TIMELINE 2023 - Accounting for Sustainability
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A4S International Case Competition 2023
TIMELINE – 2023
MILESTONES DATE AND TIME
INFORMATION SESSIONS Asia Pacific, the UK and Europe:
14th December 2022 - 08.00 GMT/ 09.00 CET/ 16.00
SGT/ 19.00 AEDT/ 21.00 NZDT
Americas, the UK and Europe:
11th January 2023 - 10.00 PT/ 13.00 EST/ 15.00 BRT/
18.00 GMT/ 19.00 CET
APPLICATIONS OPEN (ASSESSMENT PHASE) December 12th, 2022
APPLICATIONS CLOSE (ASSESSMENT PHASE) February 13th, 2023
SEMI-FINALS February 27th – March 6th, 2023
NETWORKING EVENT March 24th, 2023
FINALS March 25th, 2023
A4S International Case Competition 2022
This student competition is made possible by the valued support of our sponsors and partners.
PARTNER
SPONSORS – To be finalized
HOSTS
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A4S International Case Competition 2022
Table of Contents
GENERAL COMPETITION OVERVIEW................................................................................................ 3
Case topic – Taking solutions to scale ........................................................................................................ 3
Timeline and Events ................................................................................................................................ 4
Information Session Sign-Up .................................................................................................................. 5
DIRECTION ON ASSESSMENT PHASE DELIVERABLES ................................................................. 5
A Few General Words on Proposal Design............................................................................................. 5
Directions on the Executive Summary .................................................................................................... 7
Suggestions for a strong 5-minute video pitch ........................................................................................ 8
Tips for filming ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Tips for editing ........................................................................................................................................ 9
SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENT PHASE -DELIVERABLES ............................................................ 10
Additional Resources .................................................................................................................................. 0
Video Consent Form ................................................................................................................................... 1
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A4S International Case Competition 2022
GENERAL COMPETITION OVERVIEW
The A4S International Case Competition (A4SICC) has been designed to connect the brightest
financial, entrepreneurial, and technical student minds with the businesses and executives who
are shaping the world today. We invite you to come together to outline how we can scale up
nature-based solutions to tackle sustainability issues, while considering business resilience.
We are delighted to announce the A4SICC 2023 case topic will be on “Taking solutions to scale”.
challenging students globally to identify ways to scale up nature-based solutions, in an impactful and
resilient way.
Teams are asked to identify a solution that already exists and design actionable and measurable
commercial business and financial models that show how this solution can be adopted at scale by
multiple organizations, an entire sector or across cities/municipalities globally. Please find the full case
topic below:
Case topic – Taking solutions to scale
Nature loss poses a major risk to business. In addition to the impact on people and the planet, the
unprecedented loss of biodiversity and collapse of ecosystems present considerable risk to economic
output, as well as wider climate goals such as net zero.
Nature-based solutions are actions to protect, sustainably manage, or restore natural ecosystems, that
address societal challenges such as climate change, human health, food and water security, and
disaster risk reduction effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human wellbeing and
biodiversity benefits. (The World Bank)
Nature-based solutions have the potential to play an important role in tackling climate change,
restoring natural capital and delivering ongoing benefits to society and the economy. These solutions
exist and have been proven at organizational or city level, however, it is essential to scale up these
solutions rapidly.
The A4S International Case Competition (A4SICC) 2023 is challenging students globally to identify ways
to scale up nature-based solutions, in an impactful and resilient way.
Teams are asked to identify a solution that already exists and design actionable and measurable
commercial business and financial models that show how this solution can be adopted at scale by
multiple organizations, an entire sector or across cities/municipalities globally.
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A4S International Case Competition 2022
As part of this you will need to:
• Provide a background to your chosen solution including why it is considered a nature-based
solution, how it is/would have a material impact on tackling a current sustainability challenge and
any proven results to date.
• Identify any changes required to the solution to ensure it is an economically viable solution for
others to adopt.
• Outline the financial model, including any underlying assumptions, that demonstrates how it would
be economically feasible for a business, public authority or asset manager/investor to adopt this
solution at scale.
