When Corporate Knights released its 2025 Better World MBA Ranking, it didn’t just reshuffle the list of sustainability-focused business schools. It changed the rules of the game.
For the first time, the Toronto-based media and research company has made alumni outcomes a formal part of the score — not an optional add-on, but a weighted 10% of the overall ranking. Ninety percent of each school’s score still comes from the sustainability content of required MBA courses, but the remaining 10% now measures what graduates actually do with that education: whether they join purpose-driven companies, take on sustainability roles, or start impact-oriented ventures of their own.
Corporate Knights has long rewarded schools for weaving sustainability and social responsibility through the MBA core. Now it is holding them accountable for outcomes. In 2025, teaching sustainability is no longer enough — schools must prove that their graduates are making an impact.
CORPORATE KNIGHTS 2025 BETTER WORLD MBA TOP 40
| 2025 Ranking | University name | 2024 Ranking | Country | Curriculum | Alumni impact | Final weighted score |
| 1 | Griffith Business School | 1 | Australia | 88% | 21% | 80.9% |
| 2 | University of Vermont: Grossman School of Business | 2 | U.S. | 75% | 52% | 72.7% |
| 3 | Maastricht University: School of Business & Economics | 6 | Netherlands | 75% | 19% | 69.4% |
| 4 | Bard College | 3 | U.S. | 67% | 56% | 65.6% |
| 5 | American University: Kogod School of Business | 12 | U.S. | 70% | 26% | 65.6% |
| 6 | Duquesne University: Palumbo-Donahue School of Business | 5 | U.S. | 69% | 17% | 64.2% |
| 7 | University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business | 7 | South Africa | 67% | 28% | 63.2% |
| 8 | Centrum PUCP Business School | 8 | Peru | 69% | 1% | 62.2% |
| 9 | University of Victoria: Peter B. Gustavson School of Business | 9 | Canada | 61% | 31% | 57.8% |
| 10 | University of Exeter Business School | 10 | U.K. | 57% | 33% | 54.3% |
| 11 | Warwick Business School | 11 | U.K. | 53% | 17% | 49.5% |
| 12 | York University: Schulich School of Business | 15 | Canada | 54% | 9% | 49.1% |
| 13 | University of California at Berkeley: Haas | 19 | U.S. | 45% | 11% | 42.1% |
| 14 | University of British Columbia: Sauder School of Business | 13 | Canada | 45% | 18% | 41.9% |
| 15 | La Trobe Business School | 14 | Australia | 44% | 18% | 41.2% |
| 16 | Nottingham University Business School | 18 | U.K. | 44% | 8% | 40.8% |
| 17 | Henley Business School | 44 | U.K. | 44% | 13% | 40.6% |
| 18 | Toronto Metropolitan University: Ted Rogers School of Management | 17 | Canada | 43% | 11% | 39.7% |
| 19 | Glasgow Caledonian University: Glasgow School for Business & Society | 16 | U.K. | 43% | 9% | 39.5% |
| 20 | University of Winchester Business School | 20 | U.K. | 44% | 39.4% | |
| 21 | European School of Management & Technology (ESMT) Berlin | 21 | Germany | 40% | 20% | 37.6% |
| 22 | EADA Business School Barcelona | 23 | Spain | 38% | 18% | 35.9% |
| 23 | Gordon Institute of Business Science | 25 | South Africa | 36% | 1% | 32.7% |
| 24 | Colorado State University: College of Business | 4 | U.S. | 33% | 16% | 31.6% |
| 25 | Rotterdam School of Management: Erasmus University | 29 | Netherlands | 33% | 20% | 31.5% |
| 26 | International Institute for Management Development (IMD) | 22 | Switzerland | 33% | 12% | 31.2% |
| 27 | McGill University: Desautels Faculty of Management | 26 | Canada | 33% | 5% | 30.5% |
| 28 | Durham University Business School | 27 | U.K. | 33% | 7% | 29.9% |
| 29 | TIAS School for Business & Society | 35 | Netherlands | 31% | 14% | 29.5% |
| 30 | Solvay Brussels School of Economics & Management | 28 | Belgium | 29% | 16% | 28.1% |
| 31 | Frankfurt School of Finance & Management | 31 | Germany | 29% | 14% | 27.1% |
| 32 | Alliance Manchester Business School | 37 | U.K. | 30% | 27.0% | |
| 33 | King’s College London | 33 | U.K. | 30% | 26.6% | |
| 34 | WHU: Otto Beisheim School of Management | 41 | Germany | 29% | 6% | 26.3% |
| 35 | Lancaster University Management School | New | U.K. | 27% | 21% | 26.2% |
| 36 | Keele University | 32 | U.K. | 29% | 25.7% | |
| 37 | University of Strathclyde: Strathclyde Business School | 30 | U.K. | 27% | 4% | 24.5% |
| 38 | Saint Mary’s University: Sobey School of Business | 51 | Canada | 23% | 35% | 24.3% |
| 39 | Loughborough University Business School | 63 | U.K. | 25% | 18% | 24.3% |
| 40 | Universidad Externado de Colombia | 112 | Colombia | 26% | 3% | 23.8% |
Source: Corporate Knights
THE 2025 LEADERS
The 2025 ranking covers 179 MBA programs worldwide, up from 174 last year. The familiar names at the top reflect schools that have spent years embedding purpose into their curricula and careers — but the new emphasis on alumni outcomes has made the competition fiercer.
