TORONTO, February 11, 1998 -- An awards banquet on Thursday, Feb. 12 will recognize the winners of a new national case competition in business and the environment, organized by the Erivan K. Haub Program in Business and the Environment in York University's Schulich School of Business and sponsored by Nestle Canada.

The Nestle Canada MBA Case Competition in Business and the Environment challenged graduate-level students in business and environmental studies to demonstrate their ability to incorporate an environmental perspective into business decision-making. Thirty-three teams from 17 business schools across Canada entered the competition.

"The tremendous response shows that students are eager to learn more about how to deal with the complex relationship between business and the environment, and the Schulich School of Business is pleased to give them that opportunity," said Dean Dezso Horvath.

Competitors were presented with a scenario in which Ontario Hydro was considering redeveloping a hydroelectric plant in Northern Ontario in the face of strong opposition from Aboriginal groups in the area. Teams were given 36 hours to develop a response, and produce a hypothetical submission to Ontario Hydro's Board of Directors outlining how to proceed with the redevelopment of the hydroelectric complex.

A team from Wilfrid Laurier University -- Scott Phillips, David Rose, Marlene Schmidt, and Scott Slocombe -- won this year's competition and will take home a $1,500 prize. Wilfrid Laurier's business school will also be awarded $1,500 to use in business and environment programming.

The competition is part of Nestle Canada's commitment to York's Haub Program in Business and the Environment. Nestle also sponsors two awards at Schulich: the Nestle Scholar, recognizing the top student in a business and environment course, and a Group Award, recognizing the top group project in a business and environment course. Both of these awards will be presented at the Feb. 12 awards banquet.

"We are pleased to have been given the opportunity to support this important initiative," said Frank Cella, Chairman and CEO, Nestle Canada Inc. "The Schulich School of Business at York University is to be commended for its role in educating future leaders and raising awareness about the full spectrum of issues involved when addressing environmental concerns."

Nestle Canada's Chairman and CEO Frank Cella will speak at the awards banquet about the important role of education in developing an understanding of the complexity and importance of environmental problems.

The banquet begins with a reception at 6:30 pm, and dinner at 7:30 pm, at the Metropolitan Hotel, 108 Chestnut Street, Toronto. Cella's speech will begin at approximately 8 pm, and will be followed by the awards presentation.

For more information, please contact:

Nancy Sutherland
Schulich School of Business
(416) 736-2100, ext. 40478
nsutherl@bus.yorku.ca

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor for Media Relations
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087
sinem@yorku.ca

Alison Masemann
Media Relations Officer
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
masemann@yorku.ca
YU/014/98