• Demonstrate how your financial proposition/business model will be deployed, at scale, as well as
comment on the potential regulatory implications and/or policy changes that may be required to
bring your idea to market.
• Map how your business components both positively and negatively impact specific UN Sustainable
Development Goals.
• Explain what success would look like both commercially and in terms of impact on societal
challenges and climate change.
Timeline and Events
The competition is open to university and business school students from around the globe.
The competition will open for entries on December 12th, 2022 with information sessions taking place
in December 2022 and January 2023.
To enter, teams must submit an executive summary and a 5-minute video pitch of their proposal. All
videos will be uploaded onto the A4S YouTube page. If you are concerned about technical constraints,
please reach out to the A4SICC team by clicking here well in advance of the competition. The deadline
for submissions is February 13th, 2023. Applications will then be assessed and teams going through
this first assessment into the semi-finals will be announced on February 23rd, 2023.
All teams selected to participate in the semi-finals of the competition will receive feedback on their
entry and be invited to prepare a 10-minute live, virtual presentation. Participants will deliver this
presentation during the semi-finals; which will take place between February 27th and March 6th, 2023
(dates and time slots will be communicated and chosen closer to the time). Each team’s 10-minute live
presentation will be followed by a live 15-minute judges Q&A session to probe dependability of the
business model.
We will be holding a networking event at Rotman School of Management, Toronto on Friday 24th
March to give participants the opportunity to engage with the judges and sponsors of the competition.
4A4S International Case Competition 2022
The final will take place on Saturday 25th March 2023 at Rotman School of Management, Toronto.
This in-person event will be hosted by the Rotman School of Management. All semi-finalists will be
invited and the finalists will be announced. The top three teams will then deliver their presentations to
the panel of judges, followed by a live 10-minute Q&A period with each team. Following the three
presentations, the winner and runner-up will be announced.
Information Session Sign-Up
Given that A4SICC is a global case competition, there are two information sessions taking place. The
dates are as follows.
Session t
Scaling up Solutions: tackling the nature crisis
For interested students in …
i. Asia-Pacific, Africa, Middle East and Europe: December 14th, 2022 08.00 GMT/ 09.00 CET/
16.00 SGT/ 19.00 AEDT/ 21.00 NZDT; sign up here:
https://a4ssummit22.vfairs.com/en/registration
ii. The Americas: January 11th, 2023 10.00 PT/ 13.00 EST/ 15.00 BRT/ 18.00 GMT/ 19.00 CET; sign
up here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_shg-zQnoTxOwP57M10L2JA
Additionally, please make sure to subscribe for competition updates at A4SICC.com/apply for all
information and event invitations.
DIRECTION ON ASSESSMENT PHASE DELIVERABLES
A Few General Words on Proposal Design
To assist teams in their application and proposal we have created the guideline below. At a high level,
there is a requirement for all proposals to address the overarching context of taking solutions to
scale for a particular industry or sector. The proposal itself must tell a compelling story, the
framework for which is a strong business and financial model, supported by a robust business case.
Teams can structure their solutions as a new standalone business, product, or service, or as a project
for an existing business. The below graphic can help teams to structure their problem-solving process.
5A4S International Case Competition 2022
TAKING SOLUTIONS TO SCALE
Teams must look to take solutions to
scale, addressing the challenges of both Teams need to consider risks
social and/or environmental factors. including, but not limited to safety,
This must be demonstrated by clear transparency, reputation, trade
articulation of all associated offs, security, and job loss.
measurable impacts.
PROPOSAL
Team proposals should tell a story: how has this opportunity been
designed, how will it be delivered to market, how will it deliver value
to all stakeholders, how will it scale and/or change in the future and
how will it be financed?
MODEL
Financial models must address: Business models must address:
project/company funding value proposition, key partners
mechanisms, social and & channels, key activities and
economic outcomes and resources, customers, revenue
returns, risk sensitivity & streams, and cost structures.
mitigation.
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Directions on the Executive Summary
To apply, we ask that teams write an executive summary as the first part of the two deliverables. There
is no cost to apply. All team members must be students (undergraduate and above), but do not have to
be from the same program, school, or country.
