Project Context

This summer, I spent six weeks with one of the Laidlaw Foundation partnership organisations, Make_Sense Americas, on an ESG consulting project. My team was connected with Rennueva, an innovative recycling start-up that developed a patented technology to process polystyrene more efficiently, as well as other materials.

Their main challenge was transitioning from paper-based data management and collection to using their new digital platform for both client and donor information. This platform would be used to organise collections, log material weights, and develop impact reports that adhered to local legislation requirements.

Many of the staff had never used a similar platform, and there were many new aspects to learn. Therefore, our project focused on training the staff and brainstorming improvements to the platform's functionalities for both donors and staff.

The Challenges Mexico Faces in Waste Management

During our time in Mexico, we learnt about the severe environmental challenges in Mexico City, a diverse place with many different socio-economic groups, a population of almost 9 million, and limited waste management facilities.

Companies such as Rennueva play a pivotal role in helping the city by running a donation scheme for individuals to send their recycling and for companies to pay for waste processing. However, due to the strict laws within CDMX, Rennueva also provides consulting services to smaller recycling centres to help them understand and navigate the legislative requirements.

Stakeholders:

• Rennueva Team: We worked predominantly with the CFO and business manager of Rennueva, Enrique, who was overseeing the digital transition. We also met with their CEO to discuss the technology and the main issues Rennueva faced. We interviewed several members of staff to understand their concerns and hopes for the new platform, integrating these insights into our training sessions. We collaborated with the communications team to create and brand our user manual.

• Volunteers: We were fortunate to have a group of nine dedicated volunteers with professional experience in waste management, consulting, and digital products. Their contributions were invaluable in the ideation and prototyping phases of our project during our weekly meetings, as well as in translating the various resources we created.

• Re_action Programme Coordinators: Nuri and Triana from Make_Sense helped us coordinate our project by teaching us the design thinking process, translating some of our meetings, and reviewing our work to ensure it was of a professional standard.

Outputs: Tools for Lasting Impact

Our project delivered several key outputs aimed at enhancing Rennueva’s operational efficiency and staff confidence:

1. User Manual Resources: We created a 48-page visual manual detailing how each team within Rennueva can use the new platform in their workflow. This resource included screenshots, step-by-step instructions, and information on troubleshooting common issues. The manual was fully translated into Spanish, along with Rennueva's branding.

2. Digital Transition Training: We led six training sessions for various teams across Rennueva to support staff in understanding their specific roles in using the platform. This included a follow-along walkthrough and was delivered in Spanish to ensure accessibility for all staff (big thanks to Enrique, our volunteers, and Nuri!).

3. Survey Design and Analysis: We conducted user experience surveys with different teams to understand the staff’s current workflow and identify areas where the platform could improve efficiency and ease of use. Alongside this, the volunteers trialled the platform as donors and clients to see how engaging and accessible it was from this end.

Key Learnings: Growth Through Challenges

This project was a significant learning experience for everyone involved. Here are some of the key lessons we took away:

• The Importance of Empathy in Ideation: To tailor our outputs to the Rennueva team, it was crucial to get to know them, how they worked, and how they felt about the digital transition. This was essential to ensure our project fully supported their needs and that they were at the centre of our ideas.

• The Challenges of Navigating a New Culture: Not being able to fully communicate with many of the staff at Rennueva made our project more challenging, especially due to the tight time frame of six weeks and the need to have everything translated as necessary. This slowed down our surveys as we translated them into Spanish for the staff to answer and then back into English for us to understand. We are very grateful for all the support we received to work as efficiently as possible and for the patience of the staff when we were communicating.

• Testing and Trialling: To ensure our project met professional standards, we created a draft copy of our manual and training sessions, which were then trialled and reviewed by our volunteers, Rennueva staff, and Nuri. This enabled our training programme to be refined until it was as comprehensive and engaging as possible, ensuring everything was delivered smoothly at the end of our project.

Being in a New Culture: Learning Beyond the Project

In addition to our projects, we had the opportunity to participate in cultural enrichment day trips and learn more about the socio-economic factors in Mexico. This included visiting a range of U.T.O.P.I.A.s – sustainable community centres – throughout the Iztapalapa neighbourhood to learn about the schemes being implemented to teach local communities about climate challenges and provide a safe space for them to enjoy.

We also visited Xochimilco to learn about the maintenance of wetlands as sustainable agricultural centers and the protection of axolotl habitats, small creatures that are crucial to the ecosystem and spiritual history of Mexico.

Additionally, we took weekly visits to the projects of different teams to allow us to have a more holistic view of the actions for climate being taken and the range of impact that is possible to secure a greener and more secure future for everyone, especially those in the most challenges and more deprived areas,

This aspect of the programme, helped me to understand the ethical leadership of those more experienced than me within a range of organisations, and it was inspiring to see their dedicated to mother earth and their local communities. Each one was extremely proud of where they were from and how they were giving back using their positions of knowledge.

Conclusion

I am extremely grateful for the amazing opportunity I had over the summer to challenge myself and learn an incredible amount over the six weeks, and for all the support I received during that time. I am extremely proud of the outputs of our project and my team members, Jiayi and Alice, for being so fantastic to work with. After my LiA, I feel that I have greatly developed as a global citizen by understanding both the systemic and individual challenges for people within a different culture and how action is being taken to address these. Additionally, being able to lead a project and team of volunteers has enhanced my ability to clearly communicate to those who are relying on my guidance and to make sure I provide clarity and reassurance to allow others to work efficiently.  

If you'd like to learn more about our project or have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Scholars: Jiayi Guo, Hannah Lawless, and Alice O’Neill
Volunteers: Andi, Arturo, Isabel, Yadira, Kenya, Ximena, Angie, Mariel, Humberto