‘ESG’ (environmental, social and governance) – a term synonymous with sustainability and CSR helps measure impact on environment, society as well as stakeholders. European schools fare much better than their US counterparts in the Financial Times (FT) ESG and net zero teaching rank for the teaching hours dedicated to environmental, social and governance issues and climate solutions.
According to GMAC Prospective Student data, 63% of candidates say it is important or very important for a school to actively support and incorporate sustainability into their academic experience. And 34% of these candidates would not consider a school that does not support sustainability.
Isabela del Alcázar, the global head of sustainability at IE says,
ESG is a framework to understand what are your dependencies and your vulnerabilities and to transform them into understanding who you are and how you relate to society and the environment.
In addition to the FT global MBA ranking, the global publication also provides the ESG (environmental, social and governance) rank based on the proportion of teaching hours from core courses that are dedicated to ESG topics, and time spent on instructing how organizations can reach net zero, including the alumni evaluation of their school’s ESG teaching.
In this article, we have filtered out the top-ranked (in absolute terms) business schools that ranked high for their ESG focus as well.
Top MBA programs for ESG/sustainability
| FT Rank | Business School | Location | FT ESG Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | IE Business School | Spain | 1 |
| 3 | IESE Business School | Spain | 2 |
| 28 | ESCP Business School | France | 4 |
| 44 | EMLyon Business School | France | 6 |
| 46 | Alliance Manchester Business School | UK | 7 |
| 24 | Yale School of Management | US | 9 |
| 47 | Essec Business School | France | 11 |
| 9 | HEC Paris | France | 12 |
| 22 | IMD — International Institute for Management Development | Switzerland | 14 |
| 38 | Imperial Business School | UK | 15 |
1. IE Business School
This school located in Madrid, Spain bagged the number 1 position in FT’s ESG and net zero teaching rank.
Sustainability is integrated within the core foundational course of the IE International MBA that includes courses on business, government & sustainability.
For those interested in ESG, it offers various elective options – social entrepreneurship and impact investing, sustainable finance, marketing strategy for sustainability, technology innovation and sustainability and business at the base of the pyramid and impact investment.
Initiatives like the Social Impact Lab provides an immersive learning experience and the right mix of academics with real-world application. Students travel across locations including South Africa and Spain, supporting social enterprises in these countries with consulting projects.
There are various clubs like the IE Net Impact Club promoting socially responsible business management; the IE SDGs Club involving awareness of the United Nations SDGs; and the IE Social Responsibility Forum bringing together senior executives with discussions revolving around CSR challenges.
(The SDGs or the United Nation’s set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals aim to achieve a more sustainable world by 2023)
2. IESE Business School
Consistently ranked among the top 5 globally by FT, the IESE Business School of the University of Navarra has been proactive in this area and embedded ESG into its curriculum with courses in sustainability, impact investing entrepreneurship, ESG and the circular economy. Students can also opt for a concentration in Sustainability and Responsible Business.
The school has also taken measures to increase on-campus energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption. IESE’s research ecosystem spans sustainable development in business, social responsibility, corporate social responsibility, ethics and humanism in business world.
‘IESE has always been strong in sustainability and ESG. The school is very purpose-driven and given our mission to support leaders to have a positive, lasting impact, responsible business has been a focus of the institution before it was in the mainstream.’ Says Paula Amorim, the schools’s Career Development Center Director.
3. ESCP Business School
ESCP, another well-known school with multiple campuses, is committed to teaching sustainability with a dedicated sustainability department with 25+ professors across ESCP’s five campuses in Paris, London, Berlin, Madrid and Turin.
Their goal involves taking steps towards reducing ESCP’s carbon footprint and also leading in sustainability efforts in academia and beyond. At ESCP, the goal is to ensure that 100% students are trained in sustainability across all departments and disciplines.
In addition, the ESCP Sustainability Institute and the ESCP RESET (Research Centre on Environmental and Societal Transitions) have been actively engaged in the area of sustainability research.
4. EMLyon Business School
EMLyon located in Lyon, France has redefined its teaching method and adopted the ‘SDG Inside’ framework – a unique methodology created by EMLyon teacher-researchers – which integrates the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within its curriculum.
An analytical approach helps map each course in a framework of 35 sustainability skills, viewed against the 17 SDGs so that the teaching helps address the various global sustainability challenges in a meaningful way. Additionally, each program has fundamental courses on social and environmental sustainability issues.
