Nottingham University Business School (NUBS) has been recognised for its societal impact and commitment to sustainability in its first entry in the Positive Impact Rating (PIR). The PIR launched on June 10 at the PIR Global Summit 2025 and was also acknowledged during the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) Global Forum in New York.
The annual PIR is a student-led rating of business schools. Nottingham's first entry in the PIR sees it rated at 78 overall, achieving a Level 4 'Transforming School' showing unique, sustaining leadership in all impact dimensions.
The school is one of the 86 business schools from 30 countries participating in this year's edition, which saw a record engagement of 17,167 student responses, a 13 per cent increase from the previous year.
This is great news and confirms the impact of our student-led Sustainability and Societal Impact Fellowship, as well as the broader work we do in the school to prepare our students as changemakers and future responsible leaders."
The PIR is a unique rating created by students, for students. It was designed to capture how participants perceive their schools' positive impact on the world.
Participants evaluated how Nottingham addresses societal and sustainability challenges and how well it prepares its students to become responsible leaders. The data collection was organised and led by the school's Sustainability and Societal Impact (SSI) Fellowship students, who distributed the survey.
By participating in PIR 2025, Nottingham demonstrates its commitment to transparency and to listening to the voice of its key stakeholders.
The PIR uses 20 questions grouped into seven dimensions across three overarching areas: Energising, Educating, and Engaging. These results place schools into one of five levels, three of which are published: Level 3 (Progressing), Level 4 (Transforming), and Level 5 (Pioneering).
Professor Thomas Dyllick, PIR Founder and Member of the Supervisory Board, stated: "While future students now have an alternative source to select their business school, schools refer to the PIR primarily to measure and communicate their transformational progress. The voice of the student has become a true source of value."
The PIR is the leading global student-based business school rating. The PIR was initiated by a coalition of business school experts and international NGOs such as WWF, Oxfam, and UN Global Compact, and is supported by student organisations including oikos, AIESEC, and Net Impact. It is also backed by VIVA Idea (Costa Rica), the Institute for Business Sustainability Foundation, and FehrAdvice (Switzerland).
New in 2025, PIR now also offers additional reporting modules to support schools in their PRME, AACSB, and EQUIS accreditation processes, enabling them to use PIR data to report on Ethics, Responsibility, and Sustainability (ERS) requirements with stakeholder-derived evidence.
