Positive Impact Rating 2022 : Audencia among the top three European schools, and in the top 35 worldwide  

The Positive Impact Rating, unveiled on Friday 3 June at the United Nations PRME 2022 Global Forum, places Audencia 4^th out of 5 levels of excellence for ‘transforming schools’. This is the highest level achieved by any European school in the ranking. Audencia is among the top three European schools in the advanced group of transforming schools, and among the top 35 schools worldwide. 

The Positive Impact Rating 2022, the leading global student-based business school rating, unveiled on Friday 3 June, placed 45 business schools in three categories:

– Pioneering schools (level 5, the top level)

– Transforming schools (level 4)

– Progressing schools in (level 3)

Once again this year, Audencia’s progress in terms of social impact was recognised. Audencia and three other French business schools are in the level 4 ‘transforming school’ group. Audencia has slightly improved its overall score from 8/10 last year to 8.6/10 this year. Only four schools, all Indian, are in the level 5 ‘pioneering schools’ group.

Audencia among the top three European schools in the PIR ranking

The report makes particular note of the progress made by Audencia in its category, stating: “A majority of participating schools (29 ) are rated at level 4. They have engaged in actively transforming their school. Twelve of them are doing so at an advanced level, and 17 have just started to get the transformation going. It is worth highlighting four schools (IESEG School of Management and Audencia Business School, both located in France, Antwerp Management School, Belgium, and HKUST Business School, in Hong Kong) that have achieved steady progress in the past three years, placing them among the advanced group of the transforming schools.”  The report quotes the example of Audencia (p. 29) which has allowed students to become change agents: “As part of the continuous improvement cycle, the school’s CSR Team and the students’ associations cooperate closely to use the results of the previous Positive Impact Rating (PIR) edition to identify areas of progress and build a concrete action plan.” This action plan emphasizes the students’ role and involvement in its realization and communicates the results of this plan to the whole community of students. The report describes the co-creation of a carbon footprint calculator to measure the impact of students’ digital activities: “more than 1800 students used this calculator in the six first months after its launch. […] In line with the PIR spirit, students were heavily involved in every step, ensuring that the tool met their needs and was peer-promoted.” The report highlights future developments of the calculator to include the carbon footprint related to food and transport. For Audencia’s Dean Christophe Germain, “The school’s position in this ranking is further proof of our historical commitment to CSR. The increase in our overall score reflects the strengthening of this commitment around which our ECOS 2025 strategic plan is built and our desire to train students who will have a positive impact on society in their future career.”

A ranking based on student evaluation

The PIR is based on evaluation by students. For the third year in a row, students from around the world have rated their schools on how they perceive their positive impact on the world. 

The survey asks students 20 questions in seven relevant impact dimensions: governance, school culture, programmes, learning methods, student support, institution as a role model and public engagement. Based on their scores, business schools are positioned at five performance levels that correspond to their stage of development.  

Audencia’s commitment to sustainable development began almost two decades ago in 2004. Last year, Audencia launched Gaïa, its school of ecological and social transition. Starting in the 2022 academic year, Gaïa will welcome Grande Ecole students for a 240-hour semester as part of their first year Master’s programme.