5. Alliance Manchester Business School
The Manchester MBA in Manchester , UK, was ranked 1st in the UK by FT for ESG and net zero, also ranked 2nd in the world for societal impact by Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2025.
Alliance Manchester Business School and The University of Manchester are among the first to include social responsibility a core strategic goal. Various topics including ESG, climate change, hybrid working are all built into the MBA curriculum.
The Manchester MBA uses a unique approach called the ‘Manchester Method’ based on immersive experiential learning focusing on practice-based learning, group work and reflection. The Full-time MBA includes a Not-for-Profit project which involves students in consultancy for a third sector client, giving them a firsthand experience on how to make a difference.
The MBA includes sustainability focused electives, project and internship opportunities. Various ESG-research initiatives include the Work & Equalities Institute, Sustainable Consumption Institute and Business and Human Rights Catalyst.
6. Yale School of Management
The only US school to make it to this list, Yale, an elite Ivy League School located in New Haven, Connecticut, has its focus on climate and sustainability. In fact, these topics – climate change, sustainability and environmental justice are built into the curriculum through examples, case studies, exercises drawn from current events.
The first-year core courses help understand how a company really works and gradually thinking about its bigger impact on society and a range of stakeholders. The courses provide students the basic tools and frameworks to use throughout their career.
Among the foundational courses is State and Society, The Executive and electives include Business and Environment: Management and Strategy, Regulation in the Modern Economy, Energy System Analysis, , Financing Green Technologies, Strategies for Land Conservation,
At the intersection of business and the environment is the Yale Center for Business and the Environment with its global reach spanning five continents across business sectors.
7. ESSEC Business School
ESSE launched the ‘Together’ initiative in order to tackle environmental and social challenges. This transformation is led by a dedicated team that manage the ecological transition and issues of equality, diversity and inclusion. In fact, 3.3% of ESSEC’s overall budget is devoted to the implementation of the ‘Together’.
The team is involved in focusing on 8 specific action plans – Training & Education; Diversity & Inclusion Research & Dissemination; Climate & Carbon Footprint Reduction, Circular Economy; Biodiversity; Territorial Anchoring and Impact on Society; and Alumni.
8. HEC Paris
HEC Paris, a leading business school in Jouy-en-Josas, France has been committed to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by following the Global Compact and PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education). The ‘Transition strategy’ aims to adopt sustainable development and social responsibility for the 2020-2030 decade.
The core courses have also been reshaped with a focus on sustainability integration and student empowerment for real-world impact. MBA students can go in-depth by opting for the ‘sustainability’ concentration.
The Sustainability & Organizations (S&O) Institute has 60 researchers involved in developing alternative models for balancing environmental challenges and social impact with economic performance with a focus on 3 key areas: Inclusive economy, Purposeful Leadership, Climate & Earth.
9. IMD
Taking into account the changing needs of students to be future-ready, IMD – a top ranked business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, has integrated sustainability across its MBA curriculum.
The program has been updated in partnership with World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is built on skill-mapping framework that identifies MBA graduates’ capabilities to handle corporate sustainability challenges on program completion.
The program’s core courses have embedded sustainability leadership and strategy, again 3 of the 16 electives are focused on sustainability, and 7 have some sustainability elements.
The Chief Sustainability Officer at IMD ensures cross-functional collaboration and governance and leads the sustainability strategy.
10. Imperial Business School
Through pre-study modules that include primers in key areas including corporate sustainability, social innovation and ethics, Imperial MBA ensures that students are introduced to these topics right before they start the MBA program. One of the program’s goals is to equip students with the ability to assess the sustainability of organizations’ strategy and performance while considering the whole spectrum of stakeholders;
The flexcore can be combined with the choice of elective; students can opt for the concentration: Environmental, social and governance (ESG) and stakeholder impact which has electives including sustainable strategy, ESG-related finance, sustainable and social innovation, sustainable consumption, and energy business.
MBA Crystal Ball has helped many applicants get into these schools over the years. Drop us an email if you’d like us to help you get there: info@mbacrystalball.com
Also read:
– Best business schools for social entrepreneurship
– Freelance marketing consultant with NGO experience gets $60,000 MBA scholarship
– MPP vs MBA for development sector career: An Oxford Said admit’s blog
– References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | Image: David Courbit (Unsplash)
