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Nottingham Business School recognised for commitment to sustainable and responsible management education

Nottingham Business School recognised for commitment to sustainable and responsible management education

Nottingham Business School’s commitment to developing responsible leaders has once again been recognised, as it is named a Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) Champion for the second time.

PRME is a United Nations-supported initiative which aims to raise the profile of sustainability in schools around the world, and to equip today's business students with the understanding and ability to deliver change. The PRME Champions are intended to serve as case studies and model examples to other higher education institutions globally.

NBS has been a PRME Champion since 2018-19 and will continue its work in 2020-21, it was announced at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos.

A major part of NBS’ influential role is the mainstreaming of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its curriculum, research and partnerships. The Business School has a team of academics aiming to help embed sustainable development in all of the school’s activities.

SDGs are now integrated in every course and programme, with many academics broadening this to include them in modules and enrich the curriculum. Students are encouraged to choose further curricular and extracurricular activities to focus more on SDGs as part of their transformational leadership development journey.

Cutting-edge research in this field is also carried out by NBS through its Responsible and Sustainable Business Lab.

To address a gap in climate change education within business schools, NBS created the pioneering Carbon Literacy Project for Business Schools.

Developed in collaboration with the UN PRME Champions, Oikos International, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Carbon Literacy Project, the aim of the project is to get academics, students and others carbon literate within a short time frame and to get as many people as possible actively involved in embedding climate solutions in their own life and work.

Other projects at NBS include the unique #NBSdiscover induction programme, which immerses all first-year students in a current issue which has implications for business and society, such as plastic waste or fast fashion.

Since 2014, more than 800 students have worked with over 200 organisations on NBS’ Greenhouse Gas Management Project (GGMP). Students are trained in environmental management and gain direct experience serving as consultants, advising local businesses and public bodies on the reduction of environmental impact. 

Research showed that the total recommended greenhouse gas emissions savings from two years of the project were 507, 435 kg CO2e, averaging over 10 tonnes per organisation and 2 tonnes per student.

GMPP was one of only five UK projects acknowledged at COP21, stating

“If adopted by universities across the world, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would be immense.”

Led by NBS, Nottingham Trent University’s Green Academy offers a sustainability-themed online course to all students and staff called the Sustainability in Practice (SiP) certificate, which addresses climate change and its connection to other sustainability challenges such as poverty, inequalities and life below water. Since its launch in 2013, 15,000 students from all academic subject areas have participated.

Professor Petra Molthan-Hill, Professor of Sustainable Management and Education for Sustainable Development and Academic Lead for UN PRME in NBS, said:

“Responsible and sustainable leadership is embedded into everything we do at NBS. Each student encounters one or more of the SDGs within their curriculum, regardless of their academic subject or level of study, while our Carbon Literacy Training is designed to be scaled up and disseminated to influence responsible behaviours across the globe.”

The announcement comes as NBS celebrates 40 years of innovation in business and management education. Dean of NBS, Professor Baback Yazdani, added:

“This commitment to responsible education is part of the character of NBS, which has evolved over the last four decades. Our graduates have the capabilities to generate sustainable value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy.”


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