Toronto – The 2023 A4S International Case Competition for university and business school students presented by Rotman Net Impact, in partnership with Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S), is launching his month. Sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and supported by Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada), the competition will focus on decarbonization and delivering net zero.
Each year in the competition students are presented with a case challenge and are required to develop a propose an business plan which must be scalable and have a measurable impact on global social and environmental issues. The competition connects a network of students, academics, professionals, and consultants from across business, finance and sustainability. Finalists will present in front of an experienced panel of respected industry judges. The competition is free to enter and first place and runner up teams will receive a cash prize of $10,000 CAD and $5,000 CAD, respectively.
Case challenge – Scaling Nature-Based Solutions
Nature-based solutions are actions to protect, sustainably manage, or restore natural ecosystems, that address societal challenges such as climate change, human health, food and water security, and disaster risk reduction effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human wellbeing and biodiversity benefits, according to The World Bank. This year’s competition is focused on challenging students globally to identify ways to scale up nature-based solutions, in an impactful and resilient way.
Teams are asked to identify a solution that already exists and design actionable and measurable commercial business and financial models that show how this solution can be adopted at scale by multiple organizations, an entire sector or across cities/municipalities globally. Your solution must be focused on scaling around the development and commercialization of existing viable technologies, products and/or services that prevent the destruction of and help restore nature.
For further information on submissions details, please visit https://a4sicc.com/case-topic.
The competition is open to university and business school students from around the globe. The first phase of the competition, which opened on December 9, 2022 requires student teams to submit an executive summary and video pitch of their proposal. Online information session on the competition will be held on December 14, 2022 for Asian and European participants, and January 4, 2023 for North American participants, with recording posted on the A4SICC website shortly afterwards. The closing deadline isFebruary 13, 2023.
During the final round of the competition, conducted on March 25, 2023, finalists will present in front of an experienced panel of respected industry judges at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
For further details on the competition and the upcoming information session, please go to A4SICC.com and sign up for updates or contact Rotman Net Impact at a4sicc@rotman.utoronto.ca.
Rotman Net Impact (RNI) is the principal student club focused on sustainability at the Rotman School of Management. RNI has continually been at the forefront of positive change. It is the local chapter of an international network of more than 100,000 MBA students and professionals creating positive social and environmental change in the workplace and in the world. RNI’s mission is “to inspire, educate and collaborate with Rotman students to harness the power of business in creating social and environmental impact, and to help them secure rewarding careers in sustainability.” For more information, visit https://inside.rotman.utoronto.ca/netimpact/
The Rotman School of Management is part of the University of Toronto, a global centre of research and teaching excellence at the heart of Canada’s commercial capital. Rotman is a catalyst for transformative learning, insights and public engagement, bringing together diverse views and initiatives around a defining purpose: to create value for business and society. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca.
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For more information:
Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
University of Toronto
E-mail: mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca