For more information, contact:
Nicole DeFord at NDeford@Vailresorts.com
Annie Pinkert at anne.pinkert@Colorado.EDU
Michael Joseph at michael.joseph@Colorado.EDU
Visit http://nicomp.colorado.edu/NICC_2009
The Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder has partnered with Vail Resorts, Inc., to host the eighth annual Leeds Net Impact Case Competition February 20-21. The competition hosts rising business leaders from MBA programs from around the nation committed to finding innovative solutions to corporate sustainability issues.
The participants of the Net Impact program will help Vail Resorts define their environmental initiative. The premier mountain resort company in the world and a leader in luxury, destination-based travel at iconic locations, Vail Resorts operates Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly ski resorts as well as the RockResorts hotel group and the Vail Resorts Development Company. Committed to the stewardship of the spectacular environment that surrounds these resorts, Vail Resorts is continually looking at new ideas that will foster a culture of sustainability in the communities where the company operates as well as with every employee.
Eighty-five competitors analyzed a key sustainability challenge provided by an executive management team at Vail Resorts; 20 of those teams have been invited to present their recommendations to a panel of experts in the semifinal round at the historic Hotel Boulderado on February 20. Five teams will proceed to the finals on February 21, with the top three teams receiving cash prizes totaling $10,000. The team offering the most innovative and effective resolution will present directly to Vail Resorts management.
Competitors come from MBA programs including the Yale School of Management, the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley, and the MIT Sloan School of Management. On February 22, semifinalists will celebrate on the world-class ski slopes of Vail Resorts skiing and networking with local business leaders and global executives.
Participants are affiliated with Net Impact, an international nonprofit association committed to creating a community of business leaders through corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, international development, and environmental sustainability.
To be equitable, the Leeds School MBA Program sends team members to similar Net Impact competitions on other campuses. The Leeds MBA program is committed to sustainability and has been recognized by the Aspen Institute, Entrepreneur Magazine, and the Princeton Review as a leader in social and environmental stewardship.
Vail Resorts has committed to 100 percent renewable energy offsets and has the largest on-mountain recycling program in the ski industry in North America. The company was the first in the ski industry to announce a comprehensive natural and organic food initiative called Appetite for Life and a Good Food partnership with two other sustainable Colorado companies. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company web site is www.vailresorts.com and its consumer web site is www.snow.com.
About Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading of mountain resort operator in the United States. The Company's subsidiaries operate the mountain resort properties at the Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone mountain resorts in Colorado, the Heavenly Ski Resort in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Company's subsidiary, RockResorts, a luxury resort hotel company, manages casually elegant properties across the United States and the Caribbean. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning, development and construction subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.