"I would definitely recommend it" - 4th Annual Smeal MBA Sustainability Case Competition

"I would definitely recommend it."

Participants from University of Washington' team after video recordings of testimonials at Smeal's recording studio. The students said they strongly value the opportunity to dig into something they are passionate about and to test their skills against real-world business challenges. They all said it was a great experience and would definitely recommend it to other students.

The finalists for this year's 4th Annual Smeal MBA Sustainability Case Competition year were Arizona State, University of Washington, Penn State, Cornell and Carnegie Mellon. What great fortune to welcome such superb schools to Penn State Smeal College of Business!

And the winners were....

I can't tell you yet. The official press release will be out later this week. Sorry. : (

We had 44 teams from 28 business schools this year for a great case focused on PepsiCo's greenhouse gas reduction strategy. Sponsors were PepsiCo, IBM, SKF, Verizon and Opportunity Finance Network.

The students always inspire me and motivate me. They are from around the country and around the world, yet they share a common commitment to using the power of business for a better world.

Judges providing specific feedback to each team. From left to right: Jim Gowen (in the back), VP of Supply Chain and Chief Sustainability Officer at Verizon; Dan Bena, Senior Mgr of Quality Control, led the Sustainable Development and Operations Outreach agenda for PepsiCo Global Operations; Al Halvorsen, Sr Director of Environmental Sustainability, PepsiCo; Fran Lutz, CFO, Opportunity Finance Network; Carl Pfleger, VP of Global Operations, PepsiCo.

Penn State's MBA team listens to feedback from jusges.

More later on the outcomes of the competition, the top submissions, what we have learned and more.

Thanks all for a terrific Smeal MBA Sustainability Case Competition. See you next year! (spoiler: it might be an international competition next year...so be ready to bring your A game)