Co-creating a sustainable future: Building PRME Commons — A global platform for responsible management education
Description
We partnered with the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), a United Nations-supported initiative, to design and develop PRME Commons — a comprehensive web platform that empowers academic institutions to collaboratively report on sustainability efforts, engage with peers, and contribute to a shared global movement for responsible management education. More than just a reporting tool, PRME Commons is a community-driven space where over 800 business schools and universities worldwide can showcase their sustainability efforts, co-create reports, and exchange best practices — all aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and PRME’s SIP reporting process.
Background
PRME is a United Nations-supported initiative that works with business and management schools around the world to advance responsible leadership and sustainable development through education. With over 800 signatory institutions, PRME encourages academic organizations to align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the principles of the UN Global Compact. A core part of this commitment is the SIP (Sharing Information on Progress) report, PRME’s official mechanism for transparency and accountability.
By fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement, PRME plays a vital role in shaping the next generation of leaders equipped to address complex global challenges through ethical and sustainable practices.
Challenge
PRME faced a dual challenge: create a structured and reliable system for collecting annual reports including SIP submissions from hundreds of signatory institutions, while also fostering open dialogue, shared learning, and collective storytelling within the global academic community. The previous workflow was fragmented, with limited flexibility for institutions to share their unique contributions or learn from one another. They needed a digital space that could handle the technical rigor of survey submission and report generation, but also reflect the values of transparency, collaboration, and long-term impact.
Process
We approached this project as a close collaboration with PRME, with a strong emphasis on understanding their vision and the diverse needs of their global community.
We began with a discovery phase, meeting regularly with PRME leadership and key stakeholders to clarify goals, user roles, and the long-term vision of the PRME Commons. This phase helped us distill complex reporting workflows into a streamlined user experience. From there, we moved into UX design and wireframing, translating these insights into clear, intuitive flows and interfaces that balanced structure with flexibility.
After validating the designs with the PRME team, we began the iterative development phase, building the platform in sprints and delivering tested, working features early and often. Throughout the process, we collaborated closely with PRME’s internal teams to test and refine each major component — from survey creation to report generation and user collaboration.
Some of the major functional areas we delivered include:
- A dynamic survey and reporting system that can adapt year to year
- Custom PDF report generation, letting institutions highlight select responses and content
- User and team management for institutions, with role-based permissions
Result
The PRME Commons platform has transformed how sustainability reporting is conducted across hundreds of institutions. What was once a fragmented, manual, and often burdensome process has become a streamlined, collaborative experience.
Institutions now have a flexible, user-friendly system for submitting their annual reports, sharing insights, and learning from peers, all while contributing to a global conversation on responsible management education.
The platform not only improved efficiency and submission quality, but also brought PRME’s mission to life by enabling a co-created, community-first approach to reporting. It has helped PRME scale its impact, support its members more effectively, and showcase the collective work of its network with clarity and purpose.
