Reshma Ravishanker

Six Indian business schools have been ranked among the top 11 business schools worldwide in the Positive Impact Rating for Business Schools, 2025 edition.

The Positive Impact Rating is governed by a Swiss Association and was initiated by a coalition of business school experts. It is supported by founding endorsers including WWF, Oxfam International, and the UN Global Compact Switzerland, with funding from VIVA Idea and the Institute for Business Sustainability (IBS). Unlike conventional rankings, PIR assesses a business school’s contribution to societal progress and global good.

The schools were ranked according to five levels, with #5 being the top level and #1 being the lowest. Those ranked 5 have been identified as ‘Pioneering schools with unique, sustaining global leadership progress in all impact dimensions.’  

Among those from India ranked highly at #5 are IIM Bangalore, IIM Indore, S P Jain Institute of Management & Research, Universal AI Business School, Woxsen University School of Business, and XLRI Xavier School of Management.

The sixth edition of the PIR saw a record participation of 86 business schools across 28 countries. Notably, this year’s rating introduced a Faculty Survey alongside the established student assessment, offering, for the first time, a dual-stakeholder perspective. The additional lens enabled a comparative view of how both students and faculty perceive their institution’s commitment to societal impact.

Meanwhile, New Delhi based Fortune Institute of International Business has been ranked at one level below these business schools at Level #4 and is among the ‘Transforming schools’.

What do students want?

A global analysis of student feedback shows a strong demand for business schools to move beyond talk and fully integrate sustainability into all aspects of education and operations. Students want sustainability to be a core mindset, not a separate subject, and call for more hands-on learning through internships, real projects, and partnerships. “These are not cosmetic tweaks,” the report states. “Students seek systemic change that prepares them for the world they’ll inherit, not outdated models that caused today’s crises.”

ASIA

Asia leads with the highest average score (9.0), followed by Southern Europe (8.0), Northern Europe (7.6), North America (7.4), and Western Europe (7.3).

In Asia, the call is loud for a move away from memorization-heavy education and toward practice-based, tech-enabled teaching. At the same time, many students ask for concrete green initiatives: zero-paper policies, renewable energy, and campus-wide sustainability reporting—signs of a generational shift in values, even in traditionally hierarchical systems. 

Also Read: Indian B-schools star in global Positive Impact Ratings