understanding through the meeting, Pablo Landete and Nicolas Ramos did the story, Tala Alharbi and Sarah Alqahtani did the reflection, Candice Remy and Rachel Shory they did the poster. We succeeded in reaching an understanding between us and completing the project on time. We did not face any problems.

Individual Reflections

Candice Remy: As a team member, I initially had mixed feelings about this project. I often find teamwork challenging because I like to complete tasks right away. At first, the idea of working with students from around the world was intimidating. However, the experience went very well, teaching me to be more patient and open to different work styles influenced by various cultures. Overall, it was a fascinating and valuable learning experience.

Tala Alharbi: At first, I was not very excited about this kind of experience because I thought that communication would be difficult with different cultures and different languages, but it seems that the matter was simpler than I expected, we communicated via Zoom and it was easy, and there was understanding and respect between us, of course, despite the cultural differences. I liked this experience very much and I consider it the beginning of working with other cultures in my job in the future.

Sarah Alqahtani: Working on a group project with diverse international members taught me the value of different perspectives and effective communication. Interviewing with a sustainable company further enriched my understanding of corporate responsibility, inspiring our team to think beyond business goals and focus on making a positive environmental and social impact.

Rachel Shory: The AIM2FLOURISH experience was a rich opportunity that broadened my horizons on sustainability and the importance of cultural collaboration in stimulating creativity. It developed my communication and adaptability skills, and provided me with a network of students who aspire to positive change in business.

Nicolas Ramos: Collaborating with students from diverse cultures on this project has been a profoundly rewarding experience. It has enhanced my understanding of various perspectives and enriched our creativity. This collaboration underscores the value of cross-cultural engagement in achieving innovative outcomes. Working with others, learning english and with different hours has helped me a lot.

Pablo Landete: This project has been a perfect idea that enhaces our understanding of different cultures from Spain. Making an effort to meet having different country times and improving our english skills are things that makes this way of working perfect. We can’t forget about the networking for the future, AIM2FLOURISH project is the perfect tool.

Reference:

BGIS. (2024). Leading Through Innovation. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://www.bgis.com/