Updates:
- Team Pfizer ‘CleanTech’ Wins AmCham Young Professionals Award 2021
- View the Grand Finale photos here.
Acceleration Opportunities for the SDGs
AmCham is proud to announce the fifth edition of the AmCham Young Professionals Award, a team challenge for young professionals working for member companies of AmCham, in recognition of the talent and leadership in our network. This year’s theme: Acceleration Opportunities for the SDGs.
The Challenge: Acceleration Opportunities for the SDGs
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030. They are goals for the entire world (not just low- and middle-income countries) and address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice – with clear targets and indicators for each of the goals. At the current rate, most of the goals will not be met. And COVID may have had a negative impact we cannot entirely estimate yet. Now is the Decade of Action to deliver the goals, and the private sector has an important role to play.
What can your company do to accelerate achievement of the SDGs? That is the challenge we are presenting to participating teams!
All participating teams are asked to select one case from the list below, and think of innovative and impactful solutions to solve the dilemmas presented in the case. A strategic and creative solution can take the form of a product, service, or other initiative. We hope to see original ideas, well substantiated and well presented!
The Cases
The cases have been prepared in collaboration with AmCham's Young Professionals Committee. Each case covers a challenge related to one or several SDGs. Participating teams are requested to inform us of the topic of their choice when signing up for the challenge (final choice should be submitted no later than September 17, when the registration closes).
- Reducing Inequalities to Accelerate Poverty Reduction (SDG 1 & 10)
- When Hunger Meets Gender Inequality (SDG 2 & 5)
- Can the COVID-19 Pandemic Provide Momentum to Improve Global Health Infrastructure? (SDG 3 & 9)
- Rethinking Access to Quality Education to Promote a Sustainable Economy (SDG 4 & 8)
- Clean Water and Sanitation for All (SDG 6)
- Climate Action for Business (SDG 9, 12 & 13)
- Accelerating Innovation for Sustainable Cities and Infrastructure (SDG 9 & 11)
- 4th Industry Revolution: The Petrochemical Industry (SDG 9, 13 & 14)
- Improving the Quality of Ecosystems Below Water and on Land (SDG 14, 15 & 17)
-
Consumer Engagement for Responsible Consumption & Production (SDG 12)
Download ALL CASES (combined).
For Whom?
The competition is open to members of the AmCham Young Professionals group and young professionals working for member companies of the American Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands.
- Team up with your colleagues or compose a cross-company team
- 2 to 4 people per team
- 25-35 years of age
- Living and/or working in the Netherlands
- Member companies can sign up multiple teams
Sign up your team by filling out the form and submit it by email no later than September 17, 5pm. Questions? Be sure to contact Elke Roelant.
Approach: How to Successfully Complete Your Submission?
Take some time to prepare before you get started on your solution.
Step 1 – Preparation
- Familiarize yourself with the goals presented in your case. Think for example about the following:
- Investigate what the targets and indicators are;
- Find out if we are on or off track;
- Find out where most impact is still needed. - Be informed: become familiar with existing initiatives and technologies in the domain of your choice;
- Brainstorm possible solutions and find out if there are synergies as well as tradeoffs with other goals;
- Decide which idea/solution you will substantiate.
Step 2 – Develop Your Proposal
- When you have chosen a course of action, make sure you spend sufficient time on substantiating your solution: build the business case;
- Push boundaries, dare to ask difficult questions and prove that it works;
- Identify key strategic actions required to make your solution work;
- Present how your solution will make an impact and to whom – think of the tradeoffs and synergies;
- Spend time on your storyline and make your presentation look great!
During the first round, the jury will evaluate all submissions in closed meeting (no presence of participating teams or audience). Teams can hand in their contribution in any form they like. There is only one guideline for the format of your contribution: you should be able to convey your story to the jury in 5-10 minutes. We encourage creativity! The jury will select 6 finalists to pitch and demo their product on stage during the Grand Finale on November 26, 2021.
Criteria
The jury will evaluate all proposals on the following four criteria, which will have equal weight:
- Originality: Is the solution new, creative, innovative or have we seen it before?
- Feasibility: What is the business case? Will the idea work? How and when will it work? How will you implement your solution?
- Impact: How big is your impact? To what extent is your solution delivering on achieving the SDGs?
- Quality of the Pitch / Presentation: Are you able to convey your message in a convincing and appealing way?
Timeline
Participating teams should register no later than September 17 and are asked to send in their contribution by October 15, 2021 – 12noon. In the week of October 25, our esteemed jury will evaluate all contributions on 4 criteria: feasibility, originality, impact and quality of the presentation. Six finalists will be selected and announced on October 29. The finalists can further develop their solution and pitch throughout November. On November 26, 2021 all finalists will pitch their idea during the Grand Finale at the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam*!
- June 30, 2021 Registration opens for participating teams
- Sept. 14, 2021 Optional – Inspiration & KickOff Event: 'Scaling Up Business Impact on the SDGs'
- Sept. 17, 2021 Registration of participating teams closes – 5pm
- Oct. 15, 2021 Deadline for handing in your contribution – 12noon
- Week 43 Jury deliberation (jury only / no participants or audience present)
- Oct. 29, 2021 Announcement of Finalists
- Nov. 26, 2021 Grand Finale & Award Event*
* At all times, we will adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines of the Dutch Government. While we hope to host the Grand Finale event in person, we will adjust plans and switch to a virtual event if needed.
Jury
- Ms. Sandra Pellegrom, SDG Coordinator Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Mr. Tom Kroes, Corporate Sustainability, PwC
- Mr. Jeroen Plag, Head of Corporate Strategy, ING
- Mr. Aaron Robinson, Senior Manager - Environmental Sustainability, United Airlines
- Ms. Eva Rood, Director Positive Change Initiative | Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
- Ms. Corrie Scholman, Director HR Heineken Group, The Heineken Company
- Mr. Amit Shah, Strategy, Business Development, Growth and Sustainability Leader (Benelux, UK, Nordics), Dow
- Mr. David van Rossem, VP Internal Climate Sustainability Program, ELSEVIER (Part of RELX Group)
The winning team will be awarded…
- A return ticket from Schiphol to a destination of choice in mainland USA (U.S.48) offered by United Airlines for each member of the winning team!
For more information on United Airlines’ environmental commitment, please see here. - A tangible memento of the award
Also the first and second runners-up and other finalists will receive recognition and a special prize!
More information?
If you or your company are interested in participating and you want more information: please contact Elke Roelant, Program Director, at the AmCham office.
The AmCham Young Professionals Award 2021 is organized in close collaboration with:
And with the generous support of:
