Mary Morrison, winner of first prize

George Garcia Rocha, winner of second prize

We are proud to announce that two postgraduate Business School students have won top prizes in the PRME Responsible Business and Management Student Writing Competition 2023.

The winners of the postgraduate essay category are both current MSc Sustainable Finance and Accounting students. The first prize was awarded to Mary Morrison for her essay exploring the motivation behind the current proliferation in sustainability reporting. The second prize went to George Garcia-Rocha for his evaluation of the impacts that sustainability audits have on the field of accounting for sustainability.

Now in its seventh year, the annual competition received 100 entries from 19 institutions. It has three categories: undergraduate (UG) essays and reports, postgraduate (PG) master's-level essays and reports, and an alternative media category open to both PG taught and UG students. The judging panel consists of academics from a range of PRME signatory business schools.

Students chose from a range of topics including marketing, economics, leadership and management among others. Their topic was required to clearly link to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), responsible business and management/leadership skills.

Reflecting on Mary’s winning entry, Dr Jana Filosof, PG Panel Chair, commended her “well-argued, well-researched and highly topical” approach.

Dr Jonathan Louw, Chapter Chair and Oxford Brookes competition organiser, went onto congratulate the winners, other finalists, and all entrants on “their exceptionally talented, creative and committed contributions to researching and reflecting on sustainability, responsibility and ethical challenges”

Mary Morrison, winner of first prize said:

“As a mature student and professional accountant, the essay represented a turning point for me in looking at the accountancy profession from an academic stance rather than a personal working perspective. For the first time I took on board the socio-political context of accounting and its broader implications for society.

“I'm enjoying the course immensely and would like to say a big thank you to the Business School and Dr Rebecca Vine for her very considered lectures and seminars that really schooled us on how to approach academic papers and compose essays.”

George Garcia Rocha, winner of second prize added:

“I am proud that my paper won second place in the PRME Writing Competition. This award has made me determined to pursue climate change mitigation finance as a career path. The Business School has provided me with a great opportunity to learn so much from great lecturers. I would like to give special thanks to Dr Rebecca Vine. Her explanations of critical articles on sustainable accounting were so insightful and motivated me while writing this essay.”

The competition is jointly sponsored by PRME Chapter UK and Ireland and Oxford Brookes Business School.

As a PRME signatory, the Business School is committed to responsible management education, and was this year chosen as one of the 2023 PRME Champions. As a member institution, we incorporate global social responsibility and sustainability values into our teaching and research, ensuring best practice is implemented and shared among students and colleagues.