Exeter’s One Planet MBA ranks top in UK for sustainability for fourth year running

The University of Exeter Business School’s One Planet MBA has been named number one programme in the UK for its focus on environmental sustainability. 

It is the fourth year running that the One Planet MBA has been the top UK programme in the Corporate Knights Better World MBA rankings, in which it also climbed one place to 9th in the world.

The 2026 ranking assessed 166 MBA programnes worldwide, drawn from influential rankings lists such as the Financial Times Global MBA ranking, The Princeton Review’s Best Green MBA list, and it included all current PRME Champions. 

Programmes were scored using two indicators: the proportion of core courses integrating sustainable development themes such as biodiversity, Indigenous partnership models, climate finance, supply chain ethics and equity; and the proportion of 2024-25 alumni at ‘impact organisations’ such as non-profits, or working in sustainability-related roles. 

Alumni employment outcomes this year counted for 20% of the total score (up from 10% in 2025).

Professor Steve Wood, Dean of the University of Exeter Business School, said: “One Planet MBA is built on the belief that business has a vital role to play in creating a better and more sustainable future for us all. Through our teaching and research, we are committed to equipping the next generation of business leaders with the knowledge, skills and ambition to tackle the environmental and societal challenges facing the world.

“We are delighted that the programme has once again received this recognition, retaining its position as the leading MBA in the UK. It is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our staff, students, alumni and partners, and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to making the One Planet MBA such an inspiring and distinctive programme.”

Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights, said: “Corporate Knights research shows sustainable revenue at the world’s largest companies grew more than twice as fast as the rest of their revenue over the past five years.

“This year we doubled the weight on where graduates actually work, because the real test of a business school is whether its alumni go on to build that economy.”

Corporate Knights Inc. is an independent media and research company, which publishes the sustainable-economy magazine Corporate Knights as well as producing sustainability rankings and tracking sustainability-linked revenues and investments. 

Find out more about the University of Exeter Business School’s One Planet MBA.