10 of the best business schools for sustainability

Students interested in social and environmental impact could look into MIT Sloan’s sustainability certificate. The certificate offers over 60 modules to choose from and is open to master’s students as an add-on to existing degree programmes. 

Modules include carbon management, start-up sustainable tech, urban energy systems and policy and socially responsible real estate development, to name a few.  

The certificate also involves working in MIT Sloan’s Sustainable Business Laboratory, where students work in teams to find solutions to problems faced by real firms attempting to advance sustainability strategies. Coursework includes a sustainability capstone class during your final term, along with a variety of sustainability electives. 

Ranked joint 34th in the QS Sustainability Rankings 2023, the University of Hong Kong scores highly in the sustainable research indicator. As well as a plethora of impactful work – including sustainable food, using data to protect wildlife and action-focused equitable quality education for all – UHK offers a master’s degree in sustainability leadership and governance.  

MBA students at UHK Business School can tailor their programme to help them become sustainably conscious leaders. Elective modules are available in corporate governance and social responsibility, ECG, sustainable finance and impact investing, and crisis management in a global business environment.  

Fuqua’s Client Consulting Practicum (FCCP) – an experiential learning programme – offers students the opportunity to work on sustainability issues for client companies and non-profits. 

The business school also boasts an award-winning research and education centre, the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE), which helps organisations and leaders with the necessary business skills to promote and achieve social change. 

CASE sponsors i3, a professional online training programme for direct impact investing. Similarly, the centre funds fellowships that allow students to trial social impact careers through internships without financial struggles. 

Part of the University of New South Wales – which ranks joint fifth in the QS Sustainability Rankings 2023 – the Australian Graduate School of Management offers online MBA programmes with specialisations in change and social impact, among others.  

The MBAX is ranked 10th in the QS Online MBA Rankings 2022 and provides students with a flexible, part-time way to study social economy and how business, social enterprise, government and organisations can work together to create positive social change.  

Students on the full-time MBA programme can also choose from seven electives on sustainability and social impact including leading change for sustainability and collaboration for social impact. The school also specialises in research on water, climate, environment and sustainability.  

See why AGSM think responsible management is so important.

Located in the Spanish capital of Madrid, IE Business School incorporates sustainable and social innovation throughout its ethos. The school offers a certificate in sustainability and environmental management, as well as dual degrees with the International MBA programme including international development. 

Students on the full-time International MBA programme can choose elective modules like government and sustainability and spend part of the course in the social impact lab, turning a challenge into a business solution or start up in just five weeks.  

IE University even states that 261 student-led sustainability activities were hosted across the institution in 2022. 

See how this Spanish university is taking steps to be more sustainable. 

Johnson’s Centre for Sustainable Global Enterprise (SGE) publishes relevant sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) research. It comes as no surprise that Cornell University scores highly in the QS Sustainability Rankings 2023 ‘sustainable research’ indicator. The university also ranks joint 30th overall. 

Two-year MBA students can choose to study sustainable global enterprise, as well as engage in a company project focusing on CSR topics. 

Students enrolled in the SGE immersion work in multidisciplinary teams on consulting-type assignments with real firms that are focused on strategic initiatives exploring new business opportunities related to sustainability. 

As well as an MSc in Global Business and Sustainability and an MSc in Sustainable Finance, the RSM MBA programme offers elective modules including business, society and sustainable development, which places a strong focus on CSR and sustainability. 

The school produces a range of research in the sustainability field, but more importantly, RSM incorporates the UN Global Compact’s Principles for Responsible Management Education into their MBA curriculum too.