74 Streetbox in the UK

Team 90 Poster

Team Reflection

We explored the story of Streetbox, a community interest company founded in 2020 to address food insecurity, waste reduction, and equitable access to fresh food.. By selling vegetable boxes to the general public and redistributing extra food to charities in need, Streetbox has developed a self-sustaining business model that combines social impact and profits. The creators’ dedication to local food systems and sustainability is demonstrated by noteworthy initiatives like Bloom-Market, an inclusive online community shop, and their emergency food parcel distribution during COVID-19. Because it offers a creative and community-focused approach to solving pressing problems, this tale inspired us and piqued our interest in sustainable food business methods.

The “triple bottom line” is demonstrated by Streetbox’s business model, which combines environmental, social, and economic sustainability. It relates to our comprehension of how companies might support sustainable development while generating enduring social benefits. We discovered that their cooperative strategy for eco-friendly packaging with groups like NotPLA shows how smaller businesses may have a significant influence. Streetbox also highlights the possibility of grassroots efforts in sustainable innovation, challenging the presumptions that sustainability programs require substantial resources and that only larger organisations can drive change. Our understanding of sustainability and accountability was strengthened by this example, which also prompted us to consider the collaborations and logistics required to duplicate comparable models.

Reflecting on Streetbox’s impact, We see opportunities to use these insights in our future positions as we consider the impact of Streetbox. The narrative demonstrated that, even at a smaller scale, creative, neighbourhood-based strategies may effectively fulfil sustainability objectives. As we see ourselves in corporate positions, we want to incorporate social and environmental responsibility into our plans, giving special attention to partnerships with businesses that are dedicated to sustainable practices. Our approach to problems and resource limitations will be influenced by this experience, increasing our likelihood of thinking about collaborations and innovative solutions that benefit local communities and the triple bottom line.

Through this cross-cultural encounter, our team applied concepts from our team dynamics and cultural awareness training to gain important lessons about communication and collaboration across varied backgrounds. Our emphasis on active listening and tolerance for dissenting viewpoints contributed to the group’s increased trust.Our flexibility and honest communication, which promoted cooperation, were what worked best. We stayed in sync on our progress thanks to frequent check-ins. But early misunderstandings about member responsibilities and time zones caused problems, highlighting the necessity of precise role descriptions right away. All things considered, this experience emphasised the value of cultural competency in teamwork and reaffirmed how academic knowledge can improve collaboration in the real world.

Individual Reflection: 

Larayb Khalid: 

As a member of the team, I found the experiential activity both rewarding and challenging. We eventually got things on track after an initial hiccup with team member duties and scheduling because of time zone differences. I took the initiative to assign responsibilities, which made working together easier. It was a pleasure to work closely with Braden, Julian, and Karolina because we each brought our unique abilities to the project. A more active participation from the American students would have been advantageous because it might have reduced the amount of work we had to do. But all in all, it was a fun and rewarding experience that increased my respect for productive teamwork and intercultural communication.

Braden Flint:  

Starting this team assignment I was worried about how effective the communication would be with having to deal with the time zone issues that would occur when trying to schedule a time that everyone could be available to meet for the weekly minutes. I expected it to be very difficult having to coordinate when to meet and also designating what tasks to each person and trusting that person to get the job done on time and with quality. However, the virtual participation planning came to be much easier than I had expected as group members were trustworthy and honest about completing their work and showing up for the weekly meetings on time. Our group was very efficient at finding a time that worked to meet each week and decided that after we had planned and completed our first meeting, we would just meet at the same time on the same day for the following weeks as we all had no conflicts at that time. We were very successful when it came to completing our on time and not one group member fell behind on their work or failed to complete the part on which they had agreed to complete during the weekly meetings.  Overall I was pleasantly surprised with how our group managed and overcame these challenges and our team dynamic was very smooth and organised. We were quick with doing our work and meeting the deadlines that were necessary to meet with our quality work.

Karolina Ignaczak:  

The COIL project was a multifaceted experience for me as a third-year student. The increased effort during an already challenging academic year caused me significant stress. I believe the project would be more advantageous if presented to second-year students, who may possess greater flexibility and be better prepared to navigate the complexities of international collaboration.

A positive component was collaborating with Larayb, a fellow university peer. Our common background facilitated excellent communication and the navigation of the project’s difficulties. Moreover, our team, comprising Braden and Julian, had a robust dynamic and generated remarkable output together. Nonetheless, the participation among group members was uneven, resulting in frustration. The disengagement of certain individuals resulted in a workload imbalance and reduced our overall efficacy.

The COIL initiative is a laudable endeavour aimed at fostering cross-cultural collaboration, although it necessitates dedicated participants for success. I assert that only individuals with a real interest in the project should participate to guarantee a more equitable allocation of responsibilities. This experience has highlighted the significance of motivation and accountability in collaborative environments. In the future, I anticipate that subsequent iterations of COIL will prioritize these features, as they are essential for realizing the project’s objectives and optimizing its potential advantages.

In closing, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Larayb, Braden, and Julian for their dedication and teamwork throughout this project. Their support made the experience much more manageable and enjoyable, highlighting the value of collaboration in academic endeavours.

Julian Attard:  

At the beginning of the assignment, I was very hesitant as to how everything would come together due to having multiple people in different time zones. I’d never worked with anyone from overseas before so it was a little bit nerve-racking due to the fact I wanted everything to run smoothly. Thankfully Larayb, Karolina and Braden were all very on top of the task at hand and exceeded my expectations in terms of group involvement and communication.

Our group stuck to a fairly consistent schedule choosing Fridays as our meeting day and all would meet at that time. It was very effective and I appreciate my group members for showing up on time and staying determined to complete the tasks at hand. I am beyond impressed by the three group members I have mentioned, above as I feel they were perfect team members and always got their tasks completed.

Overall I am extremely grateful and happy with the job that we did, we got along great as a team and tasks were done quickly and very well. I enjoyed this process of the AIM2flourish challenge.

Next time I would have liked to have a little bit more instruction coming out of our very first meeting with the hundreds of students also completing this assignment as it was a little bit unclear what the groups were exactly, but other than that this process was very smooth.

References 

Scotch (2023). What? So What? Now What? [online] modelthinkers.com. Available at: https://modelthinkers.com/mental-model/what-so-what-now-what.