90 Usaflex in Brazil

Team 97 Poster

Team Reflection

Taking part in this project has broadened our knowledge towards the many positive connections and networking opportunities that arise from overseas relations. While also introducing us with the conflicts and difficulties that come with working with people abroad. Moreover, through the Sustainable Development Goals, this assignment has heightened our understanding about what it takes for a company to make a positive impact on the world. It is so very important for a company to focus on sustainability. As it not only benefits society and the planet, but it also helps the company grow and develop in a business aspect.

Starting this project off, we all were mistakenly part of one big, combined group. With members from another group bunched in with ours. As if finding a time that works for everyone wasn’t hard enough, we had the difficult challenge of trying to make it work with double the amount of people. After that was sorted out, our group got cut in half, and we held our first meeting. In this meeting, companies were pitched, and voting took place on what everyone thought was best. It was at this point that two of our other group members were removed, leaving us with just four.  During our next call the four of us organized a time for an interview that worked for all of us, and our interviewee. It was at this point in which we also began coming up with and proposing questions that would be asked in the interview. We also had to make sure to translate these questions to Portuguese to fit our guests’ preferences. Post interview, the answers were given in a doc that was translated to English so we could review and work with the answers. Here we split up the remaining work, both the story and the poster were divided amongst group members. With the four of us getting together at the end to complete this group reflection.

Our group interviewed Daniela Colombo, the CHRO of Usaflex, a Brazilian fast fashion company. The interview was conducted in Portuguese to best fit the preferences of Daniela, who has some experience with English. However, to get the most accurate answers, the interview was fully in Portuguese. Due to this Claudio asked all the questions as he is fluent in both languages and as Daniela answered those questions, Claudio wrote down her answers. Later that day, he translated all her answers to English and sent them to our group chat. We are very grateful for Claudio here; without him this interview would not have been possible.

Our interview followed the structure that Aim2Flourish set out for us. Claudio led the way by introducing us to Daniela and asking her all the questions throughout our hour-long interview. The two main topics covered in the interview were talking about how Usaflex is a signatory to the United Nations Global Pact focused on empowering women. And the success stories and future plans of the company’s environmental focus and impact. These two important topics align with multiple SDG’s. The biggest ones our interview and Usaflex are focused on are SDG #3: Good health and well-being, SDG #5: Gender equality, SDG #7: Affordable and clean energy, SDG #12: Responsible consumption and production, and SDG #13 Climate action.

As priorly mentioned, Usaflex is a signatory to the United Nations pact on empowering women. Usaflex has been a signatory since 2012, and before the agreement ends next year, the company plans to renew! This has been a big part of the company since they started operations 26 years ago, they have always been big supporters of women in the workforce. In fact, in a workforce of over three thousand people, about 65% of them are female! Daniela claimed the empowerment of women to be the critical pillar of the company! Even if you look at the last five years of the company, you can see the number of women in leadership roles at Usaflex has risen from 26% all the way up to 47%!

The other heavily covered topic was the issues of environmental sustainability and what the company is doing to improve upon this issue. We talked a lot about what the company has already done, including the goals they have already completed. Then, we talked a lot about what the company has still yet to accomplish, but what their plans are, and when they wish to achieve them. To start, Usaflex has achieved an outstanding goal and feat in which 100% of the residual waste the company produces is transferred into a clean form. The waste is either taken and made into a fertilizer, or responsibly recycling the waste with trusted and reliable partners. An impressive feat for any company, yet alone one of this size and magnitude. In fact, they are such a big manufacturer, they produce at least 25 thousand shoes per day! We talked a lot about how Usaflex primarily uses clean and renewable energy to fund their daily operations. Daniela specifically mentioned the use of solar panels in their day-to-day operations. These are great achievements that Usaflex has accomplished, however they are nowhere near where they want to be. The company wants to reach level 3 of carbon emissions by 2030 and have layed out lots of groundwork to help them achieve that goal. Usaflex has many goals they want to accomplish in the coming years. Some of their bigger ones include a circular model for their packaging. An initiative in which they retrieve boxes they send out with orders so that they can reuse them the next time. This is aimed to be finalized by the end of 2025. Hopefully completed at the same time, they aim to reduce the energy consumption of all their manufacturing units. These are just some of the 100 plus goals Usaflex has planned for completion in the next handful of years. They are truly a company that values its outlook to society and the planet.

We all thoroughly enjoyed this project, and while it may have been challenging at times. We are all grateful for each other and cherished the opportunity to work with people from different countries.

