36 SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production – Team 36

Team Reflection
The Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) experience has provided us with a transformative journey into the complexities of the business domains and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that underpin their sustainable development agenda. Through COIL, we gained an understanding of how businesses have a unique position in society, where they can leverage their resources and influence to drive positive social change. Beyond profit-making, they can adopt responsible practices that benefit communities, the environment, and the economy. By integrating social good into their core strategies, companies can create shared value that uplifts society while also enhancing their own sustainability and public image. This symbiotic relationship between business success and social welfare is the cornerstone of a progressive, inclusive future where corporate growth aligns with societal well-being.
The COIL experience allowed us to delve into a microcosm of the globalized world, offering a rich tapestry of perspectives regarding the SDGs and innovations that enhanced our learning process. It fostered an environment where diverse viewpoints are not only heard but valued, leading to more creative problem-solving and decision-making. COIL could help us prepare for the international nature of modern workspaces, where cultural literacy and adaptability are key competencies (United Nations, n.d.). By working in a cross-cultural team, we learnt to navigate and appreciate differences, building a foundation for mutual respect and collaboration that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries, ultimately contributing to a more harmonious and interconnected environment.
As much as sustainable Development Goals were a new concept to some of us in the team, others had already learned about the 17 SDGs in their CSR courses, and it was easy for them to put the others up to speed. In addition, as we were going through the stories, it was very helpful to see how the same SDG can look so different when it is being addressed by a different business (AIM2FLOURISH, n.d.). This also made us realize the limitations of the SDGs and how some businesses can meet them without making a big impact Also, learning about the Authentic Sustainability Assessments (UNRISD, 2022) made us realize that some of the rules of this approach were stricter compared to the SDGs. It was also refreshing to see that businesses are not just all about profit, but also giving back to the environment.
Getting to a point where we have acquired this much knowledge about Sustainable Development Goals and a cross-cultural experience as a team was not easy. However, to ensure that every task that was given to us was a success, we had to conduct our work in a strategic manner. As a group, we decided that we would divide the work individually depending on what every task required of us. A day after a task has been given to us, each person would do a thorough research on what the team has assigned them to do and make notes of their findings. On the Friday of that week, we would meet up on ZOOM at 15:30pm South African time, which was 14:30pm in Spain and 09:30am in Canada to discuss our findings and come to a consensus of what we are going to write. Everyone’s opinions and efforts were appreciated, and every misunderstanding was addressed in a respectful manner.
As much as our work strategy was effective, we had hiccups from time to time. Having a set time to meet worked very well for our team, but there were instances where we had to change the times due to others having unforeseen circumstances that needed attention, and finding a time that was convenient for everyone to attend meeting would end up being a tricky task because of the time zones. Also, there were weeks where our meetings were very fruitful because everybody had done their research on time and are ready to share their ideas instead of seeing the questions and trying to answer on the spot. One of the things that did not work well for our team was communication during the week, as some of the team members would disappear and only show up for the meetings, and others would be active during the week and disappear for meetings.

In conclusion, our COIL experience has been instrumental in broadening our perspectives on sustainable development and enhancing our cross-cultural communication and teamwork skills. Through collaborative efforts and strategic work methodologies, we have navigated challenges and leveraged diverse perspectives to advance our understanding of the SDGs and innovative approaches to addressing them. Moving forward, we are committed to applying the lessons learned from our COIL experience in our academic and professional endeavors, contributing to the collective effort towards achieving the SDGs and fostering a more sustainable and interconnected world.

Individual Reflections

Gavin
I enjoyed hearing the perspectives of group members from different cultural backgrounds on whether certain business innovations could apply to their own country. We discovered some ideas would not catch on because the feeling of community for some is defined by people, they interact with directly rather than the broader community of their city or region. It was also interesting to learn that most of the innovations I considered to be unique to Canada had been implemented in some way in Spain and South Africa. Other ideas would be restricted or enhanced by existing government policies. The drawback was that scheduling was difficult because of differing time zones. Even deciding on a time for us to meet was difficult and we found that at least one group member was in school at any given time on the weekdays. This meant we had to get together on our weekends which did not leave us adequate time to complete the assignments before the due date. Finding time to communicate with group members in different time zones during our weekends became frustrating for everyone.

Kimia

Doing the coil project made me realize how the same approach might work in some environments and not work in others. For example, the Appreciative approach in my head was not the most helpful approach in any situation, but after talking to fellow team members from South Africa we realized that it’s all case-by-case basis and how the environment of a country can make some approaches be successful and some not. Also reading the SDGs that the companies were implementing made me realize that meeting a sustainable development goal does not mean you have solved that social issue but that the company has taken an initiative to make some difference in the matter.

References
Ivanova, E. (2021). 9 Becoming a reflective story-teller An empowering and transformative experience with AIM2Flourish. Revolutionizing Sustainability Education: Stories and Tools of Mindset Transformation.
Stephan, U., Patterson, M., Kelly, C., & Mair, J. (2016). Organizations driving positive social change: A review and an integrative framework of change processes. Journal of Management, 42(5), 1250–1281
United Nations. (n.d.). Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

UNRISD. (2022, November). Authentic Sustainability Assessment: A user manual for the … Authentic Sustainability Assessment – A User Manual for the Sustainable Development Performance Indicators. https://cdn.unrisd.org/assets/library/reports/2022/manual-sdpi-2022.pdf