A more efficient steam-powered electricity generator, a hybrid plastic developed in part from discarded tires and a system to convert waste into renewable energy and organic fertilizer will be among the business plans presented at the second annual Cleantech Challenge March 1-2 at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Denver.
Hosted by the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado at Boulder's Leeds School of Business, the innovation challenge will feature eight teams representing MBA programs from throughout the United States and Thailand.
"The Cleantech Challenge represents creative and innovative solutions to the critical issues of sustainability being addressed from the halls of Congress to the governor's mansion to corporate boardrooms," said Paul Jerde, executive director of the Deming Center.
The competition is part of the Sustainable Opportunities Summit hosted by CORE, Colorado's leading sustainable business trade association, and the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship. The competition will begin at 2 p.m. each day, with the preliminary round on Thursday, March 1, and the finals on Friday, March 2.
Registration for the Sustainable Opportunities Summit is $225 for CORE members, $285 for individual registrations and $150 for student tickets.
The Summit will bring together corporate leaders, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from various industries to offer practical advice and suggestions to make "green" companies profitable.
The teams of MBA students will present business plans focused on clean technology businesses that demonstrate venture-grade, for-profit business models, practices or technologies with high-growth potential. The teams are challenged to provide innovative solutions, services or products in the cleantech sector that will reduce environmental impacts or improve ecological sustainability.
The teams compete for $25,000 in cash awards provided by the G. Chris Andersen Family Foundation. The top-ranked team will be invited to present its plan at the 20th annual National Renewable Energy Laboratory Industry Growth Forum in fall 2008.
The NREL forum is widely recognized as the premier investor venue for the clean energy industry. Investor's Circle, angel investors who support early stage sustainable companies, will circulate the first-place team's executive summary to investors.
The eight finalists include teams from the Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University; Leeds School of Business, CU-Boulder; the University of Hartford; Babson College; SASIN Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Chulalongkor University (Bangkok, Thailand); Lally School of Management and Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; and Stanford University.
The Cleantech competition is designed to be the premier student competition showcasing emerging opportunities in the cleantech sector. For more information about the Cleantech Challenge, go to the Leeds School Web site at leeds.colorado.edu/entrep/cleantech. More information on the Sustainable Opportunities Summit, registration and the speaker schedule is available at .
The Sustainable Opportunities Summit and Cleantech Challenge are part of EntrepreneurshipWeek USA, a national effort to inspire and encourage young people to consider entrepreneurship as a career choice.
Founding sponsors of the Cleantech Challenge include the Deming Center, GC Anderson Partners, LLC, and CORE, the sustainable business trade group. Other sponsors include the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Cleantech Venture Network, LLC; Investors' Circle; Cooley, Godward, Kronish, LLP; Domani; Expansion Capital Partners; Greenmont Capital Partners; Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers; and the National Science Foundation IGERT program at CU-Boulder.