The University of Vermont Grossman School of Business (GSB) was included in Corporate Knights’ "Top 10 Better World MBA" rankings, climbing the list from ninth to fifth place, announced yesterday. This makes the sixth consecutive year that GSB’s Sustainable Innovation MBA (SI-MBA) program has consistently secured a top 10 position in Better World MBA rankings. SI-MBA is an accelerated one-year program that focuses on the essential toolkit to manage and transform business. It makes for a rapid learning experience that has graduates back into the world and making an impact in less time than a two-year MBA.
Better World MBA Rankings
This year’s top 40 MBA programs span 13 countries, with 12 from the U.K., seven from Canada, and six from the U.S. making the list. To determine the ranking, Corporate Knights evaluated 209 business schools, drawn from the most recent Financial Times list of the top 100 global MBA programs; The Princeton Review Best Green MBA list; schools that made the 2022 Corporate Knights Better World top 40 roster; and business schools accredited by the Association of MBAs, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) or the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) and also signatories to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education that opt in for evaluation.
“As the world changes quickly, businesses are hungrier than ever for new graduates schooled in systems-based holistic thinking, equipped to manage not just the economic, but the important social and environmental functions, which are now of existential relevance to any company,” said Corporate Knights CEO Toby Heaps. “The Better World MBA ranking helps to shine a light on schools that are doing the best job preparing tomorrow’s business leaders to seize the immense opportunities presented by a rapidly emerging low-carbon sustainable economy.”
Sustainability, Integrated
2023 Better World Ranking found that top business schools integrate sustainability in their core MBA courses. GSB's SI-MBA program has evolved how business is taught, incorporating sustainability into every class to develop changemakers who create future businesses that work for people and the planet. The program continues to be the highest ranked “Best Green MBA” by The Princeton Review that is accredited by the AACSB, the most prestigious accrediting body for business programs. Only 5% of programs worldwide earn this honor.
“We are pleased to not only be included in the Corporate Knights Better Top 10 ‘Better World MBA’ rankings for the last six years but also make a jump this year into the top five in this global ranking of prestigious business schools,” said GSB Dean Sanjay Sharma. “To be continually recognized for evolving the teaching of business for a sustainable world affirms our mission to develop purpose-driven professionals who leverage business as a force for good and create the businesses of the future that balance people, planet and prosperity.”
This year’s ranking focused on one main metric: the proportion of core (mandatory) courses from each MBA program that integrate relevant sustainable development themes. All core content relating to environmental, social and governance performance – with topics ranging from biodiversity to carbon pricing, Indigenous consultation, child labor, corruption reduction and employment equity – were credited. There is also a bonus metric (weighted at 10%) that takes into consideration the percentage of recent graduates who have landed in impact organizations – defined as non-profits, Corporate Knights Global 100 or Clean 200 companies, and any company deriving most of its revenue from sustainable activities. View full methodology.
About Corporate Knights
Corporate Knights Inc. is an independent media and research B Corp. Its media division publishes the award-winning sustainable-economy magazine Corporate Knights, circulated in The Globe and Mail, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. Its research division produces sustainability rankings, research reports and financial product ratings based on corporate sustainability performance.