CBS's Full-time MBA programme recognised as global leader in responsible management education

Copenhagen Business School’s Full-time MBA programme recognised as global leader in responsible management education

Copenhagen Business School’s Full-time MBA programme has been identified as one of the ten leading MBA programmes worldwide in terms of integrating sustainability into the academic experience. The ranking was released today by Corporate Knights Magazine in the first global edition of its Green MBA Survey: www.corporateknights.com/greenmba.

The ranking comes in the same week that Copenhagen Business School (CBS) has been selected by the United Nation’s PRME initiative as global champion for the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME). Only 20 schools have been awarded champion status at the Global Leaders meeting, held last weekend in New York (www.leaderssummit2013.org).

Furthermore, CBS Full-time MBA programme scored another top spot last month, securing tenth place in NetImpact’s global “Business as Un-usual Guide” to sustainable MBA programmes. These accolades are the results of the ongoing commitments CBS has made to responsible management education.

“We know that many of our international MBA students choose to study here at CBS precisely because we are at the forefront when it comes to integrating corporate responsibility into the curriculum,” says Birthe Larsen, Associate Dean for the CBS Full-time MBA programme. “We are therefore thrilled to receive this international recognition, which confirms that we more than live up to expectations and can compete on a global scene.”

The CBS MBA programme addresses responsible management education in two ways. Since 2006, all MBA faculty members have reviewed how they address responsibility issues in their day to day teaching.

“Responsibility is a transversal topic that needs to be addressed in all core courses ranging from economics via strategy to marketing,” says Kai Hockerts, Academic Director of Responsible Management. “The commitment and energy with which our MBA faculty has taken up this topic has been essential in making responsibility one of the corner stones of the MBA programme.”

In addition to this integrative approach, CBS Full-time MBA also offers a dedicated core course on Sustainable Business Practices as well as two electives on Cleantech Venturing and Corporate Responsibility which allow students to deepen their understanding of these areas.

CBS is doing particularly well in the Corporate Knights Global Green MBA ranking in the sub category of faculty support, a category in which the school is ranked second worldwide. This outcome reflects the research output created by over 36 faculty members working in the area sustainability and responsibility across the campus.

“Scandinavian companies are increasingly recognised as global leaders in sustainability and I am personally seeing a great deal more attention coming from my home country, the United States. CBS’s close collaboration with so many leading Scandinavian companies contributed to the strong performance by CBS in this global ranking and also suggests that CBS is establishing itself as a global sustainability leader in its own right” says Robert Strand, Assistant Professor in Leadership and Sustainability, whose research focus is on comparing the North American and Scandinavian approaches to responsible management.

Jenny Runnalls, Global Green MBA Project Director and responsible for releasing the Corporate Knights 2013 rankings, concludes:

“The findings from our survey suggest that MBA programmes are experimenting with different approaches to sustainability education. From programmes embracing an integrated management approach to MBA programmes dedicated entirely to sustainability, there has never been more choice for today’s prospective business students. We found that there was a remarkable amount of innovation happening around the world, and expect this to accelerate.”

The survey and analysis of the 2013 Global Green MBA Survey are available on www.corporateknights.com/greenmba and summarised in the Fall 2013 issue of Corporate Knights, distributed with the Globe and Mail.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact CBS Professor Kai Hockerts on kho.ikl@cbs.dk, +45 38153175 or CBS Full-time MBA Associate Dean Birthe Larsen on bl.eco@cbs.dk +45 38152798.