50 Portage Energy Group Inc in Canada

Team 108 Poster

Team Reflections

Our group had the chance to discover more about Portage Energy Group Inc., a Calgary, Alberta-based private company that is transforming energy production and waste management. By converting municipal solid waste (MSW) into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using an inventive technique, the company takes 80% of waste from landfills and reduces carbon emissions by 80% compared to regular jet fuel. We learned a lot from Elia’s conversation with Mike Krayacich, co-founder and CTO of Portage Energy, about how the company’s purpose is motivated by urgency to address social and environmental challenges through significant business operations.

As we looked back on Mike’s professional background and the establishment of Portage Energy, we were moved by the depth of knowledge and enthusiasm he and his team have for sustainable energy. Elia’s preparation and execution of the interview laid the groundwork for our comprehension of the company’s principles, procedures, and objectives. We were impressed by how closely Portage Energy’s mission aim of cutting waste and decarbonizing aviation aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3), Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), Climate Action (SDG 13), Life on Land (SDG 15), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).. We realized that businesses could bring about significant change, thus learning about innovation was both intellectually and emotionally inspiring.

This experience caused us to reevaluate how companies may reconcile profitability with their social and environmental effect, as well as their position in society. The triple bottom line profit, earth, and individuals—is also best shown by Portage Energy. Many of us have historically believed that the energy and aviation industries contribute to environmental damage, but Portage Energy is changing this belief by employing innovation to build a more sustainable future. By converting waste into a useful resource, the company not only lowers emissions but also lessens the environmental risks that landfills provide, like methane leakage and groundwater contamination.

Our academic background in sustainable development and corporate social responsibility gave us a solid basis for appreciating Portage Energy’s purpose. Through the conversation, ideas such as sustainability, stakeholder participation, and the significance of a circular economy were brought to life. While Nicolas, Jakelinne, Elia, and Samantha worked together to develop the AIM2Flourish Story and relate it to our coursework, Elia’s interview supplied our project with comprehensive information. We talked about how innovation strengthens our comprehension of how corporate operations and environmental health are intertwined. The story also brought to light gaps in our current understanding, especially about the complexity of fuel life-cycle analysis and carbon accounting. Mike’s description of carbon intensity, which is expressed as grams of CO2 per megajoule of energy, prompted us to consider the complexities of sustainability metrics

We also discussed accountability in more general terms. Since the aviation industry accounts for around 3% of global CO2 emissions, as Mike noted, low-carbon fuel substitutes are essential. We were especially impressed by the company’s dedication to lifelong learning and its culture of curiosity, which demonstrated how creativity and accountability can coexist. The necessity for businesses to not only solve environmental issues but also generate social value, for example, by creating jobs and stimulating local economies was brought home to us by this narrative. The fact that Portage aligned with several SDGs highlighted the scope and strategic nature of their influence.

We all agree that this event will change the way we think about sustainability and business for a long time. We now know that a company’s strategy should incorporate social good rather than treating it as an afterthought. In our future careers, we also recognize the value of remaining creative and proactive, always looking for new ways to innovate and change the world. We learned the value of teamwork and the significance of different viewpoints in comprehending intricate circumstances from Elia’s work on the interview transcript and poster as well as from our collective effort on the AIM2Flourish Story.

Some of us personally feel more dedicated to pursuing professions that prioritize CSR and sustainability. Our preconceptions about what firms can and should do were challenged by the interview, which demonstrated that Portage Energy and other businesses can be both successful and ecologically conscious. We see ourselves as future business professionals who will advocate for innovations that benefit the environment and society, emphasize sustainable practices, and assure accountability to many stakeholders. Collaborating on this project as a group reaffirmed the value of shared accountability and the strength of group effort.

We learned the importance of effective communication and teamwork from this cross-cultural experience, particularly when working in various time zones. At first, scheduling meetings was difficult, but we soon adjusted and came up with innovative ways to fit our schedules and maximize our time together. We not only put in a lot of labor over a month, but we also developed close friendships. As a team, we effectively finished important duties. We created excellent work because of our constant communication, mutual support, and shared dedication. By the end, we felt like a cohesive team, bound together by our academic objectives and true camaraderie.

