55 EHL in Switzerland

Team 5 Poster

Team Reflection

As part of the AIM2Flourish project, we as a team selected EHL Immobilien, a for-profit real estate company based in Austria, known for its focus on sustainability, environmental responsibility and innovation. Through this experience, we were able to learn how businesses may profitably contribute to the advancement of social and environmental goals. Our AIM2Flourish story focuses on EHL Real Estate, Austria’s largest real estate service provider, and its dedication to environmentally friendly business practices that support the Sustainable Development Goals. EHL operates in the real estate sector, a field not traditionally known for its sustainability efforts, but which is increasingly important in combating global environmental challenges. During our discussion, EHL’s managing partner explained how the company incorporates sustainability into its business model by advising customers on environmental effect, supporting sustainable building techniques, and encouraging energy-efficient practices. We discovered how EHL aims to integrate sustainability concepts into all of its business operations, giving us insights into the company’s efforts in environmental responsibility, innovation, and stakeholder value. It seeks to reduce the environmental impact of its projects, increase resource efficiency, and promote green construction techniques. EHL also prioritizes innovation as a means of enhancing its offerings and delivering real estate solutions that keep pace with technological and environmental developments, helping to build long-term value for all stakeholders. EHL focuses on several Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal #3, Good Health and Well-Being, Goal #8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goal #11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Goal #12, Responsible Consumption and Production and Goal #13, Climate Action. We discovered that, when we considered our academic backgrounds, the EHL tale improved our comprehension of ESG concepts and brought attention to the necessity of sustainable innovation in business. Examining EHL’s sustainability strategy has increased our awareness of how business may effect positive change. It inspires us to promote sustainability in our own sectors as we advance in our careers. All of our group members have shown a renewed dedication to prioritizing environmental and social responsibility in our upcoming responsibilities. We acknowledge that every business, no matter the sector, has the ability to play a part in creating a sustainable planet. This project highlighted the significance of taking proactive measures instead of reactive ones to tackle social and environmental issues for our team. By integrating sustainable strategies from the beginning, companies can reduce risk and promote sustainable growth over time. EHL’s cutting-edge tactics, like recommending green technologies to property owners, offer a model for integrating sustainable practices at the local level. We are increasingly focused on evaluating the future consequences of business choices, understanding that sustainability is not temporary but an essential element in ensuring business longevity.

We learned in working as a team to respect each other despite our different cultures and adapt to different ideas among us, but in the beginning and what is known, there must be some challenges that the team can face, but a good team must know how to benefit from them in order to develop their communication skills, and since there are cultural differences, we learned how to balance them and achieve our goals well, and this helped us to innovate. Through our academic studies, we learned many skills during teamwork, and there are many strategies that helped us work well together, one of which is the skill of communicating with each other. The team management skill was also good, and our studies helped us in how to communicate effectively together and avoid misunderstandings, if any. Through these skills, we also planned to work in a creative way and avoided conflicts that may occur. The tasks required in the project were distributed fairly among the team members, and we focused on making each part specific to a person, and this part fits his skills in order to present it in the best way. We were keen during our weekly meetings to share all the information that could help us, and this enhanced the efficiency of the project. We also discussed who will do each part and deliver it on time and avoid delays. Finally, we succeeded in this project and achieved the goals. This is due to good communication between us and mutual respect as well. The fair distribution of tasks and flexibility in work helped us achieve great results, and we did not face any difficulties in work in terms of cultural and time differences as we coordinated the appropriate time for everyone and we met weekly, and this helped us make our experience of this project very good.

Individual Reflections

Nadija Ramcilovic

When the project first began, I had some initial concerns about managing different time zones, potential language barriers, and effectively organizing and dividing the workload among us. However, we quickly established a goodworkflow by deciding to meet through a Zoom-Meeting every Friday. This regular meeting schedule helped create a structure and kept us all aligned and on the same page. Collaborating with my teammates turned out to be surprisingly easy, we chose a company during our first meeting and proceeded to conduct the interview soon afterward. The communication within our group clear, with not a lot of language barriers, and the time zone differences were far less of an issue than I had initially anticipated. I looked forward to our weekly meetings, as my teammates were motivated, respectful, and friendly. Overall, the project turned out to be a very enriching experience. I gained valuable insights into how companies, even in the real estate sector, try to make a positive environmental impact and align their goals with various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), making the experience both educational and rewarding.

Anna Ehlmaier

Overall I had a very pleasant experience working on the Aim2Flourish project with my teammates from different countries. I was initially concerned about the time difference, but since we established a weekly meeting time to which we sticked, it was not a problem after all. Our meetings were efficient, and everyone was motivated. Our timeline was perfect, since we never struggled with meeting deadlines and had already selected the company for the interview in our first call. I offered to conduct the interview and got more insights into how EHL real estate aligns the SDG goals. Afterwards I provided the transcript to everyone, and we started working on the story and poster. One aspect that I particularly appreciated was the commitment and enthusiasm each team member brought to the project. Everyone put in effort, and we supported each other throughout the project. This made the entire process feel smooth and our meetings not only productive but also enjoyable.

