Thoughts on Cranfield’s 2019-2020 UN PRME Report

Cranfield School of Management recently published their sixth United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) report for 2019-2020. Throughout the report, the university embeds and applies the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals within their activities, research, and teaching. To work towards a more inclusive and sustainable performance, as indicated in the report, the School of Management collaborated with other schools from within the university, as well as external organisations. 

Something that I found extremely interesting and important while reading the report was that sustainable modules are included in many of the master’s programmes at Cranfield, ranging from MBAs to MSc Management and Entrepreneurship, as well as master’s from the School of Water, Energy and Environment. Cranfield fosters positive change through education, showing the commitment of the university in building sustainability proficiency among their students, educating them on embedding sustainability in core business activities and the benefits of doing so. Students are the leaders of the future and the School of Management prepare them to play a leading role in solving pressing social and environmental challenges to contribute to a more sustainable planet.  

In the report, the importance of creating educational frameworks and tools to cultivate knowledge regarding sustainability and learning experiences is stressed. One of my favourite experiences of this first-hand was the Scenario Board Game. Separated into different groups, students represented businesses, policymakers, deniers, and civil society, and each had to interact and make strategic decisions on what they were going to do to achieve sustainability by 2050 in four different scenarios. The exercise was done via zoom, but it was an amazing experience and a very good way to understand how our decisions matter from this moment onwards and how all stakeholders need to be included in the pathway to a sustainable future.  

During my time at Cranfield, I have felt very proud and inspired to be part of the community that has been created through the Cranfield Sustainability Network, which hosts events such as ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable fashion?’ with visiting speakers from MUD Jeans and Seasalt, two retailers who have embed sustainability at their core business model. These events bring about the opportunity to share good sustainability practices and to raise awareness among students from all schools at Cranfield, encouraging discussion and food for thought for students, speakers, and professors.   

The PRME report emphasizes all the initiatives the School of Management are carrying out, regarding sustainability through education and innovation. I would like to congratulate the School of Management for all its continuous efforts to improve sustainability throughout the campus and to educate students from different cohorts to understand the importance of sustainability and how they can apply it to their future jobs.