Griffith Business School in Australia remains number one for the sixth consecutive year, with a final weighted score of 80.9%. The University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business once again ranks second at 72.7%. Maastricht University in the Netherlands climbs from sixth to third, reflecting Europe’s growing integration of climate and ethics into management education.
Bard College’s MBA in Sustainability slips one spot to fourth, but posts the highest alumni impact score in the entire ranking. Rounding out the top five is American University’s Kogod School of Business, which surges from 12th last year to fifth in 2025 — its strongest showing ever.
Colorado State University, once fourth, falls to 24th, and Duquesne University drops slightly to sixth.
HOW THE BETTER WORLD MBA RANKING WORKS
Corporate Knights has been ranking MBA programs for sustainability since 2010. The methodology has evolved significantly over time, moving away from inputs like faculty research and gender diversity to a sharper focus on what schools teach — and now, what their graduates do.
To be included, schools must be accredited by AACSB, AMBA, or EQUIS, or be members of the Principles for Responsible Management Education network. Analysts review each program’s publicly available core course descriptions, quantifying the proportion of required content devoted to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) themes. This year, Corporate Knights evaluated 179 MBA programs drawn from sources such as the Financial Times Global MBA Top 100, the Princeton Review’s Best Green MBA list, and self-nominated PRME signatories.
The big change in 2025 is that alumni impact now counts toward the final score. Schools voluntarily report how many of their graduates work in sustainability-related roles or organizations recognized for their ESG performance. That share — averaged across multiple graduating classes — now represents 10% of the total.
WHEN IMPACT DRIVES RANKING
No school embodies the new philosophy more than Bard College. Its MBA in Sustainability program recorded a remarkable 56% alumni impact score — meaning more than half its graduates are working in sustainability roles or at organizations recognized for their environmental or social leadership. The average across the rest of the ranking was just 16%. The University of Vermont follows closely at 52%.
Bard’s founder of the program, economist Eban Goodstein, designed the MBA as a “living lab” for sustainability action, with 20 four-day intensive sessions spread across two years. Students tackle real-world sustainability challenges from their first semester. “We need our students out changing the world at scale in a hurry,” Goodstein says.
The new weighting turns those outcomes into real ranking power: Programs that successfully guide graduates into ESG, climate, and social innovation roles are now reaping tangible rewards, while schools with less evidence of alumni impact are slipping despite rich curricula.
A MORE GLOBAL TOP TEN
The rest of the top 10 reveals a truly international mix. Duquesne University’s Palumbo-Donahue School of Business remains a perennial leader at sixth. The University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, at seventh, continues to anchor Africa’s sustainability education scene. Peru’s Centrum PUCP Business School climbs to eighth — and tops the separate category for large programs, those graduating more than 80 MBAs a year.
The University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business moves up to ninth; rounding out the top 10 is the University of Exeter Business School in the UK, where sustainability themes are interwoven across finance, operations, and leadership courses.
Beyond the top 10, the churn is intense. Henley Business School rockets from 44th to 17th, Saint Mary’s University’s Sobey School of Business rises from 51st to 38th, and Loughborough University Business School climbs from 63rd to 39th. The biggest leap comes from Universidad Externado de Colombia, which soars from 112th to 40th.
THE LARGE SCHOOL STORY
Corporate Knights also ranks large programs separately — those with more than 80 graduates per year — to ensure small, sustainability-focused MBAs like Bard’s aren’t the only ones recognized. Centrum PUCP leads that list, followed by Warwick Business School in the UK, York University’s Schulich School of Business in Canada, and UC-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Rounding out the large-school top 10 are UBC Sauder, Toronto Metropolitan University’s Ted Rogers School of Management, South Africa’s Gordon Institute of Business Science, Colorado State, Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University, and Switzerland’s IMD.
Centrum PUCP’s story captures the ranking’s widening lens. Associate Dean Sandro Sánchez notes that Peru’s economy remains heavily informal, and many graduates apply sustainability principles not in multinational offices but in smaller enterprises or local industries such as mining and agriculture.
The United States still dominates the top of the ranking, claiming three of the top five positions with Vermont, Bard, and Kogod. Europe is led by Maastricht, Exeter, and a growing cluster of UK programs. Canada’s representation is steady, with Schulich, Gustavson, Sauder, and Sobey all ranking in the top 40. And schools from the Global South — Peru’s Centrum, Colombia’s Externado, and South Africa’s Cape Town and Gordon Institute — are now visible contenders.
See the Corporate Knights Better World MBA report here.
DON’T MISS LAST YEAR’S REPORT ON THE CORPORATE KNIGHTS SUSTAINABILITY RANKING
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