The annually published Positive Impact Rating (PIR) 2025 Report reveals the top business schools making progress towards positive societal impact by focusing on issues such as sustainability, ethics, inclusion, and diversity.
Launched earlier this month at the UN PRME Global Forum, the sixth edition of the PIR report features 86 schools in 28 countries across five continents with more than 17,000 student responses assessing their business school’s social impact.
Student voices remain central to the PIR methodology, with a 13% increase in student engagement compared to 2024. The survey asked 20 questions across seven impact dimensions: governance, culture, programs, learning methods, student support, the institution as a role model, and public engagement. The resulting PIR score was categorized into one of five levels of impact.
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Best business schools for social impact
The PIR report rated 11 business schools at the highest impact Level of 5—up from six in 2024—while 46 schools earned a Level 4 rating, and 29 scored at Level 3.
The Level 5 rated schools, labeled the ‘Pioneering Schools’, include Centrum PUCP Business School (Peru), HKUST Business School (China), IIM Indore (India), INCAE Business School (Costa Rica), IPADE Business School (Mexico), POLIMI School of Management (Italy), Woxsen University School of Business (India), and XLRI Xavier School of Management (India).
The Level 4 schools, known as the ‘Transforming Schools’, comprise the majority of the rated universities, spanning Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. Notable universities from this list include Imperial College Business School in the UK, Audencia Business School in France, Colorado State University College of Business in the US, and GIBS Business School in South Africa.
Among the Level 3 rated schools, named the ‘Progressing Schools’, 16 are from Europe, including EDHEC Business School in France, nine from North America, such as HEC Montréal in Canada, three from Asia, including IIM Visakhapatnam in India, and one from Latin America—Universidad de San Andrés in Argentina.
Business schools in Asia continue to lead the world in social impact
The average PIR score across all rated schools in 2025 was 7.8 on a 10-point scale. This has remained steady over the last four years.
Regionally, Asia achieved the highest average score—repeating the feat business schools in the continent achieved in 2024. An average score of 9.0 in Asia meant the region was ahead of Southern Europe at 8.0, Northern Europe at 7.6, North America at 7.4, and Western Europe at 7.3.
Students continue to shape the future of social impact
Common themes emerged from students’ survey responses regarding how they wanted their business schools to adapt.
These included a desire for further fostering of diversity and inclusion among students and faculty, expanding practical learning with real world projects and local partnerships, deepening sustainability across the entire curriculum, and improving transparency and student involvement in school decisions. Mental health and wellbeing also emerged as key concerns, with students urging schools to treat services as a core responsibility.
Additionally, the report revealed students want their b-schools to stop using single-use plastics and paper on campus; abandon outdated, lecture-based teaching; reduce their focus on theoretical knowledge; cease investing or partnering with unethical companies; and, finally, stop ignoring student feedback and excluding them from school governance.
Student priorities were also shown to differ across regions. In Europe, students emphasize cutting campus emissions and making decision-making more transparent as key priorities. In Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, there’s a strong emphasis on tackling inequality and supporting local communities, the report revealed.
North American students called for less commercialization, more diverse faculty, and better mental health support, while in Asia the focus was on replacing passive, memorization-heavy teaching with practical, tech-enabled learning.