APPLICATION FORMAT
Page 1: Title Page
The title page must contain the following information:
- Team name
- Venture name (if different from team name)
- Team members, with each institution, degree, and expected graduation date (mm/yy)
- One contact email address for the team
- Let us know where you heard about the case competition
Page 2: Executive Summary
The executive summary should outline your idea/solution, demonstrate how it would have a material impact in taking
a solution to scale for a particular industry or sector (giving consideration to Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions) and how it
would impact both positively and negatively specific UN Sustainable Development Goals. It should include the key
features that make it feasible, sustainable, scalable, and measurable.
Layout: Size 12 font, Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing
Page 3: Team Outline
Introduce your team members and tell us what makes your team ideally suited to the competition and why you are
interested in competing.
All three pages of the executive summary must be sent in a single PDF document.
7A4S International Case Competition 2022
Suggestions for a strong 5-minute video pitch
The 5-minute video pitch is the second part of the two deliverables for the assessment phase. We ask
that you submit it with your executive summary.
Note that the 5-minute video pitch should complement the executive summary – it should not be a
complete copy of it! As the executive summary only gives you limited space to describe your idea,
please use the time in the 5-minute video pitch to convey any other ideas, facts, concepts, arguments,
financial models, etc. that you were not able to fully lay out in your executive summary.
However, also note that the 5-minute video pitch should be understandable without reading the
executive summary, i.e. it should tell its own story and be sufficient and consistent in itself.
In order to help you with filming a persuasive pitch, we put together some pointers:
• Think about the storyline before turning on your camera to film.
• Think about who your audience is. You are pitching to members of an investment community.
• Put your solution upfront, don’t build up to it.
• Explain the value proposition. Who is the customer and what value you are bringing to them?
Is the customer experience unique? What is your customer acquisition strategy?
• You need a business model. Design it and show how it works, how it makes money, and how
it scales. Point out any key resources.
• The business case is composed of the assumptions behind your business model. What is the
case for your business model? What’s the industry structure? What conditions make it right for
your idea to succeed? What indicators have you found that show there is opportunity? What’s
the competition? How big is the addressable market? Stakeholder needs?
o Partners and channels could be important – chances are that you will be building a
solution that links with others, as part of an ecosystem – if so, explain who they would
be.
• Risk mitigation strategy. It is always a good idea to be aware of factors that can affect your idea
negatively and offer some mitigation strategies to the judges.
Tips for filming
• Video format: The video should be saved in MPEG4, MP4 or WMV.
• Video quality: It doesn’t have to be filmed on a professional camera, as long as the quality of
the picture and sound is high enough.
• The quality should be 1080p minimum (For reference – iPhone 5s has this quality).
8A4S International Case Competition 2022
• (If you use your phone) turn on the ‘Grid’ feature in your camera settings, this will help with
keeping your shot steady.
• Increase the resolution to the highest number of frames per second (fps) possible.
• Angles:
o Talk to the camera.
o Film in landscape this will make your video look better on larger devices.
• Background: Think about what is behind you – wherever possible film on a clean background
that is not white. Place the subject(s) away from the background by a couple of metres to avoid
casting a shadow.
• Lighting: Film in natural light, but not in front of a window or in direct sun. If you can try and
avoid mixing natural and artificial light as it can create odd shadows
• Sound: Find a quiet place.
• Outfit: Think about what you are wearing and make sure it is not the same colour as your
background.
• Team: Think about how many people you have talking. You do not need to use every member
of your team.
Tips for editing
You can either film your video in one long shot or edit different shots together. If you decide on the
latter here are a few tips to get you started:
• Mix and match shots and edit any unsuitable parts out, as long as the final video still flows.
• Keep your editing simple.
• Use the noise cancelling to clean up background noise.
• Cut out awkward pauses and silences but remember the storyteller does not need to be perfect!
9A4S International Case Competition 2022
SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENT PHASE DELIVERABLES
1) Executive Summary:
Please submit the executive summary to the A4SICC team before 11:59 pm EST (UTC-5) on
Monday, February 13th, 2023 using netimpact@rotman.utoronto.ca. Late or incomplete
applications will not be accepted, if you are concerned about technical constraints or any other
issues, please reach out to the A4SICC team well in advance of the deadline.
