The 2012 Sustainability Summit Innovation Challenge – Driving Sustainability & Diversity

Do you have an innovative product or service that can benefit a sustainable supply chain, that also brings benefits to urban and rural communities and promotes job creation? Would you like to gain exposure to more than 200 Fortune 500 companies at a high profile event in New York City on October 9, 2012? 

If you represent a minority or diverse business with such a product or service, this is your chance to receive National (United States) recognition, press coverage, publicity at events, and gain an opportunity to have any of the hundreds of corporations looking to build their brand and become your core customers! However, cash prizes may only be made to businesses that are MBE certified anywhere in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico by July 30.  Not certified? No problem, The Council will “Fast-Track” Solver applications within 10 days if your company is based in New York or New Jersey. If outside the New York / New Jersey region, MBE certification can be obtained through any regional council under the National Minority Supplier Development Council. This is an Ideation Sustainability Challenge with a guaranteed award for at least one submitted solution.

The Challenge requires only a brief description of your company’s core competency and innovative products or services together with a pitch that describes how it addresses one or more of the requirements described in this Challenge. In addition to the award winners, a number of finalists will get the chance to attend and present at The Council Sustainability Summit in New York City on October 9, 2012 - the only event in the United States that uniquely meshes Sustainability, Diversity/Inclusion, and Innovation for supply chain efficiencyto showcase how minority enterprises can achieve corporate sustainability & diversity goals. 

All submitting “Solvers” have the opportunity to upload a 60-second promotional mutli-media video file on their company’s Sustainability practices and innovative products/services that The Council will host (subject to approval) on the Sustainability Summit website. This video post will be listed as your Innovation Video ID. While the Challenge is open to all businesses to compete for the opportunity to present at the Sustainability Summit, only certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBE’s) are eligible to win a cash prize. If your company is not MBE certified, you will need to complete the certification process in order to qualify for a cash prize. 

Get certified here

The Council facilitates contract opportunities for various classifications of ethnic minority-owned suppliers by linking them with purchasers in the private and public sector. As an advocate for both its suppliers and global corporate members, The Council fosters relationships between corporate decision makers and targeted diverse suppliers. 

This is an Ideation Challenge, which has the following unique features:

There is a guaranteed award.  The awards will be paid to the best submission(s) as solely determined through an independent panel of judges by the Seeker. The total payout will be $10,000, with at least one award being no smaller than $2,500.

• The Solvers to the Sustainability Challenge are not required to transfer exclusive intellectual property rights to the Seeker.  Rather, by submitting a proposal, the Solvers grant to the Seeker a royalty-free, perpetual, and non-exclusive license to use any information included in this proposal.

After the Challenge deadline, the Seeker, with its independent panel of judges, will complete the review process and make a decision with regards to the Winning Solution(s).All Solvers that submitted a proposal will be notified on the status of their submissions; however, no detailed evaluation of individual submissions will be provided.