Aston Business School ranked tenth in the world among large schools for sustainability in its MBA

Aston Business School has been ranked tenth in the world among large business schools for how well its MBA teaches sustainability. The Birmingham school earned its place in the 2026 Better World MBA Ranking, published by the international sustainable business magazine Corporate Knights, which assessed 173 MBA programmes from around the globe.

It is a strong result for a school based in the heart of Birmingham city centre, placing it alongside some of the best-known names in business education.

How the ranking works

The Better World MBA Ranking looks at two things: how much sustainability is built into the core teaching of an MBA, and whether graduates go on to work in jobs with a positive social or environmental impact. The teaching accounts for 80% of the score, and the remaining 20% is based on the share of 2024 and 2025 graduates working in impact-focused roles.

Aston did particularly well on its curriculum. Every course evaluated scored at least 0.25 out of one for sustainability content, which under the ranking's method means that around a quarter of each course's core material relates to sustainable development. In other words, sustainability runs through the whole programme rather than sitting in a single optional module.

"A core part of business education"

Professor Marian Garcia, executive dean of Aston Business School, said the result reflected a deliberate approach. "The decisions businesses make about investment, supply chains, technology and growth have consequences that extend far beyond their financial performance," she said.

"Future business leaders need to understand these connections and be able to weigh up commercial objectives alongside their environmental and social responsibilities. That is why sustainability needs to be a core part of business education, rather than treated as a separate specialism. Our position in the Better World MBA Ranking is an encouraging recognition of that approach."

Toby Heaps, chief executive of Corporate Knights, said business schools had "an important role to play in preparing leaders to navigate an economy where commercial success is a function of social and environmental impact". He added: "Aston Business School's position among the top 10 large schools in our 2026 Better World MBA Ranking reflects its strong performance in integrating sustainability into its MBA curriculum."

A good week for Aston

The ranking caps a busy few days for the university. This week Aston also announced that it is leading a €3.65m European project to protect privacy in digital finance, and a new partnership with the engineering firm G&O Springs to strengthen cyber security in the defence and aerospace supply chain.

Aston University traces its roots back more than 130 years and describes its history as "intertwined with the remarkable city of Birmingham". It says it is second in England for social mobility, according to the 2025 HEPI Social Mobility Index, and in the top 25 for graduate salaries.

Why it matters

For Birmingham businesses, the result is a reminder that one of the city's own universities is training managers who are expected to think about energy, supply chains and their wider impact from day one. As firms of every size face tougher rules on carbon reporting and more questions from customers and investors, that kind of training is becoming a practical business skill rather than a nice extra.

For anyone considering an MBA, it also means a world-ranked option on the doorstep, a short walk from Birmingham's main railway stations.