At a time when more questions are being asked about the attitudes of traditional businesses to social justice, the environment and communities, this is an udderly fantastic opportunity for entrepreneurs with a passion for sustainability and changing the way business is done in Europe.
From 1st February Ben & Jerry’s is running its ‘Join Our Core’ competition to scour Europe in search of the brightest young minds who can create a business that embraces the ice cream pioneer’s philosophy of giving back to the community. Successful entrants will get the chance to pitch their business idea to a panel of industry leaders - including Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield, and representatives from Ashoka, VSO and the Fairtrade Foundation.
‘When we set-up the company in 1978, Ben and I always believed giving back to the community was as important as making great tasting ice-cream,” says Jerry. “That’s why I am really excited about this competition, to find business models with those same values that still lead us today.”
Ben & Jerry’s believes that as business prosper they should share their prosperity as responsible community members, and is looking for entrepreneurs that share that vision.
“Join Our Core is about driving positive change that could help individuals around the world,” says Ilaria Ida’, Ben & Jerry’s European Social Mission Manager. “We would love to see more socially-minded start-ups making a difference and showing that values-led businesses can prosper even in tough economic times.”
The first 100 ‘keen beans’, entering by 15 March, will all scoop the equivalent of a year supply of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream 25 entrepreneurial semi-finalists will be invited to present their ideas to the judging panel in London. The 15 finalists chosen by the panel will be whisked off to Africa for the last stage of the program with development gurus VSO, where they will share social business ideas, live with vanilla farmers and help local development projects in their community. The five overall winners will scoop themselves a €10,000 cash prize and they will be featured on a Ben & Jerry’s tub.
There will also be a ‘People’s Choice Award’, where the Join Our Core community will pick five winners who will each receive €1,000 in cash.
Join our Core and Scoop for Change! (and good luck to all)
For further information about the Join Our Core competition, full details on how to enter and the prizes on offer, please visit www.joinourcore.com. Entrants need to be living in the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden or the Netherlands, and be aged between 18 and 34.
Terms and conditions apply.