2025 PRME Education Awards: Applications are open!

The Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) is excited to announce the PRME Education Awards, recognizing excellence in implementing sustainable development and responsible management practices in business education. Awards will go to recognize excellence in integration of the Principles of PRME, including in the areas of Teaching, Research, Partnership, Practice, Values, and Purpose. The PRME Education Awards seek to honor innovative and impactful contributions that advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and align with the educational interests of the PRME community. We believe that by acknowledging and rewarding outstanding interventions, we can drive meaningful change in transforming business education.

Eligibility: We invite submissions from administrators, educators, deans, and other leadership at PRME Signatory institutions from all levels and disciplines. Submissions should demonstrate a passion for transforming business and management education in order to develop responsible decision-makers of tomorrow to advance the SDGs through innovative and impactful activities. We encourage contributions from various business and management disciplines, as well as contributions that are interdisciplinary in nature. Applications can be submitted from individuals or as a team application of no more than six people.

Six (6) total winners will be chosen, one per each theme listed below:

• Teaching & Pedagogy [Teach]

  • The submission should showcase innovative approaches to teaching sustainability to business students, emphasizing creativity and novel teaching methods. Content should demonstrate alignment with the Principles and goals of PRME pedagogical work, such as the Impactful Five (i5) project, which include the characteristics of (i) meaning, (ii) joy, (iii) active engagement, (iv) social interaction, and (v) iteration in the educational process. The teaching methods and materials should reflect pedagogical excellence, emphasizing effective and engaging approaches to educating students.

  • Emphasis on student-centered learning and skills development should be measurable and well detailed throughout the submission.

  • Submissions should demonstrate appropriate rigor and validity within the specific domain or discipline.

• Research [Research]

  • This category should emphasize rigorous and valid contributions in sustainability research, as well as impactful research collaborations.

  • The submission needs to highlight what makes the research innovative in methodology, application, or integration of interdisciplinary perspectives. This could include unique frameworks, methodologies, or new insights into the role of business education in addressing global challenges.


  • Demonstrate measurable impact, influence on curriculum design, real-world implementation, or contributions to business and policy decision-making.


  • Showcase any collaborative efforts with other researchers, institutions, businesses, or stakeholders, particularly those that foster interdisciplinary research or cross-sectoral impact.

• Outreach & Partnership [Partner]

  • This category celebrates faculty, administrators, and institutional leaders who drive impactful partnerships across sectors to advance the SDGs. Submissions should showcase exemplary multi-stakeholder engagement initiatives that bring together business, government, and civil society to address pressing sustainability challenges. Emphasis should be placed on collaborative projects that demonstrate alignment with the SDGs, foster community engagement, and create lasting societal impact through cross-sectoral cooperation and innovation.

  • Recognition of efforts where partnerships have successfully transferred knowledge or built capacity within communities, organizations, or sectors should be included. This could include training programs, shared resources, or frameworks that enhance sustainable practices across diverse stakeholder groups.

• Student Engagement [Purpose & Values]

  • Submissions should focus on excellence in faculty or administrators that have given particular attention to student engagement activities. This is not a category to recognize student efforts, but rather staff and educators who are actively engaging students through innovative, learner-centric curricular, co-curricular, or extra-curricular activities.

• Leadership [Purpose & Values]

  • The submission should recognize deans, presidents, chancellors, and other executives at PRME Signatories that are leading the way in purpose-driven leadership and who prioritize sustainability in their institutional strategies. Submissions should consider innovative practices such as cross-disciplinary approaches to integration of the Principles, SDGs, or sustainable development, or an emphasis on resourcing for societal impact activities.

• Organizational Practices [Practice]

  • As a nod towards the ten UN Global Compact principles focused on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, submission should honor efforts beyond the classroom to integrate sustainable practices - such as cross-departmental policies, investment in renewable energy solutions, or ambitions toward zero waste - across management and operations.

Awards and Recognition: The six winners of the PRME Education Awards will receive global recognition and will present their work at the PRME Global Forum on 10 June 2025. They will also be showcased on the PRME website in the award repository that will highlight the winners through narratives and materials from their experiences. The repository will be shared across the PRME Signatory community as best practices, contributing to the transformation of business education for sustainable development worldwide. Lastly, winners will receive a digital certificate and a physical award in-person or in the mail if they are unable to attend the Global Forum.

