George Brown College’s Sustainability Squad, in association with CPA Ontario, hosted GBC’s Business Case competition for the second time following last year’s tremendous success. The event is an opportunity for students to understand sustainability in a more practical way and hone their business and presentation skills to create something substantial.

The theme for this years’ Business Case was “Accounting and Sustainability,” which challenged students to dive into transforming businesses into a more sustainable version of themselves.

The virtual competition was co-hosted by Matheus Campoli, CPA Board of Ambassador at GBC. Special guests included Taher Rajbhai, last year’s winner of GBC Business Case, Paul Magder, retired electronics technologist and co-founder of Repair Café Toronto with 30 years of, as well as Clávia Castilhos, the founder of Up Pet and GBC alumnus with almost 10 years of experience in the fashion industry.

The case creators and GBC professors, Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Andrea Chance, and Leah Barrett, along with Faith Pember, CPA student recruiter, public speaker and mentor were also present during the event.

The presentations were judged by Devon Close, a budget analyst at the City of Toronto supporting Parks, Forestry, & Recreation, Nicole Kamata, finance specialist, and Kelly Drenan, founding executive director of the NGO Fashion Takes Action.

As sustainable practices can be incorporated into any business, the initiative acts as a huge stepping stone in increasing awareness about making sustainable choices around the college.

“No matter what industry you’re in, whether it’s hospitality, whether it’s fashion or accounting, you can still have sustainable discussions and you can still be critical about how practices might relate to sustainability efforts or how your own industry has a role in creating and contributing to the positive momentum forward,” said Georgy Pyle, co-president of GBC’s Sustainability Squad.

“I think when you start adding concepts, like circular economy, solutions, social sustainability, and sustainable finance, you really can see business in a new light. Using that sustainability focus can reveal that the way that we do business today may not be the best way to do business,” Pyle said.

Such occasions are powerful propellers towards change.

Although the Business Case competition was hosted virtually, the team is looking forward to more on-campus opportunities this year, where the events can be more interactive as things go back to normal.

Reflecting on the event, Pyle said: “I think one of the things that makes me happy and makes me feel fulfilled is knowing that in the years to come, we’ve shown that the students are interested and excited for events like these and that there’s a desire for these events.”

“So I do believe that they’ll continue onwards with future squad members, future representatives from CPA, and future students at George Brown College.”