Lang School ranks top 30 in the world in new social impact ranking

The Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics has been ranked as one of the top 30 business schools in the world in a new ranking that looks at the positive societal impacts made by business schools.

Revealed at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, the Positive Impact Rating (PIR) for business schools is a new ranking that aims to measure how business schools contribute to solving societal challenges beyond contributing to business and the economy. Lang is one of only nine schools most highly ranked as a “transforming school”, reflecting a positive impact culture, embedded in its governance.

The ranking provides an additional approach to traditional business school rankings and focuses on assessing the perceptions of positive social impact and alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

“I am proud of the work our students and faculty are doing within the realm of sustainability,” said Sara Mann, Interim Dean at the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics. “The PIR offers a unique and global perspective that is a useful supplement to existing business school rankings.”

Lang students were invited to participate in this inaugural ranking and were assessed on their sustainable-focused activities. The Lang School's participation in the PIR ranking was led by Danielle Tyl, student president of the Lang Sustainability Conference, with support from professor Rumina Dhalla.

“Being ranking as a transformational school is a reflection of our commitment to developing leaders who use business as a 'force for good'” said Statia Elliot, interim associate dean, external relations.

Lang’s former Dean, Julia Christensen Hughes, was in attendance as the ranking was revealed at the World Economic Forum (WEF), an annual meeting that brings together more than 2,000 international leaders from business, politics, academia, and journalism.

At the WEF, Christensen Hughes is continuing the discussion on business school rankings by facilitating a thought-leader discussion around the metrics used to assess business school performance.

Lang has a long tradition of student engagement in sustainable-focused student clubs and case competitions. Lang's Net Impact Graduate Chapter recently received gold status based on their activities, programming, membership, and community contributions. According to Net Impact, gold status is awarded to Chapters that build on its mission of developing leaders who will actively contribute to creating a more sustainable world.

In 2019, Lang's MBA in Sustainable Commerce was ranked among the global top 20 by the Corporate Knights Better World ranking. Lang was also recently recognized as one of 36 global business schools to be named a "Champion" of the United Nation's Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) and are active contributors of the Global Responsible Leadership Initiative.

The Positive Impact Rating for Business Schools aims to measure how business schools contribute to solving societal challenges by energizing the school and its culture, by educating current and future leaders, by providing relevant research results and offers for continuing education by participating in the public debate and by being a role model institution.