Individual Reflection

Claudio B. Teixeira:

When Professor Dr. Gleriane presented the project to the Graduate students at Fia Business School in São Paulo, Brazil, my first reaction was to immediately enroll and embark on this adventure. I am fascinated by international initiatives, especially those related to global sustainability projects. The group members were extraordinarily kind and collaborative, and my experience from the start was very positive. We were able to discuss our personal views, reach a group conclusion, and work on separate parts of the project to make it happen. Our first deliverable was to select the company subject of our research. Three companies were proposed, from manufacturing to services. After several discussions, we closed in on Usaflex, a significant women’s comfort and fashion shoe manufacturer in Brazil’s southern region. The company has been operating for 26 years, manufacturing over 25 thousand pairs of shoes per day, 80% leather shoes, and the brand has gained a reputation as the most comfortable fashion shoe in the market. Usaflex runs four factories near Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul’s capital, about a ninety-minute flight from São Paulo. Usaflex sells through 350 franchised stores and 6,000+ shoe retailers in Brazil and is present in 64 countries. Their labor force totals 3000 workers, 65% of whom are female. This triggered the company to focus on improving the lives of its women workers. Thus, in 2012, it established a sustainability committee focused on Empowering Women and following the UN’s Global Pact, of which Usaflex is a signatory, with plans to renew in January 2025.

This initiative correlates directly with the United Nations’ SDG of Gender Equality, Well-being, and Health. Since its inception, the committee has evolved to include more women in the labor force and increase the number of female workers in leadership roles from 26% in 2020 to 50% in 2025, having reached approximately 47% in 2024 already. In preparation for future leadership positions, it has provided training to support women’s empowerment, such as objective communication,  management leadership skills, and financial education. Another critical pillar the committee built was environmental sustainability. As a manufacturer, especially a heavy user of leather as a raw material, Usaflex faced many challenges related to residual waste, machinery efficiency, the use of non-renewable energy sources, and water treatment. In less than five years, the company has achieved tremendous success tackling these sustainable fronts. Today, Usaflex discards 100% of residual waste in clean form, either transforming it into fertilizer or disposing of it with recyclable partners. No residual waste goes into landfills! As far as energy sources are concerned, Usaflex uses clean energy, primarily solar sources, to reduce the environmental impact. Likewise, wastewater is reutilized in the operation of the factories and in the administrative facilities. These initiatives add up to more than 110 fronts the company has laid out to reach by 2030. The highlight is the ambitious goal to reach level 3 of carbon emissions by the same year, representing a significant step towards the reputation of a brand that cares about its people, community, and the environment for long-term sustainability. Thanks to my group and Coilers for the fantastic opportunity to join this project.

Daniel da Silva Borges:

Usaflex is a company that stands out for its commitment to sustainability and women’s empowerment, aligning its corporate values with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6, which promotes gender equality. Since the establishment of its sustainability committee in 2012, Usaflex has placed sustainability at the center of discussions with its stakeholders, seeking to positively impact people’s lives. Over the past 12 years, the committee has evolved, and in 2020, with a structured strategic plan, the company significantly increased the presence of women in leadership positions. It rose from 27% in 2020 to an impressive 45% in 2024, while the total number of women in the company reached 65%. This growth reflects investments in training and preparation for management roles, fostering an environment that empowers female employees. In addition to its focus on women’s empowerment, Usaflex also stands out for its innovative environmental practices. Since 2012, it has become the first industry in the sector not to send waste to landfills. Small waste is transformed into fertilizers and compost, demonstrating a strong commitment to environmental sustainability. The organizational climate at Usaflex is characterized by collaboration and innovation, supported by machines that operate efficiently and consume fewer resources. Training female employees is a priority, with initiatives that involve raising awareness and engaging leadership. Thus, Usaflex not only contributes to a sustainable future but also creates a space where women can thrive and take on prominent roles within the organization.

Ethan Marshall

After a few online meetings, different companies pitched. Our group landed on Usaflex, a Brazilian fast fashion company specializing in shoe sales. We held an interview with Daniela Colombo, the CHRO of Usaflex. The interview took place in Portuguese to ensure Daniela could give the most accurate answers and feel the most comfortable.  The interview was conducted by Claudio as he is fluent in both Portuguese and English. He asked Daniela questions, wrote down her answers, then translated them to English once the interview was over. Usaflex has been known to provide Southern Brazil with the most comfortable footwear for the last 26 years now. They currently operate in 64 countries worldwide.  One of the big challenges for Usaflex is their environmental sustainability impact, especially because their shoes are made of 80% leather. However, the company has worked hard towards improving their sustainability levels. Proved by current results and future goals.  Currently, the company has already achieved some of their prior goals. Some of those include, 100% of the waste the company produces is converted into a fertilizer or recycled. The company is also a big promoter of, and user, of clean and renewable energy sources. Daniela shared how the company uses solar energy in the factories and manufacturing/distributing centers to minimize their impact on the environment. Usaflex also has many plans for the future, a lot of which they aim to complete by the end of next year, 2025! Some of those include how the company wants to develop a circular packaging system in which the company collects and reuses packaging to further reduce waste! Also, by the end of next year, they plan to reduce the company emissions by 20%. Another aspect Usaflex focuses heavily on is women in the workforce. Approximately 65% of the workers in Usaflex are female. They have been a part, and plan to continue to support the UN Global Pact focusing on empowering women.