Responsible and sustainable management
Adam Smith Business School is committed to promoting responsible and sustainable management through our teaching, research and practice.
Building on the legacy of Adam Smith, our values of being enlightened, engaged and entrepreneurial drive our commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).
We invest in Sustainable Innovation to contribute to solutions for a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable future. We promote Research and Expertise that contributes to cutting-edge thinking on responsible and sustainable management and Celebrate Community through our service and external engagement. We practice Responsible Governance to ensure accountability and transparency in decision-making and deploy a Strategic Use of Resources to reach sustainable future.
Key awards and rankings
- PRME Communicating Signatory
- 19th in the world (QS World University Rankings: Sustainability, 2025)
- 12th in the world (Times Higher Education World Impact Rankings, 2024)
- Positive Impact Rating – Level 3 Progressing School (June 2026)
Our projects and initiatives
Principles of Responsible Management Education
In 2020, the Business School became a communicating signatory of the United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) and reports yearly on the Seven Principles: Purpose, Values, Teach, Research, Partner, Practice and Share.
By joining PRME, the School has made a powerful commitment to advancing values, such as sustainability, responsibility and ethics in teaching, research and thought leadership. We join over 800 leading business and management schools from more than 90 countries, dedicated to advancing these core values, while working to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Barefoot in Business
Since 2020, the Adam Smith Business School has sponsored Barefoot in Business. Undergraduate volunteers from the School deliver an 8-week workshop to primary schoolgirls aged 11–12 from disadvantaged areas in Glasgow, helping them design a brand, marketing strategy, and awareness campaign. The pupils' business ideas come to life on the university campus at a pop-up shop where they sell Ugandan-made tote bags based on their own pricing and business strategy. Barefoot in Business also plans to collaborate with the student society Enactus to host future bake sales alongside the pop-up shops. All profits are divided equally between the schools and Ugandan tailors to help fund the initiative for the following school year. Twenty-two students from the School and over 120 primary school pupils have participated in the programme since 2020. The School sponsors their participation, and the primary schools keep their sales proceeds to reinvest into the classroom for sustainability projects.
Beach clean up
Since 2022, a group of students from the MSc Environment and Sustainable Development programme have taken part in a beach clean-up at Seafield Beach, Kirkcaldy, in September as part of their induction programme. This is part of a UK-wide initiative by the Marine Conservation Society. Combined with the clean-up, students learn more about the life of Adam Smith as they tour around his hometown.
Over the years, dozens of Business School students have volunteered for the programme, filling numerous bags with hundreds of items of litter. The majority of the recovered pollution consists of plastic items, highlighting broader public environmental impacts, while drinks litter and plastic bottles remain a persistent issue found across almost all UK beach cleans.
Clothing drives
Inspired by International Women’s Day in March 2024, the Responsible Sustainable Management Committee sets out to help empower local women. They partner with two Glasgow women’s charities, Dress for Success and Smartworks, who both share the ambition to help women get back into work and achieve financial independence, starting with their initial interview outfit. Through successful clothing drives, the team has collected hundreds of litres of women’s workwear, which is evenly distributed between the two charities.
Following these donations, Smartworks highlighted the immense impact of the initiative during one of their busiest periods on record. The contributions directly supported hundreds of client appointments, providing vital resources for career coaching, interview preparation, dressing consultations, and follow-up styling sessions for women after successful interviews.
Podcasts
Eco-nomics Unscripted
A podcast where sustainability meets business, economics, and the environment. Hosted by students, grounded in real-world insights, and inspired by the belief that the next generation can and must work across disciplines to shape a better world.
Episode 1: Lessons from the Global South on Tackling the Climate Crisis
We ask a vital question: What lessons can the Global South offer the Global North in addressing the climate emergency? To unpack these lessons, Ritwij speaks with Mr Erik Solheim, former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and former Environment Minister of Norway, who shares his insights.
Episode 2: How Finance Can Drive Climate Action in the Global South
We explore how finance can be a powerful force for climate action, especially in the Global South, where development and sustainability must go hand in hand. Ritwij speaks with special guest, Subhash Chandra Garg, former Finance Secretary of India and Executive Director at the World Bank, to discuss how countries can mobilise funds for a greener future.
Episode 3: When an Economist Speaks to the Earth
We explore what happens when two students from completely different disciplines — economics and geosciences — begin a conversation they’ve never been taught to have. Laavanya sits down with Blythe Kaddour, a fourth-year Geosciences student and sustainability consultant, to unpack how misunderstandings between environmental science and business thinking shape the way we approach climate challenges.
Episode 4: Toward a New Narrative for Sustainability
The Honourable Isabella Lövin, former Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, reflects on The Oceanic Feeling and the urgent need for a new narrative in global environmental governance, sustainability, and political leadership. Drawing on her experience, Lövin discusses how reimagining humanity’s relationship with nature is essential to addressing the planetary crises of our time.
Episode 5: The Ecological Business School
Celebrating Sustainability Week 2026
Cecilia and Matt Offord CMBE discuss the radical “ecological” business school concept. Hear about truly responsible leadership practices that transcend “tick-box” sustainability solutions and deliver sustainable positive impact for people and planet, and common myths surrounding business and sustainability.
Episode 6: Unquestioned Questions of Sustainability
Celebrating Sustainability Week 2026
We ask Robert McMaster about the “unquestioned questions” of sustainability and discuss why ethics should be central to economics and business, challenge assumptions like unlimited wants and endless growth, and explore why students must question what they are taught about sustainability and responsibility.
Episode 7: Let's Talk Trash
We unpack the often-overlooked topic of waste and why our consumption habits matter. We discuss the concept of anti-consumption, challenge myths around minimalism and economic growth, and explore how businesses and consumers can rethink value through reuse, circular systems, and more mindful consumption choices.
Episode 8: Anarchy, Bears and Climate with Dr Vladimir Maltsev
We explore the alternate economic perspectives of anarchy to link the concepts of human freedom to ecological freedom. We also explore the concept of mutual aid, challenge myths around top-down hierarchical solutions, and put forth grassroots community-led solutions and individual actions that can redefine our collective strength in tackling the climate crisis.
Episode 9: Student Actions for Sustainability
We discuss ways in which sustainability can be integrated into our everyday academic and lifestyle choices. We examine the role of volunteering and case competitions in reaching people beyond the green bubble, challenge myths around top-down solutions, and leave the listeners with an inspiring provocation and call to action as a takeaway.