Team of three from the University of Toronto declared the 2013 winner and awarded $50,000 for themselves and their school

TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2013 /CNW/ - After five months of gruelling competition culminating in a pitch to some of Canada's most high profile CEOs, the winner of Walmart Canada's second annual Green Student Challenge has been chosen. The team, made up of Han (Mike) Zhang, Adam Wang and Andrew Girgis from Toronto were crowned the Challenge winners after a compelling presentation that brought their game-changing idea to life.

The final event took place yesterday at the Design Exchange in Toronto where the top five teams pitched a CEO judging panel on their breakthrough ideas that benefits both business and the environment.  The finalists represented universities from coast-to-coast and presented a broad range of innovative ideas ranging from a sustainable compost machine that creates nutrient-rich fertilizer from organic waste, to a recycling program for chopsticks using the wood as raw material to manufacture furniture products. The winning team successfully presented their idea for a mobile application that will make it convenient for users to find sustainable products from local retailers and their network of friends. The presentation took place in front of a live audience of 300 people and the team scored top marks for overall presentation, originality, ease of implementation, and potential business and environmental benefits.

More than 160 student teams registered to participate in the one-of-a-kind competition following its launch last September, with the five finalist teams announced in early February. The finalists have spent the last few weeks preparing for their presentation and the chance to win $25,000 for themselves and $25,000 for their school. In addition to the $50,000 awarded to the winning team, the second place team received $15,000, with $10,000, $8,000 and $7,000 awarded to the teams placing third, fourth and fifth respectively.

"All of the finalists were remarkably well prepared and their ideas were truly extraordinary and an inspiration to all those in attendance," said Shelley Broader, president and CEO of Walmart Canada. "The winning team's idea for a revolutionary sustainable app was truly innovative, and we are proud to have played a role in facilitating the development of their idea."

The final round of the Green Student Challenge consisted of a live presentation of ideas to the CEO judging panel of Shelley Broader, president and CEO of Walmart Canada, Dianne Craig, CEO of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Chris O'Neill, managing director of Google Canada, Claude Mongeau, president and CEO of CN, Ana Dominguez, president and general manager of SC Johnson Canada and Tom Heintzman, co-founder and director of Bullfrog Power.

About Walmart Canada
Walmart Canada operates a growing chain of more than 375 stores, employing more than 90,000 Canadians, and serving more than one million customers each day. The company's vision is to demonstrate environmental leadership by reducing the ecological impact of its operations through company-wide programs focused on waste, energy and products, as well as outreach programs that preserve and enhance local environments. Visit www.walmartcsr.ca for more company information or follow Walmart Canada on Twitter at www.twitter.com/walmartcanada.

SOURCE WalMart Canada

Image with caption: "Shelley Broader, president and CEO of Walmart Canada, congratulates Michael Zhang, Adam Wang and Andrew Girgis from the University of Toronto on their first-place win at the second annual Walmart Green Student Challenge. The students were awarded $25,000 for themselves and $25,000 for their school in honour of their innovative thinking and commitment to sustainability. (CNW Group/WalMart Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130227_C8978_PHOTO_EN_24103.jpg