Corporate Social Responsibility Report

Looking to inspire students to take action on sustainability, Walmart Canada launched the Green Student Challenge in September 2011.

We issued the challenge with an open invitation to post-secondary students from across Canada to develop and submit proposals that are good for both the environment and for business – with a total prize purse of $100,000 to be awarded to the students with the winning proposals.

Our goal with the Green Student Challenge is to encourage the next generation of business leaders to create the next wave of sustainable business ideas.

Outgoing President and CEO of Walmart Canada, David Cheesewright spoke at the launch, “Many businesses are operating in a more sustainable way but we know there is a lot more to be done. We are presenting this to students because we want to push business sustainability up the priority list with post-secondary institutions and future business leaders in Canada.”

An opportunity for all to learn

Submissions were judged on three criteria: ease of implementation, originality, and potential economic, social and environmental benefits. The five semi-finalists were brought to Toronto in February 2012 to present their ideas in front of a panel of leading Canadian CEOs, who chose the winning submission.

Walmart Canada awarded a total of $100,000 to the students with the best proposals. This included $30,000 to the winner and $30,000 to their school. The remaining $40,000 was divided amongst the other winners in second through fifth place.

A full update on the winning proposals and students will appear in next year’s CSR report. You may also preview the results by visiting www.sharegreen.ca/student.