Ruba Bin Omirah

My participation in AIM2Flourish was a unique experience that prompted me to explore deeply, as I learned a lot about the importance of cross-cultural teamwork, and how diversity of thought can enhance the quality of analysis and thinking. At first, I was a bit nervous about working with team members from diverse cultures, as I was unsure how our cultural differences would impact our understanding of AIM2Flourish’s goals and approach to work. However, over time, I realized the value of the diversity of perspectives that each member brought, which led to our understanding of EHL’s approach to sustainability and innovation. At first, dealing with time differences was a challenge, as we had to plan ahead to ensure everyone was present for meetings. This experience taught me a lot about the importance of flexibility in order to work successfully within a team. Despite these obstacles, our communication was effective because the team was committed to staying organized and respecting each other’s opinions. From this perspective, it became clear to me that effective teamwork requires openness to listening, adapting, and actively participating. I gained important insights into navigating the challenges of virtual work, boosted my confidence in collaborating with diverse teams, and gained skills that will help me on future projects.

Nick Zhang

My experience with EHL Real Estate has been a profound lesson in the successful and responsible operation of a business. EHL’s unwavering commitment to sustainability, as evidenced by its adherence to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, resonates deeply with the ideas in The Integration of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability into Responsible Management. According to Burga, sustainability is a catalyst for long-term success and societal benefits, not a detractor from profitability. This equilibrium is palpable in EHL’s operations, where their sustainable practices are in perfect sync with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), underscoring how responsible management can drive both economic and environmental value and reassuring us of their global commitment. One of EHL’s key strengths is its extensive experience—over 30 years in real estate—enabling it to serve a diverse client base, from landlords to institutional investors. This experience gives them an advantage, allowing them to offer comprehensive services across various property types, which sets them apart in the industry. Additionally, EHL’s focus on green energy solutions, like geothermal energy and solar panels, helps clients reduce their carbon footprints, making EHL a sustainability leader. As Burga’s book explains, making sustainable choices like these benefits the environment and adds long-term value to the business.  EHL’s transparency further strengthens its reputation. By being the first Austrian real estate company to publish a sustainability report, EHL demonstrated a commitment to keeping its stakeholders informed. The report took over a year to produce, but it built trust and showed clients EHL’s dedication to responsible management. In Burga’s book, transparency is highlighted as crucial for gaining stakeholder support, and EHL’s approach aligns perfectly with this principle. Moreover, EHL’s active involvement in social causes, such as its partnerships with NGOs and support for projects focused on education and health, is a testament to its commitment to making a difference beyond its business operations. This focus on societal impact, which aligns with the broader themes of corporate social responsibility discussed in Burga’s book, serves as a powerful inspiration. It shows that businesses, when driven by a genuine desire to create positive change, can effectively integrate profit-making with societal betterment, inspiring us all with their broader impact. Seeing how EHL balances profit with social responsibility has inspired me. I want to seek opportunities with companies that prioritize the environment and their communities. EHL’s example has shown me that successful businesses can lead the way in building a sustainable future, and I am motivated to bring these principles into my own career.

Samantha Saavedra

As a team member I felt very excited to start this experiential activity and participate with a virtual team internationally. As a student at the University of Guelph, I felt privileged to work on a project with individuals outside of my university. At first, I was worried about how our team would manage to work around the cross-cultural dynamics, communication challenges and dealing with multiple time zones. However, after I took the role of organizing our team meetings, scheduled a time to meet every Friday and created a group chat to communicate it was easy to manage the cross-cultural dynamics, communication challenges and time zones. Our timeline was efficient, as we had already selected the company for an interview on our first call. In conclusion, I really valued everyone’s drive and enthusiasm to manage this project and process. I really benefited from this experiential activity as I was able to learn more about different cultures and develop an important business skill of collaborating with individuals internationally.

Sara Alqahtani

At beginning, when I learned that there was a project that brought together different universities from different countries, I felt that there was difficulty in terms of the time difference, the difference in languages, and how we could communicate, but when we were divided into groups and communicated with each other and met for the first time, I felt comfortable with them and the appropriate time was set for everyone for our weekly meeting via Zoom. Through the project, we learned about sustainability, and during the past weeks we worked on distributing tasks in order to deliver them on time, as we did not face any problems with the team. Working with them was really wonderful. In conclusion, I am very happy that I was a member of this project, and through it I got to know several cultures from different countries.