CESR Business Ethics Case Competition
About the Competition
CESR developed the Business Ethics Case Competition (BECC) to challenge undergraduate students to apply the ethical frameworks and business skills learned in Leeds classes to challenging real-world cases. The ethical dilemmas explored in the competition include real challenges facing our society today, each dealing with a complex web of stakeholder needs and interests and asking students to propose creative solutions that are feasible from an operational and financial standpoint.
BECC is an interactive way to deepen students’ understanding of the challenging dilemmas that business leaders face today. Teams analyze and propose solutions for a business case that they then present to a panel of judges from industry.
How it works
The competition consists of a preliminary and a final round. Three teams will advance to the final round. See the timeline for this year's competition on the right panel.
2026 Topic
AI's data centers are power- and water-hungry, and Earth-bound resistance is mounting, so the industry's next move is orbit. BECC’s case asks whether launching data centers into space offers an ethically compelling and commercially viable solution—or just pushes the problem somewhere no regulator can see and no neighbor can contest.
2025 Topic
Students will propose and defend an ethically compelling,
strategic, and persuasive business proposal for the use of
generative AI in dynamic pricing.
2024 Topic
The case asked teams to decide if they should recommend that the company contract to use paid prison labor to train and improve a Large Language Model (LLM) as part of a ‘no-cost’ bid with a government agency.
Resources
Competition Format
- Teams consist of three to five members per undergraduate and graduate team, combining to the extent possible first- and second-year competitors with juniors and seniors to allow younger students to work with more experienced students in understanding how to compete in a business ethics case competition.
- If we get 4 or more teams of grad/law students to register, we will run a separate preliminary competition round.
- Interdisciplinary teams are welcome
- Competitors can sign up individually or with a complete team of 3-5 people.
20 minutes total alotted for each team presentation:
· Transition/Setup (5 minutes)
· Presentations (8 minutes max)
· Judges Q/A and Feedback (5 minutes)
· Scoring (2 minutes)
Judges use the following scoring criteria in evaluating teams throughout the competition
1) Solution and strategy
2) Ethical and Sustainable Principles
3) Presentation and Communication.
Connect with CESR
E cesr@colorado.edu
P (+1) 303 492 3324
Leeds School of Business
995 Regent Drive
KOBL 302
Boulder, CO 80309