Grey pinstripes are back

The Aspen Institute recently released its annual list of top business schools that offer sustainable MBAs.

According to Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a biennial survey:  ”The number of business schools teaching MBA students to examine the social, environmental and ethical impacts of business decisions continues to grow, spurred by the global economic downturn, rising student demand and increased faculty willingness to explore those issues”

This year the survey is especially interesting because it comprehensively measured the extent to which MBA programs have altered their course content since the financial downturn. This is especially important as sustainable development becomes a more integral part of a viable business model. It also addresses whether faculty are pursuing research that focuses on on the role of business in society.

According to Judith Samuelson, executive director of the Aspen Institute: “In the wake of the financial crisis we’re seeing an increased willingness to address these issues. That willingness is coming from a variety of factors, including student demand, faculty readiness and a desire on the part of business schools to clarify what exactly they’re doing to prepare business leaders to serve the needs of society, such as job creation and energy conservation.”

One hundred and forty nine schools from 29 countries submitted data for the 2011-2012 rankings. The data included over 6,000 course descriptions and over 6,000 faculty research abstracts. The project team also collated information on the schools’ extracurricular activities, joint degrees and specializations. Seven months was spent analyzing all this information and coming up with the ranking.