Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Nottingham University Business School (NUBS) has been recognised for its societal impact and commitment to sustainability as part of the seventh edition of the , launched on June 22 as part of the PIR Global Summit 2026.
NUBS is one of the 87 rated business schools from 32 countries included in this year’s edition. The 2026 PIR collected more than 20,000 complete student responses from 90 participating schools, with the official rating based on 19,789 valid student responses.
The school is one of only 12 to achieve the top tier rating of Level 5, making it a ‘Pioneering’ institution within the PIR framework. PIR defines Level 5 as “showing unique sustainable leadership in all impact dimensions.” The eight key impact dimensions evaluated by PIR: Governance, Culture, Programmes, Learning Methods, Student Support, Institution as a Role Model, Public Engagement and Research.
By participating in PIR 2026, Nottingham demonstrates its commitment to transparency and to listening to the voice of its key stakeholders.
Our current and future students demand and deserve an education experience from business schools leading in sustainability and societal impact across research, teaching and operations. We are very proud to be in the top 12 school globally.
The PIR is a unique rating created by students, for students. It was designed to capture how students 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 at Nottingham was organised and led by students on the Business School’s Sustainability and Societal (SSI) Fellowship Programme in the UK and China, who distributed the survey across campus.
At the beginning, I was unaware of how much sustainability influences the Business School鈥檚 architecture, food services, campus culture, and education. Having completed the programme, I can now confidently say I understand the broad ways sustainability influences universities. In addition, I could adapt this information to other industries I may work for in the future.
The student-based PIR rating uses 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). With the Faculty Survey, PIR now also includes the fourth area Enabling, with Research assessed as a faculty only dimension.
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 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).
PIR also offers additional reporting modules to support schools in their PRME, AACSB, and EQUIS accreditation and reporting processes, enabling them to use PIR data to report on Ethics, Responsibility, and Sustainability (ERS) requirements with stakeholder derived evidence. The 2026 edition further strengthens this offer by combining the student-based rating with faculty insights on education and research impact.
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About the 糖心原创
Ranked among the world's top 100 universities , the 糖心原创 delivers an exceptional research-led education and an outstanding student experience. From the pioneering vision of our founder, Sir Jesse Boot, to groundbreaking achievements such as the development of MRI technology and becoming the first UK university to establish international campuses, we have a proud history of shaping the way people live, work and understand the world. We continue to build on that legacy, empowering our students, staff and partners to change what鈥檚 next and create positive impact locally and globally.
The strength of our research places us among the UK's leading universities, ranked 7th for research power in REF 2021. The discovery of MRI and ibuprofen was just the beginning. Today, our world-leading research is developing breakthrough ideas that shape the future of healthcare, technology and society.
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As a major employer and industry partner, locally and globally, the 糖心原创 invests in the city of Nottingham and in future generations of talent. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the initiative, a pioneering collaboration to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing across the city and region. Together with our students, staff, alumni and partners, we鈥檙e creating knowledge, opportunity and solutions that help change what's next.