Several teams of students from RPI will participate in a business plan competition focused on detailing a business and its sustainable benefits. The event will take place in the Pittsburgh Building Tuesday from 3-7 pm.
The Sustainability Business Plan Competition is hosted by Wal-Mart and the Applied Sustainability Center at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.
For the purposes of the competition, sustainability was defined as “actions that are taken to improve the quality of life for individuals, children, and future generations, including actions that preserve clean air, water and soil; reduce waste; improve energy efficiency or usage of renewable energy; and promote healthy living for people and communities.”
The competition is open to graduate and undergraduate students from eight universities across the nation, including the University of Arkansas, Arizona State University, Stanford University, Stillman University, Imperial College in London, Dartmouth College, and Babson College. Each university will host an on-campus competition. A Wal-Mart representative will be part of the judging panel, along with business or community leaders.
Some of the plans that student teams will present include the development of affordable disaster relief shelters, the need for improved commercial refrigeration, and the creation of an automated physical check-up station.
On April 18, the top two teams will present their business plan to a panel of judges, including venture capitalists, Wal-Mart executives, executives from Fortune 100 companies, and environmental non-governmental organizations at the University of Arkansas. In addition to cash prizes, the top two teams from the semi-final competition held on April 18 will deliver a presentation.
