Five Teams Compete to Win Walmart Canada's Green Student Challenge

Final round will award the coveted grand prize of $50,000 to one group and their school

TORONTO, Feb. 7, 2013 /CNW/ - Four months after Walmart Canada called on students across the country to develop and share their breakthrough ideas benefiting both business and the environment, five teams have been selected to move on to the final round of the company's second annual Green Student Challenge. At an event taking place on February 26 at the Design Exchange in Toronto, the top five teams will present their green business solutions to some of Canada's most successful CEOs for the chance to win $25,000 for themselves and $25,000 for their college or university.

More than 160 student teams from coast-to-coast registered to participate in the one-of-a-kind competition following its launch last September. All submissions exhibited impressive innovative thinking and a commitment to addressing Canada's environmental challenges, with the five finalists demonstrating exceptional vision and a plan on how to bring their ideas to life.

The top five teams are (in no particular order):

Carleton University: Carleton Composters, a team that has proposed the development of a new sustainable machine that creates nutrient-rich fertilizer from organic waste in as little as 24 hours

Université Sainte-Anne: On the Roof, a team that has proposed a system for harvesting rainwater to supply industry bathrooms, helping to reduce energy bills and water usage in an environmentally sustainable way

University of Toronto: EcoSense, a proposed mobile application that will make it convenient for users to find sustainable products from local retailers and their network of friends

University of Victoria: Gustavson Greenshifters, a team that has proposed a recycling program for chopsticks using the wood as raw material to manufacture furniture products

Wilfrid Laurier University: Canada Green Lawn Care, a start-up venture dedicated to providing zero-emissions residential and commercial lawn care service

"We're thrilled that the Green Student Challenge is encouraging young minds to challenge Canadian companies and that these students have come up with such innovative sustainable business solutions," said Shelley Broader, president and CEO of Walmart Canada. "It's exciting to give such deserving teams the opportunity to change the future of business in Canada."

This final round of the Green Student Challenge will consist of a live presentation of ideas to the CEO judging panel of 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 and Tom Heintzman, president of Bullfrog Power. The judges will be evaluating each team on their overall presentation in addition to the originality of their green solution, the ease of its implementation, and its potential business and environmental benefits.

Canadians are invited to watch the drama unfold via live webcast, direct from the Design Exchange in Toronto. For details on the webcast visit www.greenstudentchallenge.ca.

The Walmart Green Student Challenge encourages students to push the boundaries of innovative thinking, with the company awarding a total of $100,000 in cash and prizes to the competition's semi-finalists and finalists. To learn more, please visit the website at www.greenstudentchallenge.ca, Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WalmartGSC, or get all of the Green Student Challenge updates via Twitter at @WalmartGSC.

About Walmart Canada
Walmart Canada operates a growing chain of more than 375 stores, employing more than 90,000 Canadians, and serving more than one million customers each day. The company's vision is to demonstrate environmental leadership by reducing the ecological impact of its operations through company-wide programs focused on waste, energy and products, as well as outreach programs that preserve and enhance local environments. Visit www.walmartcsr.ca for more company information or follow Walmart Canada on Twitter at www.twitter.com/walmartcanada.

SOURCE: Walmart Canada