18 SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy – Team 21

Team Reflection

As a team, we delved into a plethora of inspiring stories from the AIM2Flourish platform, each showcasing businesses striving for social good in various domains. One particular story that stood out to us was Illuminating Lives: Empowering Rural Communities. This narrative detailed a company’s efforts in providing solar-powered lanterns to rural communities in India, thereby not only addressing the issue of energy poverty but also empowering individuals and fostering economic development. Another inspiring story was Measuring the Heartbeat of Belgian Nature to Accelerate Ecological Transformation. This narrative showcases a business’s innovative approach to environmental conservation by utilizing advanced monitoring techniques to understand and protect Belgian nature. Better Air was a project that focused on improving air quality across the Middle East. We found that this company uses innovative technology to clean the air there. Heineken’s story revolved around the industry giant committing to sustainability through using biomass energy in the production of its cans to reduce its carbon footprint. Our group also went over New Nuclear, a business looking into Terrapower and how it is changing preconceived notions regarding nuclear sustainability solutions. The sixth company we reviewed was Polytech, a company that is focused on making wind energy the number one option in sustainability by developing new technologies for wind energy usage and collection. We were assigned the article on NBCUniversa and Solar Energy, however, the link or story no longer appears on the Aim2Flourish website, so we have chosen to mark it as null. Enpal is another company we studied as they are a company who has the goal of making solar panels more affordable for the population; solar panels are viewed as unattractive by consumers due to the fact that the initial investment costs and maintenance costs are high while the ROI is low for the amount of time these panels are expected to be productive. The company Inventure, based out of New York City, is known for their goals of helping people achieve the work-life balance they require. They saw the burnout professionals endured due to their work and set themselves on a mission to absolve it. The final story we were asked to study was about OrjaBox which focuses on renewable cooking fuels using solar, biogas, and biomass energy to cook food for people in need. We found ourselves deeply moved by the tangible impact of these initiatives on improving the quality of life for marginalized populations.
Upon reflection, we found profound connections between some of these stories and our academic knowledge, particularly regarding sustainability and the triple bottom line; Profit, People, and the Planet. These narratives reinforced our understanding that businesses can serve as catalysts for positive change by integrating social and environmental objectives into their operations. They highlighted the importance of businesses aligning their strategies with broader societal goals to achieve sustainable development. This is relevant in all of our nations and generally relevant everywhere else. Furthermore, these stories challenged our preconceptions about the role of businesses in society. While we were aware of the potential for businesses to contribute to social and environmental causes, seeing concrete examples of innovative solutions underscored the transformative power of entrepreneurship. It prompted us to question traditional notions of profit maximization and consider alternative models that prioritize people and the planet alongside financial returns.
The story of Illuminating Lives made our group reconsider the blessings that our countries have compared to more impoverished places such as certain parts of India; all our communities don’t suffer too much from energy poverty and we unrecognizably take this for granted. Veolia’s narrative was imperative to our group’s learning as many of us learned about future possible innovations in already economically developed nations such as Belgium. Our reflection on Better Air was relatively straightforward: we figured that this business focused wildly on the people/future side rather than the profitability and was interestingly possibly the most widespread of the business ideas we studied together. The story regarding the renewable Vietnamese Heineken bottles made our group ponder the question; “why is this only in one country, would it not be practical elsewhere? which is a thought we never got an answer to in the article and can possibly be researched further in the future. All 3 of the countries involved in our project agree on renewable Heineken bottles for our individual country. When considering Terrapower’s contribution, none of us found it particularly resonated with us. Our local experiences don’t relate and in general, we figured that nuclear energy would already be relatively clean (in contrast to other non-renewable sources). Polytech resonates with our whole group, we are all part of countries that create greenhouse gas emissions; Canada recently slated to produce 670 megatonnes of greenhouse emissions a year (Government of Canada, 2023), while Indonesia produced 600 million tonnes in 2021 (Iea, n.d.), whereas South Africa produced 405 million metric tonnes in 2021 (Tiseo, 2023). Each of our countries contributes to world greenhouse gas emissions so this article regarding reduction in greenhouse gas resonates with our group members. Enpal is another company we found to be of great interest to all of our members’ nations as solar energy is something that we can all participate in. The importance of this company to us is that we are all young adults, in a few years when we live on our own and depend upon our home’s energy, we can turn to solar power as a solution for our own needs, however, it will be difficult unless companies such as Enpal continue to provide affordable solar solutions. The company Inventure did not seem to have a connection with any of us as none of us have a reasonable amount of experience within the renewable energy field, whilst it may be valuable to us, we just had a hard time relating to our courses/lives and the ‘so what’ is hard to dictate. Not to say the company has less importance, it just does not resonate with us. The final company we studied OrjaBox, intertwines an unbelievable amount with our learnings and beliefs. We want to reduce our carbon footprint while maintaining healthy lifestyles, and the company is providing cooking devices/methods using renewable sources to do so. Overall, the ‘So what’ of each story was impactful for a particular group; we found that while not all of the articles were relatable, they were all important actions, and more importantly, dictated that all of these companies were moving towards a more sustainable approach.
Exploring these AIM2Flourish stories have undoubtedly shaped our outlook as aspiring business professionals in sustainable fields. Individually, we now recognize the imperativeness of incorporating sustainability and social responsibility into our future endeavors. We are inspired to leverage our skills and knowledge to drive positive change in our communities and beyond, whether through entrepreneurship, corporate leadership, or advocacy. As a team, we understand the importance of collaboration and diversity in addressing complex societal challenges. Our academic background, in subjects such as measuring inequality (Senkl, week 7), the Gini coefficient (Senkl, week 7), and social license to operate (Senkl, week 8) has equipped us with the tools to analyze and contextualize these stories effectively, while our teamwork skills have facilitated a collaborative and productive process. Moving forward, we are committed to integrating the lessons learned from these stories into our future endeavors, striving to create meaningful impact and contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world amongst business and general leadership initiatives.

