Competition- Find the "true cost" of a Loaf of Bread

There are only 100 days to go before entries close for an innovative CSR-related competition open to allcomers.

The non-profit organization Sustainable Ventures is offering a USD10,000 prize, 'Our Daily Bread: What Does It REALLY Cost?', for a study that best measures the true costs of a loaf of bread. The winning study will provide an analytical framework that measures integrated social, environmental and financial performance 'so people can make more informed choices to protect and restore our world'.

On June 5, 2006, on the Tufts University campus near Boston, initial candidates who have submitted first drafts of papers, moderators and observers will convene to discuss ways to design measures of social, environmental, and financial performance that could capture the underlying economic impacts of a loaf of bread. The event participants will also consider what constitutes an excellent research study.

Post-event deliberations will be shared on Sustainable Ventures' Candidates' On-Line Forum on SV's website. All those interested in the process of identifying 'true' costs of a product have access to the Candidates' On-Line Forum.

Theo Ferguson, Executive Director of Sustainable Ventures and originator of the prize initiative, said: 'Sustainable metrics or frameworks that people can easily understand are not readily accessible. This is an opportunity for the best and the brightest from academia, consulting firms, corporations, non-profits and a variety of other organizations in government and industry to create new solutions to an ongoing challenge. When people are able to make more informed decisions, we can grow a sustainable world.'

Final papers by registered candidates--individuals or teams--must be submitted by 23 August 2006. A group of jurors will select the best paper, and the winner will be announced at the Social Investment Forum's Annual Conference, SRI in the Rockies, on October 29, 2006.

To get involved, register online at www.SustainableVentures.us