Vlerick Business School reinforces its commitment to sustainable business education through PRME membership

Robert Boute

By Robert Boute

Professor of Operations Management

19 June 2024

Vlerick Business School has become a Signatory Member of the Principles for Responsible Management Education. PRME is a United Nations-supported initiative that aims to raise the profile of sustainability in business schools around the world, equipping business students with the understanding and ability to deliver change tomorrow.

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By becoming a member, we join over 800 leading business and management schools from 90 countries around the world that are committed to transforming management education and developing the responsible decision-makers of tomorrow to advance sustainable development.

Equip graduates for global social impact

PRME has become the largest organised relationship between the United Nations and management-related higher education institutions, aligning academic institutions with the work of the UN Global Compact. By providing responsible management education, graduates are prepared to become responsible business leaders, driving positive change. By fostering sustainable business, they can make a lasting difference on a global scale and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In order to realise its mission to transform management education, PRME members commit to implementing the Seven PRME Principles focused on serving society and safeguarding our planet.

Robert Boute, Professor of Operations Management and Vlerick Sustainability Champion, says: “It’s Vlerick’s mission to transform people for a better world. Business leaders and executives hold the power to induce change. Through our programmes, we educate tomorrow’s managers, but we want them to act in a sustainable way, always thinking about the future implications of their actions and decisions. Our PRME membership makes our existing ambition more explicit, and it proves that we put our words into action by endorsing the seven principles. We’re proud to be a part of this ever-growing movement of education providers, collectively contributing to a more sustainable planet. By reporting on our progress and sharing knowledge and best practice, we unite forces to provide future leaders with the knowledge and skills needed to balance economic and sustainability goals.”

Seven principles of PRME

  • Purpose: advancing responsible management education to foster inclusive prosperity in a world of thriving ecosystems.
  • Values: placing organisational responsibility and accountability to society and the planet at the core of what we do.
  • Teach: transforming our learning environments by integrating responsible management concepts and practices into our curriculum and pedagogy.
  • Research: studying people, organisations, institutions and the state of the world to inspire responsible management and education practice.
  • Partner: engaging people from business, government, civil society and academia to advance responsible and accountable management education and practice.
  • Practice: adopting responsible and accountable management principles in our own governance and operations.
  • Share: sharing successes and failures to enable collective learning and best live our common values and purpose.