2) 5-minute video pitch:
After you have finished recording and editing your video, please submit it to Ama Agyeman and
netimpact@rotman.utoronto.ca using We Transfer (i.e. two transfers in total) before 11:59 pm
EST (UTC-5) on Monday, February 13th, 2023. If you have any issues sending it through this
website, please contact the email address noted above and they will help you work through
them.
3) Consent form for video pitches:
All videos will be uploaded onto the A4S YouTube page. Therefore, please sign the consent form
at the end of this document and return it to Ama Agyeman at the email address above along
with your video submission. The consent forms must be submitted before 11:59 pm EST (UTC-
5) on Monday, February 13th, 2023.
Every submission will be assessed by our panel of judges (see Judging Rubric below).
By February 22nd, 2023, all submissions will be assessed and the teams moving on to the semi-final will
be announced. Semi-finalists will receive actionable feedback on their entry.
With this feedback, semi-finalists should then work on fine-tuning their ideas/business models to
prepare for a 10-minute live presentation during the semi-finals. The judging rubric as attached below
will be used in all three rounds of judging (assessment phase, semi-finals and finals).
10A4S International Case Competition 2023
JUDGING RUBRIC
Category Description Scoring Weighting
Link to case topic: Teams must demonstrate that their proposal clearly relates to the global, national, and / or regional
knock-out climate commitments in scaling up existing solutions and that it impacts specific UN Sustainable Yes / No
criterion* Development Goals. Proposals must align with the case topic to carry on to the next round.
Outline of business Teams must clearly communicate how this opportunity has been designed, how it will be delivered to
value and growth market, how it will deliver value to all stakeholders, how it will scale and / or change in the future, and (1 - 5) 10%
opportunity how it will be financed.
Financial viability Teams must clearly communicate their financial model including: project/partnership/company
funding mechanisms, social and economic outcomes and returns, risk sensitivity and mitigation (as (1 - 5) 20%
these items apply to their model).
Business viability Teams must clearly communicate their business model including: value proposition, key partners and
channels, key activities and resources, customers, revenue streams and cost structures (as these items (1 - 5) 20%
apply to their model)
Model uniqueness We ask that judges decide how unique the model is. Consider to what degree you would like to see
this model developed further, and how likely you are to discuss the model with colleagues after the (1 - 5) 10%
competition.
Environmental and Teams must clearly communicate the environmental and / or social impact of their proposed model
/ or social impact including how impact scales with growth of the business, making sure impacts are clear and (1 - 5) 20%
measurable and address what potential exists for unintended consequences.
Presentation of Teams must - either in the video or in-person - present professionally. Their "pitch" must be
proposal and convincing and engaging.
defense during final
(1 - 5) 10%
Also, in the first-round and final round judging, teams must defend their ideas with strong arguments
and should think about these in advance. However, teams should not lose points because the team
members' first language is not English.
Supporting data Teams must use real data to support their assumptions and models. (1 - 5) 10%
Total 35 100%A4S International Case Competition 2023
Additional Resources
• Videos from last year’s competition can be found on ThePrincesA4S YouTube page, scroll down
until you see the A4S International Case Competition 2021 heading in the videos.
(https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL03RWHIQKZ9p2aN2itvvCdFrMt0zpfWK5)
• Hear from the winning teams of 2021 and 2022 and learn about how they came up with their
solution and get some tips for a strong pitch. (https://a4sicc.com/2021-winners)
(https://a4sicc.com/2022winners)A4S International Case Competition 2022
Video Consent Form
Date of submission: ______________
To Accounting for Sustainability:
We hereby recognize that by participating in the A4SICC 2023 we give consent to the use of video and
footage from the streamed final event on March 25th, 2023. In addition, all video submissions will be
posted on the A4S YouTube channel and may be used, in their entirety, or part thereof for marketing
purposes in support of A4S.
We give our consent for the use of our video pitch and recordings from the live streamed event for
future marketing and other purposes in support of promoting A4S.
First name and last name Signature Date
(of all team members)
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