Walton College Students to Compete in Wal-Mart’s Better Living Business Plan Challenge

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Students from Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas will travel to the home office of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark., to compete in the Better Living Business Plan Challenge on Friday, April 18.

The competition was created to provide students around the world an opportunity to invent sustainable products or business solutions and present them to a panel of Wal-Mart executives, government officials, suppliers and environmental organizations. In addition to gaining an audience with some of the top business and sustainability leaders in the United States, the winning school will receive $20,000.

“Wal-Mart is committed to fostering innovation at all levels - in our stores and supply chain, in our communities and throughout the retail industry,” said Jim Stanway, senior director of Wal-Mart’s global supplier initiatives for energy. “We created this challenge to give students a forum to showcase their best ideas and to help us learn from some of the brightest minds in the world.”

Wal-Mart has invited students from nine leading universities to submit business plans on topics ranging from clean air, water and soil, to energy efficient and healthy products. The competition is being hosted by the Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas.

Karen McSpadden, April Seggebruch and Stan Zylowski, all students in the Master of Business Administration program, were selected to represent Walton College after winning a preliminary competition in March. Their proposed business, AMP+, will bring to market a proven new patented technology that will reduce the total number of single-use batteries consumed annually by 25 percent and decrease the amount of energy used to charge rechargeable batteries. Their technology has the ability to save consumers up to $500 million annually, increase product performance and consumer satisfaction and reduce potential contamination risk to the environment by eliminating 60 to 80 million pounds of batteries in landfills per year.

Seggebruch said, "This compelling technology has the potential to have huge ramifications on consumer electronic devices and our environment. We are thrilled to be able bring it to a competition of this level. Wal-Mart has done a great job of bringing in the best of the best, with regards to schools with sustainability acumen."

Team faculty advisor Carol Reeves said, “We are very excited to be competing with teams from some of the top business schools in the U.S. and Britain. Green technologies are assuming increasing importance in both Fortune 500 firms and with entrepreneurial start-ups receiving venture capital. These teams are proposing the planet-changing technologies.” Reeves is an associate professor of management and holder of the Cecil and Gwendolyn Cupp Applied Professorship in Entrepreneurship.

Other schools represented in the competition include: Arizona State University (Global Institute of Sustainability), Babson College, Dartmouth (Tuck School of Business), Imperial College (London), Michigan University (Ross School of Business), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Stanford University.

During the Better Living Business Plan Competition, student teams will present their business plans to a panel of judges made up of executives from Wal-Mart and other leading companies and non-government organizations. Two teams will move on to the final round where Lee Scott, the Wal-Mart president and chief executive officer, and other Wal-Mart executives will select the winning proposal and present the students with a check for $20,000; the runner-up will receive $10,000. Winners will be publicly announced on Monday, April 21.