York University Graduate Students Climb to Top in Mountain Equipment Co-op Case Study During 2nd National NestlČ Canada MBA Case Competition in Business & Environment

TORONTO, April 16, 1999 -- As Earth Day approaches April 22, businesses are reminded of the need to strike a balance between profitability and environmental sensitivity -- a point not lost on two York University Schulich School of Business MBA students who are about to take top honours in the Second Annual NestlČ Canada MBA Case Competition in Business and the Environment. The winners, Cynthia Page and Michael Emsley, will accept the $1500, first-place prize during an awards banquet in Toronto on Monday, April 19, 1999.

Page and Emsley won the competition for their submission of a solution to a business case scenario. In January MBA students from across Canada were given 36 hours to analyze a case study examining environmental attitudes and practices at Mountain Equipment Co-op, a leading Canadian retail co-operative. A total of 23 teams from 12 universities across Canada prepared submissions, outlining how the co-operative should proceed. York also took first and second place honours; teams from the University of Toronto and Wilfrid Laurier University tied for third.

"The relationship between business and the environment can no longer be ignored," said Page. "Companies which are environmentally pro-active tend to be more creative, and will be more successful in the future," she said.

Organized by Schulich's pioneering Erivan K. Haub Program in Business and the Environment and sponsored by NestlČ Canada, the national case competition challenges graduate-level students in business and environmental studies to demonstrate their ability to incorporate an environmental perspective into business decision-making.

In the judging process, all information concerning the contestants, including their names, programs of study and the universities they attend, are concealed to eliminate bias.

"This competition demonstrates the growing importance of promoting environmentally sustainable business practices across Canada," said Schulich Dean Dezs– J. Horv·th, "The Erivan K. Haub Program in Business and the Environment in partnership with NestlČ Canada is at the forefront of this effort."

NestlČ also sponsors two awards at York University: the NestlČ Scholar Award, valued at $750, which recognizes the top student in a business and environment course, and a group award, valued at $1500, which recognizes the top group project in a business and environment course. Both of these awards will be presented at the April 19 awards banquet.

During the awards banquet, Deputy Minister of Environment Canada, Leonard Good, will deliver the keynote address entitled Climate Change, Toxics and Other Hot Green Issues: A State of the Nation Review. Good will argue that Canadians must strive to bridge the gap between community environmental needs, such as adequate green space and clean air, with issues associated with globalization such as ozone layer depletion and climate change.

"In the future, a world class company will have to be a leader in business performance, financial performance, but also improved environmental performance," said Good.

The banquet begins with a reception at 6 p.m., and dinner at 7 p.m. at the Metropolitan Hotel, 108 Chestnut Street, Toronto. Good's speech will begin at approximately 8:30 p.m., and will be followed by the awards presentation.

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For more information, please call:

Nancy Sutherland
Schulich School of Business
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 40478

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor, Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
YU/040/99