Submission Criteria: Submissions should center around activities that demonstrate creativity, thoughtfulness, excellence, and a strong emphasis on the development of student skills in the advancement of sustainable development. To be considered for the PRME Education Awards, the submission should:

1. Advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Show a clear connection between an undertaken activity that links to the SDGs, emphasizing how the teaching contributes to a more sustainable and responsible business world by developing the skill sets of responsible future business leaders. Submissions should demonstrate a significant integration of sustainability principles into business school curricula.

2. Relevant Across Context: We value diversity and culturally specific activities, yet the submission should be relevant or insightful to peers in other contexts (i.e. inclusive of different values systems) in order to promote shared, global learning.

3. Promote Student Skill Development: Showcase how your activities or interventions foster the development of essential skills and competencies among students. Share insights from your students to illustrate how the impacts of the educational efforts and practices have imprinted on them beyond the classroom experience. The submitted content should have a demonstrable and positive impact on students and contribute to the advancement of responsible business education. Evidence through qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method metrics will be considered.

Supporting Evidence - Submission Requirements: Submissions should be comprehensive and include the following components:

• Cover Letter: The cover letter should showcase the passion for education and highlight important features of the full submission. The letter should reference how you advance the SDGs, along with detailed measures taken to advance student skill set development.

• Letters of Reference: Provide two (2) letters of reference: from your Dean or Department Head (1) and a university peer or a former student (1) to support impact and effectiveness.

• Sample materials (Learning Objects): Include examples of your policies, course syllabi, lesson plans, or other objects that highlight your innovative approach to integrating sustainability. Lesson plans should include how SDGs are incorporated into your educational approach for responsible business education. Each lesson plan should include lesson activities that include innovative teaching strategies and methods that focus on creating an engaging student-centered learning environment. Evidence of student success including assessment data is suggested.

• CV: Include an updated CV (your CV should not exceed three pages in length).

• Other evidence (optional):

  • (For Teaching & Pedagogy) Teaching Notes: Share any insights, reflections, and teaching notes that provide context and guidance to other educators who may want to implement similar pedagogical practices.

  • (For Teaching & Pedagogy) Narrative of Delivery: A detailed description of the activity or intervention and its delivery (including innovative methods and creative strategies) that facilitate student engagement effectively in developing them as responsible decision makers of tomorrow.

  • (For Research) Publications and Citations: A PDF published work affiliated with the submission, or citations which inform the validity and quality of the submission.

  • Recognition:

    • Evidence of internal recognition such as student feedback, approval as core curriculum, or an internal research award.

    • Evidence of external recognition such as external business school or university surveys

Note: Evidence need not include the words "SDGs" but must clearly focus on one or more of the SDGs, ESG, sustainability, sustainable development, ethical leadership, or responsible leadership. Evidence does not include the ratings from accreditation bodies.

Judging Criteria: To ensure a fair and transparent evaluation process, submissions will be judged by a Committee, composed of members of the PRME community and the Secretariat, based on the following criteria. A project, program, initiative, activity, function, or event that either:

• Demonstrates the integration of the SDGs by delivering outcomes that have collective benefit; and

• Supports one or more of the Seven Principles; and

• Has received internal recognition within the business school or its affiliated university for its contribution to the SDGs;

or

• Demonstrates the integration of the SDGs by delivering outcomes; and

• Supports one or more of the Seven Principles; and

• Has received external recognition for its contribution to the SDGs.

We invite you to submit your contributions and share your work with the PRME community. Together, we can make a difference and inspire the next generation of responsible business leaders in order to make a positive impact on the world.

Important Dates:

• Criteria announcement & submissions open: 30 November 2024 (Saturday)

• Submissions close: 28 February 2025 (Friday)

• Notification of decision: 7 April 2025 (Monday)

• Preparation of contribution to PRME Global Forum and PRME website: April - May 2025

• Public announcement of finalists and winners: 10 June 2025 at the PRME Global Forum

If you have any questions about the award, please write to info@unprme.org.

Apply Now

DEADLINE: 28 February 2025