Walmart Canada calls on students for next great business idea

TORONTO — Walmart Canada is leading the search for the next great business idea through its second annual Green Student Challenge.



The retailer is looking for teams of post-secondary students from across the country to convince some of Canada's most successful business leaders that they have the most compelling breakthrough idea to change business as we know it. A total of $100,000 in cash will be awarded including $25,000 to the winners and $25,000 to the winners' school.



The panel of judges includes Shelley Broader, president and CEO of Walmart Canada, Dianne Craig, CEO of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Chris O'Neill, managing director of Google Canada, Claude Mongeau, president and CEO of CN, Ana Dominguez, president and general manager of SC Johnson Canada.



"Every member of our judging panel has signed on because they recognize the value of discovering the young minds who will change the future landscape of Canadian businesses by thinking green," said Broader. "Businesses today are looking for ways to introduce sustainable business practices that improve the bottom line. The Walmart Green Student Challenge gives students the chance to introduce Canada's next big sustainable business idea."



The winner of the inaugural Walmart Green Student Challenge in February 2012 was a team of three from the University of Waterloo that presented an integrated energy hub for retail distribution centres. The hub would integrate solar rooftop panels, be connected to the smart electricity grid to provide grid balancing and auxiliary services, and produce net economic benefits estimated at $1.35 million per year over 20 years.



The panel of judges will be looking for three key criteria when they evaluate the proposals of this year's Walmart Green Student Challenge submissions: the winning idea will present a new way of doing business, have a significant sustainability benefit, and have a strong business case to back it up.