B-Schools Show Transatlantic Divide

The latest FT Global MBA Rankings raise questions about sustainability issues

It’s over a decade since I spoke at The Wharton School, to some 60 business school professors and researchers, from around the world, working on sustainability issues. After the lecture, the-then Dean came up to me and noted that he thought that what we had been discussing would, in time, be the entirety of what B-schools like Wharton taught. No doubt he was serious - he certainly seemed so at the time.

But reading the latest FT Business Education supplement this morning raises questions. Wharton comes in #1 position out of 100 B-schools worldwide, with Harvard Business School, for comparison, ranked #11. But when it comes to ESG and Net Zero work, Wharton is at #61 - and Harvard Business at #90! It’s almost as though ESG and Net zero are seen to be un-American activities.

When it comes to the Top 3 under the ESG and Net Zero ranking, they are IE Business School (#1, Spain), IESE Business School (#2, Spain) and ESCP Business School (#3, France). Clearly, EU schools top this particular class - and I wonder what will happen to this trans-Atlantic gap if and when a certain Donald Trump gets back into power?