Durham University Business School has been recognised as a global leader for its commitment and focus on sustainability teaching and practice, being placed 2nd in the UK, 4th in Europe and amongst the top 10 globally in this year’s Corporate Knights Better World MBA ranking.
This ranking specifically focuses on and evaluates the extent to which MBA programmes integrate sustainability knowledge and skills into business education. The information gathered to rank 209 business schools across the globe includes the proportion of core modules which integrate relevant sustainable development themes, as well as the proportion of recent alumni working for ‘impact’ organisations (non-profits, CK Global 100 companies CK Clean 200 companies, and companies primarily focused on delivering solutions to social/environmental problems).
The School has a long association with both Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability (ERS), ensuring that both are integrated into all levels of the School’s teaching as well as being the focus for excellent and impactful research.
This is the third time in the last five years in which Durham have been in Corporate Knight’s global top 10, a standing reinforced by a top 20 Financial Times global ranking for ESG teaching in each of those five years.
Durham’s Full Time MBA programme incorporates a dedicated module on Sustainability and Ethics, as well as weaving such focuses into each area of the curriculum and students’ chosen specialisation pathways – ensuring they become an integral part of business practice.
Mike Anthonisz, Associate Dean for MBA Programmes, said:
“I’m thrilled with the recognition the Corporate Knights ranking affords to the continuing efforts in the development of the MBA programme over the last 12 months. The ranking vindicates the value placed on social responsibility, ethics and sustainability as key components for business thought and practices here at Durham. These are perhaps best evidenced through the integration of CSR and ERS across all components of our MBA programmes, supported by both research and delivery, and championed by our graduates in the workplace.”
The programme aims to provide a stimulating, challenging and transformative learning environment to build the capabilities of our graduates. It also provides challenging and leading-edge knowledge in global trends such as technology, economics, demographics and the environment, and the impact of such trends on stakeholders in organisations.
Professor Cathy Cassell, Executive Dean, said:
“The School’s position in the rankings this year demonstrates our strong focus on the key themes of internationalisation and social responsibility and ethics, which run throughout the programme. This is backed up by the strength of faculty research into sustainability themes, a strength in-depth that sees impactful research aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainability is crucial and should be the starting point for every discussion where we are seeking to solve the wicked problems the world is facing. One of the key challenges facing business is how we train people to deal with the challenges that being truly sustainable brings. At Durham, we want to create the globally-focused, ethically-minded and forward-thinking business leaders of the future, and this is clearly reflected in this ranking, which puts the Durham MBA in the top 10 best globally for our sustainability focus.”
