Sustainability Agenda

We want to ensure that our graduates - the business leaders of tomorrow - are ethical, forward thinking and understand the importance and values of sustainable development so that they can make a valuable contribution to the economy, society and the environment.

The University of Bradford’s 'Ecoversity' initiative' initiative is an ambitious and visionary programme to change how we build and run our estate, embed sustainable development into the formal and informal learning experience, address our social responsibilities, and foster a sense of community and engender wellbeing.

We are the first global pioneer university and academic centre for the Circular Economy, re-thinking business models and informing responsible leadership, good governance and ethical management. Our work includes a partnership programme with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, launch of the world’s first Circular Economy MBA and Executive Education programmes for organisations at the forefront of this new management thinking.

Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethics and Business and Society are embedded in our teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. As well as specific core and elective modules across our courses, we provide expertise in our specialist programmes including the world's first Innovation, Enterprise and Circular Economy MBA.

Students also enjoy the benefits of our ethical Trading Room, providing hands-on experience in a simulated trading environment and a feel for real investment decisions made in industry with a key focus on finance, ethics and behavioural research.

The School is also a member of the Principles for Responsible Management (PRME), which has not only informed our learning and teaching, but developed a strong research focus on ethics, responsibility and sustainability, which is reflected in the activities of our faculty and and its research centres.

Our green credentials are impressive and the University has been placed 14th in the world in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings 2018 and Bradford is also the sixth-ranked university in the UK. Other accolades include regular Green League first class performance, Business in the Community Environmental Index Platinum, EcoCampus accreditation, Universities That Count first place, multiple Green Gown awards triumphs and national industry awards wins including from Green Build and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers.

Our commitment to the Principles of Responsible Management Education

The School committed to the PRME Principles back in March 2010. Based upon internationally accepted values, PRME provides a guiding framework of principles that supports the School’s mission in responsible leadership and delivery of cutting edge business education and engagement. From an initial steering committee, the School has now created a PRME lead to explicitly develop and integrate ethics and sustainable development into our learning, teaching, assessment and research activities.

PRME developments:

• Revised the School's mission and strategic plan to explicitly incorporate CSR
• Embedded the teaching of CSR and Sustainability in the curriculum
• Opened our new BREEAM-awarded facilities
• Increased our research activity in the areas of CSR, Ethics and Sustainability
• Strengthened the School’s engagement with regional and national businesses