PRME: Building a global movement on responsible management education

Abstract

This article aims to set out the history and context of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) as a background to the papers in this special issue, as well as provide some insights into plans for the future development of PRME. In doing so, it draws on material first published in a recent book chapter, “Development of responsible management education and the Principles for Responsible Management Education in context” by Hayes, Parkes and Murray (2016) in Sunley and Leigh eds (2016). In the mid-2000s, the UN Global Compact and its academic community recognised that the business leaders of tomorrow would need to play a critical role in tackling sustainability challenges. The response was the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative, launched in 2007 by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with a mission to inspire and champion responsible management education, research and thought leadership globally. Ten years later, PRME has become the largest organized relationship between the United Nations and management-related academic institutions, business schools and universities, and the initiative has grown to over 650 signatories from more than 85 countries across the world. PRME is, first of all, a global call to action based on six Principles (PRME Principles, 2008). Management-related educators are called on to enable current and future leaders to generate sustainable value for business and society at large (Principle 1 - Purpose); management-related higher education institutions are called on to incorporate into academic activities and curricula values of global responsibility (Principle 2 - Values). To support the transformation of management education, PRME has developed into a global network-based initiative. This article reviews the evolving network-based structure over the past ten years and presents an outlook of the initiative’s priorities during the next decade, most notably in supporting to achieve the agenda set out by the Sustainable Development Goals