Individual Reflections

Vusanani Obri Mabalani

Being part of Team 21 and focusing on SDG 7 provided numerous positive experiences and invaluable learning opportunities. One of the most rewarding aspects was gaining insights from stories related to SDG 7, particularly those showcasing innovative solutions like the hybrid solar lamp. Learning about such sustainable technologies not only broadened my understanding of renewable energy but also inspired me to consider adopting similar solutions in my own community in South Africa. The experiential activity helped me appreciate the global impact of sustainable development initiatives and the power of collaboration in addressing complex challenges. Working with international students allowed me to exchange ideas, share perspectives, and learn about diverse approaches to achieving SDG 7 targets. This exposure not only enriched our project outcomes but also fostered a deeper understanding of cross-cultural dynamics and the importance of inclusivity in sustainable development efforts.
Despite initial communication challenges and varying levels of engagement, our team’s resilience and commitment to our shared goals led to meaningful progress. Building friendships with international peers not only enhanced our teamwork but also provided a platform for sharing best practices and learning from each other’s experiences. The use of English as a common language facilitated smooth communication and enabled us to effectively collaborate despite coming from different countries. Moreover, the experience of managing multiple time zones was surprisingly smooth, thanks to effective planning and a shared understanding of each other’s schedules. This experience highlighted the significance of flexibility and adaptability in virtual teamwork, skills that are increasingly valuable in today’s interconnected world.
Overall, participating in this experiential activity not only deepened my knowledge of SDG 7 but also equipped me with practical insights and ideas that I can apply in real-world scenarios, such as promoting the adoption of hybrid solar lamps in South Africa. The collaborative nature of the activity and the diverse perspectives it offered have undoubtedly enriched my learning journey and prepared me to contribute meaningfully to sustainable development initiatives in the future.

Nathan Baird

My experience in the COIL experience was mostly positive; the people I worked with were predominantly productive, the studies were particularly intriguing, and the overarching idea of COIL was fairly entertaining. Firstly, the group members; we had 4 or 5 in every meeting all of which were consistently on time. This made for an easy-to-navigate schedule and an understanding among peers of the content to be performed that week. Vusie, the best group member, was very committed to this project and whilst nobody else displayed his level of enthusiasm, everyone was definitely excited each week. Perhaps the most fascinating portion of the experience was how easy it was for everyone to navigate time zones. We found a meeting time at the start that worked for everyone and continued with it throughout, making for a consistent experience every week among group members who joined. Secondly, SDG 7, affordable and clean energy, was a ridiculously interesting topic to investigate in consideration of the impact that differentiates it from each of our nations. Everyone on our team had a completely different perspective and idea regarding affordable and clean energy in our respective country. Finally, the ability to bring a group together through the goal of education is an unquestionably good experience for all. The different relationships and understandings developed throughout this project created a unique dynamic that hasn’t/can’t be replicated in any other university course, the grouping of pairs was certainly impressive from a project perspective. Overall, I found this group work to be by far the most engaging group work I have done, often in a school environment the team that one partakes in is his/her own friends or acquaintances; this was of course not the case with COIL, none of us knew each other and yet we all still created art and weekly projects (which we performed relatively well on) together. It is difficult to find a major flaw with the COIL project but for reflection’s sake, I’d say that it probably should have lasted longer, a lot of people were timid in the first couple of weeks and I feel as though they only really were more extroverted in the last week or two. Getting to know people for longer would’ve created longer-lasting relationships amongst peers in my opinion.

References

AIM2Flourish. (n.d.-a). https://aim2flourish.com/
Canada, E. and C. C. (2023b, June 29). Government of Canada. Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/greenhouse-gas-emissions.html
Canada, E. and C. C. (2023a, June 29). Government of Canada. Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/greenhouse-gas-emissions.html
MGMT3020 (2024): Week 7. Slide Deck. Available on courselink.
MGMT3020 (2024): Week 8. Slide Deck. Available on courselink.
Iea. (n.d.). Executive summary – an energy sector roadmap to net zero emissions in Indonesia – analysis. IEA. https://www.iea.org/reports/an-energy-sector-roadmap-to-net-zero-emissions-in-indonesia/executive-summary
Tiseo, I. (2023, September 19). South Africa: Fossil co₂ emissions 1970-2022. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/486073/co2-emissions-south-africa-fossil-fuel-and-industrial-purposes/#:~:text=South%20Africa%20generated%20405%20million,emitters%20of%20carbon%20dioxide%20worldwide.