In June 2008, the Kemmy Business School signed up to the UN Principles of Responsible Management Education Initiative (PRME), becoming the first Irish business school to do so. The PRME principles are inspired by internationally accepted values including the principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), linking to the wider identity of the University which is a signatory of the UNGC. They seek to establish a process of continuous improvement among institutions of management education in order to develop a new generation of business leaders capable of managing the complex challenges faced by business and society in the 21st century. The mission is to inspire and champion responsible management education, research, and thought leadership globally, and to support the delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As well as implementing PRME within the School and with our stakeholder group, KBS engages with the wider PRME community through our membership of various working groups, and the steering committee of the PRME Regional Chapter for the UK and Ireland, as well as through our membership of the PRME Champions group.

The PRME Champions Cohort is a handpicked group of Business Schools worldwide, working together to lead active engagement with issues of responsibility, sustainability, and social justice - all aspects of the Kemmy Legacy. The representatives of PRME Champion institutions have made an ambitious commitment to work collaboratively to develop and promote activities that address shared barriers to making responsible management education a reality. The ongoing inclusion of KBS in this group is a testament to the depth of engagement across all four departments with the SDGs and PRME. KBS will be particularly focussed on the work of the PRME Champions in the areas of research, fostering and encouraging collaborative research across the community of Business Schools addressing the UN SDGs.  This aligns with the commitment in our mission statement to excellence in teaching and to fostering knowledge and understanding of business and society within a diverse, research-active, and socially engaged environment.

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The PRME principles are as follows:

Principle 1 | Purpose: We will develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustainable value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy.

Principle 2 | Values: We will incorporate into our academic activities and curricula the values of global social responsibility as portrayed in international initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact.

Principle 3 | Method: We will create educational frameworks, materials, processes, and environments that enable effective learning experiences for responsible leadership.

Principle 4 | Research: We will engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances our understanding of the role, dynamics, and impact of corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental, and economic value.

Principle 5 | Partnership: We will interact with managers of business corporations to extend our knowledge of their challenges in meeting social and environmental responsibilities and to explore jointly effective approaches to meeting these challenges.

Principle 6 | Dialogue: We will facilitate and support dialog and debate among educators, students, business, government, consumers, media, civil society organisations and other interested groups and stakeholders on critical issues related to global social responsibility and sustainability.

Contact Dr Sheila Killian at sheila.killian@ul.ie for more information.