We are now more conscious of how companies can promote systemic change as a result of this reflection activity. We will apply these lessons to our future academic and professional endeavors, promoting business models that prioritize sustainability and have a noticeable effect. By encouraging industry to embrace the principles that Portage Energy exemplifies innovation, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility we hope to see other businesses follow suit.

Individual Reflections

Nicolas

The Aim2flourish group assignment and being able to Interview Portage Energy was a very cool experience that will impact me for a long time, I will continue to take this experience with me in my academic journey and my future life experiences. Interacting with a business that is so committed to environmental sustainability and innovation was incredibly motivating. I did love the complexity of the process although we were faced with many challenges, even with the difficulties we had, such as scheduling conflicts, time zone differences, and handling cross-cultural communication. Elia, Samantha, and Jakelinne were very helpful in the workload, and appreciate them helping me along the way. I’m proud of our adversity and determination to keep going despite the challenges. The entire experience was very cool because of the chance to get firsthand knowledge from prominent figures in the field, such as Mike Krayacich, and to make a significant contribution to our AIM2Flourish initiative. I cannot thank Portage Energy and Mike Krayacich enough for their time and for allowing us to write up and research their amazing company and what they do for the environment. It was a very cool experience, and I was happy to be a part of it.

Juan Luis

For me aim2flourish group assignment has been great. It’s very interesting knowing and learning about such a big company and knowing a leader and owner of a company such as mike. Also something I wanted to add is that sometimes we had problems in communicating with the members of the group because some of us have the day very busy, and as we live in different countries, it’s difficult to find a day and an hour that fits good for all the members, but thankfully we could manage it. I’m very happy with this project, since, as I said before, I learned a lot about this big company, and I also met people from around the world. It is such a nice experience.

Elia

Interviewing my Uncle Mike was incredibly interesting, and I was very happy to get this opportunity to learn more about his career. He had much to offer about the topics of sustainable business operation, environmental awareness, and running a profitable business. It was very neat to see how the topics we learn in this course are very similar to the concerns that responsible business owners or managers have. I was also very glad to learn more about how exactly all of these factors can be put together in what will hopefully soon be a very successful business. The Aim2Flourish project was an incredible opportunity to learn about all of this in a format that shares it with a vast audience, as well as a great chance to collaborate with students of different backgrounds, introducing us to new cultures. Dealing with the dynamics was an issue until we determined we would not be getting help, at which point Nic, and I decided to do most of the work. I feel a group of 6 for this much work is a little large, and clearly the weighting in the foreign students’ classes was lower than those students at Guelph. As a result, most did not care about this assignment. To make something like this work well in my opinion, all the students involved need to have this assignment contribute to an equal portion of their class grade. Besides this, I feel I learned a ton about responsible management from this project, as well as learned how responsible management intertwines with other areas of business operation.

Samantha

The Aim2Flourish assignment and the opportunity to interview the Chief of Technology of Portage Energy was definitely an inspiring and one-of-a-kind experience. Interviewing and getting to know what the company does was amazing. Learning about their sustainable efforts and innovative solutions was something that inspired me to make my own company that can help carbon emissions too. Working with my teammates was great and helped me learn the different working styles in different cultures around the world. My teammates were hardworking and did a great job even though we had some troubles with scheduling due to school assignments or time differences. I want to thank Mike Krayacich for taking the time out of his busy day to answer our questions and teach us more about the wonderful sustainable efforts his company participates in. I’m excited to see where this company is going and what inspirations and innovations will bring to the jet fuel and aviation industry.

Federico

For this project I think that it was very interesting to be working with people from around the world, as you see different perspectives. It also allows you to learn different things about each one. I think I found it difficult to manage my time as we all live in different parts of the world. So, finding time where we could all meet was a challenge. I think the project was very nice and I learned a lot. I really appreciate my teammates, who were very nice. They tried to help me with everything that I didn’t understand. I hope to have another opportunity like this one.

References

Portage Energy. (2023). https://www.portage.energy/