Business schools in the US and Canada dominate the Corporate Knights Better World MBA Ranking of the top business schools 2016 with Schulich School of Business retaining the top spot for the fourth consecutive year.
The Rankings list the business schools that offer the “greenest MBA programs” in view of the present day thinking that business success should be measured on long term sustainability than short term profit maximization.
The second and third spots are occupied by schools from the US, MIT Sloan School of Management as second and Duquesne University’s Palumbo Donohue School of Business respectively.
Corporate Knights has been assessing business schools for their integration of sustainability in business education since 2002.
Three factors are taken into consideration for the rankings. These are faculty expertise in sustainability, the number of centers and institutes dedicated to sustainability and the number of courses related to sustainability in a program’s core curriculum.
Sustainability related core courses can include programs on ethics and corporate social responsibility.
While schools in the US and UK constitute more than 50% of the top 20, an extended view of the 40 top business schools shows an interesting reshuffle as compared to the previous year.
The Netherlands makes the most significant gains, doubling the number of business schools listed, from two to four. The Rotterdam School of Management has climbed 26 spots since last year to take up seventh position in this edition.
In a 2015 and 2016 comparison view business schools in India, South Africa and South Korea are off the chart to be replaced by institutions in Israel and Spain. KAIST, Korea’s Advanced Institute of Science and Technology is a surprising departure since it ranked fourth last year.
Schulich has managed to remain on top with 12 institutes offering a wide range of sustainability related subjects, including CSR. Research produced from these centers stacks up high with 200 papers produced over the last three years.
MIT Sloan has an independent Office for Sustainability. The school’s Sustainability Initiative aims to “build a community of innovators for sustainability with MIT students and alumni, faculty and researchers, and allies in business, government, non-profit, and hybrid organizations.”
Its Sustainable Business Lab (S-Lab) set up in 2006 gives students an opportunity to embark on 12-week, mentor-led projects focused on sustainability with companies and non-governmental organizations partnered with the university.
Duquesne University’s Palumbo Donahue School of Business has jumped from 10th place last year to the top three in 2016. Its one-year, full-time specialized MBA in sustainability could account for this rise through the ranks with 12 dedicated sustainability related courses on the core curriculum spread across its six institutes and centers.
