The United Nations PRME initiative receives our ongoing support

The United Nations (UN) Global Compact initiated the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) in 2008. OUBS signed-up in 2011 and the Faculty of Business and Law (FBL) became a signatory in 2020.

The Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. This developed out of earlier UN initiatives to address multinational corporations engaging in socially irresponsible and environmentally unsustainable business practices in developing countries during the post-colonial period of the 1960s and 1970s.

UN PRME’s mission is to transform business and management education, research and thought leadership globally. This includes a requirement for signatories to provide biannual update reports and our latest Sharing Information on Progress (SIP) Report, together with previous ones from 2018, 2015 and 2013, is available here.

The Global Compact established the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 with the intention of radically changing the world. PRME also aims to promote awareness of these Goals, and to develop responsible business leaders of tomorrow with sustainability mindsets, skills and capabilities.

An ambitious radio series called Project 17 has recently started on the BBC World Service, co-produced by the BBC and the OU. It looks at the SDGs through the eyes of 17 17-year-olds from 17 different countries.