IBESCC Competition Overview

Please note that this competition is a public speaking event. All team members are required to speak in front of a room full of people, including a panel of judges. All team members are required to answer questions asked by the judges after the 25 Minute Presentation.

From the event website:

“The International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition (IBESCC) consists of three separate competitions: a 25 Minute Presentation followed by Q&A and feedback; a 10 Minute Presentation and a 90 Second Presentation.

25 Minute Presentation

Students put together teams of 3 to 5 members and select an appropriate case that relates to one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each team prepares a PowerPoint presentation in which students explain the legal, financial, and ethical dimensions of the problem. They then recommend a solution that must be viable on all counts. Presentations should last roughly 25 minutes and will be judged by executives with experience in corporate ethics, compliance, corporate social responsibility, executive leadership, and sustainability. After the presentation, teams are questioned for an additional 20 to 30 minutes by the judges, followed by judge feedback on their performance.

The aim is to help students explore the moral imperatives of sustainable development. Teams are asked to think of themselves as either an internal committee or outside consulting group that has been asked by senior management or the Board to analyze the problem and propose a solution. Teams will be expected to specify their "business identity" and that of their audience before they begin the presentation. An executive summary will be required before the presentation and teams may provide additional handouts to the judges.

10 Minute Presentation

This presentation focuses solely on the ethical issues and is given by two or three members of the team. Teams imagine that this presentation is the result of being called back after their full presentation in order to give a shorter presentation strictly about the ethical issues of their topic. There is no Powerpoint presentation, no handouts, and no Q&A.

90 Second Presentation

This presentation focuses solely on the sustainability issues and is given by one member of the team. The speaker imagines that he or she is now an employee at the company and encounters an executive who asks why sustainable development is important and how is it linked to the team's topic. That team member is asked to give a 90-second "elevator speech" explaining why the topic needs to be addressed. There is no Powerpoint, handouts, or Q&A.”