Johns Manville has generously donated $25,000 in support of the 2013-2014 Leeds听Net Impact Case Competition (NICC). The NICC is the premier case competition built around businesses facing sustainability challenges while succeeding financially. The competition attracts top rated business schools and future industry leaders to Boulder for a two-day event. For thirteen years running, the NICC has brought together students, executives and businesses that share a common commitment to sustainable business practices and financial returns.
Tim Swales, VP of R&D and Chief Sustainability Officer at Johns Manville, explains why they decided to sponsor the competition this year:听 鈥淚t fits with our sustainability efforts, and it鈥檚 part of our effort to reach out and strengthen our ties with local Colorado schools.鈥� Tim goes on to say, 鈥淪ustainability is becoming increasingly important to many of our key stakeholders, and companies can either choose to embrace this opportunity or ignore it. We鈥檝e chosen to embrace it.鈥�
The Leeds Faculty Sponsor is CESR鈥檚 own David Payne, instructor of the core MBA class听Socially Responsible Enterprise. Dave is also the faculty advisor for the听Net Impact Club听on the CU campus, a network of MBAs, graduate students and professionals dedicated to mobilizing a new generation to use their careers to drive transformational change in their workplaces and the world.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to have Johns Manville as a sponsor of this year鈥檚 competition,鈥� says Dave, 鈥淚n its 150+ year history, JM has faced numerous social and environmental challenges, and over that time have come to see the businessopportunities听that arise from 鈥榖eyond compliance鈥� strategies. Sponsoring this year鈥檚 competition is consistent with Johns Manville鈥檚 commitment to integrating sustainability with industry-leading R&D efforts.鈥�
The competition is broken down into three rounds. The first round, which takes place in December, consists of an online submission of a short deck formatted PowerPoint presentation. The submission requires teams to creatively analyze a particular issue (not the same for the final rounds). Teams, which consist of four students, will have two weeks to complete the case and return the deliverable for judging, which will be done by Colorado business professionals and professors.
The semi-final round happens on a Friday and Saturday, February 21-22 and consists of the top 20 teams from the first round. The 20 teams will be divided into five groups and compete against other teams for a spot in the final round. Teams will be given the semi-final and final round case, which is the same, before they arrive in Colorado. Once in Colorado, the teams will be given an opportunity to ask Johns Manville representatives questions that may impact their case analysis. On Saturday morning of the competition, teams will present their PowerPoint presentations to a first set of judges. Of the 20 teams that advance to the semi-finals, five teams will qualify for the finals. The finals round, open to the public, will have teams giving their presentation to a new set of judges. The top three teams will be awarded cash prizes $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500, respectively. The finals judges will be comprised of top leadership from sustainability, real estate and academic fields.