Join our Sustainability Consultancy Challenge: Shape the future of sustainable business

Work with the world’s leading sustainable clothing brand and compete for £3000 in this year's Sustainability Consultancy Challenge.

This reading week, we're inviting you to step into the shoes of a sustainability consultant and take on the toughest challenge facing business today: the climate crisis. 

4 days. 150 students. One live industry challenge. £3000 cash up for grabs.

As part of an interdisciplinary team of student consultants, you'll:

• Tackle a real business challenge facing the world's leading sustainable clothing brand
• Work with industry mentors to develop and test your solution
• Strengthen your skills in prototyping, business development and pitching
• Pitch your recommendations directly to the client and an expert panel
• Compete for £3000, a trip to Amsterdam and a paid internship with an exclusive social enterprise partner.

Applications close 2 November and are assessed on a rolling basis.

What is the Sustainability Consultancy Challenge?

This is a first-of-its-kind event in the UK, bringing together 150 of UCL's brightest minds to take on the biggest challenge of our time, over an immersive four day programme. Your client? The world's leading sustainable clothing brand.

An overview of the week

Spread across UCL's Bloomsbury campus, each day will combine team consultancy time with practical workshops, expert speakers and mentoring. You'll move from understanding the challenge to researching, developing, testing and pitching your solution. Delicious plant-based catering will be provided across the week for all student consultants.

The prizes: What's up for grabs?

The top three teams will each access one of:

1. A £3000 cash prize
2. An all-expenses trip to Amsterdam 
3. A paid internship with an exclusive social enterprise partner

How do I sign up?

All students will be required to complete a short application. Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis and close November 2nd. We anticipate high demand for this event so encourage early applications.

What we're looking for

The event is open to all students, beginner and expert alike. Every skill has a valuable application in the world of sustainability. Here's some suggestions of what role you might play:

1. Business whiz: Sustainable business and the circular economy is your thing. You're keen to explore how commercial and environmental outcomes can be achieved together.
2. Designer-in-residence: You have a background in sustainable design, repair or circularity. You know the nitty gritty of how to design and engineer solutions to environmental challenges. 
3. Operations lead: You're knowledgeable about all things operations and supply chains. You bring a logical brain and strongly believe in the importance of efficiency and optimising systems.
4. Policy expert: You care about the rules and regulations that support and govern sustainable business. You have experience in drafting or interpreting policy and want to explore how this intersects with what individual companies are capable of.
5. Sustainability warrior: You love all things climate, sustainability and environment. You're keen to bring knowledge about this to your team, and to keep learning about how to make the world a greener place.
6. Master communicator: You have a background in communications, storytelling, campaigns or marketing. You know that how we communicate sustainability is vital for driving the agenda forward.
7. Researcher: You're not an expert in any particular topic but you are very good at research: synthesising information, finding solutions and drawing new ideas from the evidence you've harvested. 
8. Project Manager: You love leading teams and organising tasks. You'll bring everyone together and make sure the vision translates into reality.
9. Generalist: You're not sure where you fit in but you want to give it a go- and we really encourage this! 

Why join?

• Build real experience: Work on a live client brief and gain consulting experience you can talk about in applications and interviews.
• Learn from industry: Work with mentors and experts to test your thinking and strengthen your solution.
• Work across disciplines: Join a consultancy team with students who bring completely different skills, perspectives and expertise.
• Make an impact: Explore how business can tackle one of the biggest environmental challenges facing the clothing industry.

Tackle the issue of our time: the climate crisis

This isn't a theoretical challenge. It's a real environmental problem with serious repercussions for our planet. 

What we're facing:

• The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions. (Morgan McFall-Johnsen, 2020)
• Every second one truckload of clothing is landfilled or burned. (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)
• Extending the life of clothes by just 9 months of active use would reduce carbon, water and waste footprints by 20-30% each. (WRAP, 2014)

Across, the week, you'll explore difficult but vital questions in the field of sustainable business and clothing repair:

• How can we align the fashion industry with circular economy principles?
• What does truly sustainable business look like?
• How can repair and reuse be best optimised to minimise waste?
• How can we reconcile principles of planet, people and profit?

But who is this client?

The client leads the world in their application of sustainable fashion practices and, as a result, participants in this event will be working on sensitive intellectual property that requires discretion. The client has requested that their name not be disclosed until the event commences.

What students like about our previous challenges

• "This programme has been a highlight of my first year at UCL, applying ideas from my interdisciplinary BASc degree, and collaborating with students from different disciplines to tackle real-world challenges."
• "It was so well organised and obvious how much thought had been put into each stage. 
  Each meeting to run through our prototype and pitch was so helpful. Every workshop and 
  speaker was motivational."
• "The event offered a really nice balance between relevant skills development and sector exposure for those interested in the world of social enterprise."
• "All the people I worked with were incredibly inspiring and it was amazing to see team work and the different skills people from such varying disciplines and backgrounds 
  brought throughout. The event organisers were so helpful, easily approachable and 
  inspiring. The panel talks were incredible."
• “The programme was an excellent opportunity to acquire new skills which I will continue to apply in my future. The process of ideating and developing a pitch required me to use teamwork in a way that I had never done before. I also learnt how to pitch effectively- something that I had never done before.”

FAQS

Do I need sustainability or consulting experience to get involved?

The event is open to all students, beginner and expert alike. We care most about your motivations, passion and drive. Your application should focus on this. We've given you suggested personas to think about how your strengths can add to an interdisciplinary team, but we know that most of our consultants won't fit into these boxes. They're just tools to get you thinking.

Do I need to have a team to join?

No! We are expecting most students to join independently. We'll be there to group you into consultancy firms and support you all to work together.

Can I join with a pre-formed team if I want to?

Yes. If you are seeking to join in a pre-formed team please indicate this in your application form.

Who is the business client?

We can't yet say... but they're a leader in the field of sustainable fashion, and we're so excited to be bringing this partnership to you. Stay tuned for our partnership announcement!

Is this event open to students at any level of study?

Yes! All welcome- undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD.

Image credits: Tien Vu Ngoc on Unsplash.

Your event hosts: Social Enterprise @ Students' Union UCL

We're the Social Enterprise Team here at the Students' Union and we're the hub for UCL students wanting to build social impact ventures, gain enterprise experience and scale ideas. You can find out more about programme and meet our team here.