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Overview - INSEAD Progress Initiative

Our Mission

subi rangan

The modern economy is great at producing wealth, but it has tended to neglect well-being. It's powerful when it comes to efficiency, but on equity it must and can do better. It's mastered size but often at the cost of sustainability. 

Thankfully, the paradigm of business taught and practiced in the 20th century is evolving. If innovation and internationalization were the first and second chapters of business, we must keep advancing on the third chapter: integration. 

How can enterprises and for that matter all economic actors better integrate profit, people, and planet? 

Deepening our understanding on this question is the prime objective of the INSEAD Progress Initiative (IPI).The second objective is what we refer to as "disseminaction." This includes the development of courses and pedagogical materials that are addressed to business students and executives. Finally, beyond educating, the IPI will also aim for enabling. This is the "action"...

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Subramanian Rangan

Professor of Strategy & Management
The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court Endowed Chiar in Societal Progress
Academic Director, INSEAD Progress Initiative

Subramanian Rangan

Professor of Strategy & Management
The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court Endowed Chiar in Societal Progress
Academic Director, INSEAD Progress Initiative

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Educate - Encourage - Enable

Our Dream

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Our Design

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Numbers at a Glance

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800+

MBAs who have taken our electives
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25

Students became Arrow Scholars since 2023
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60+

Scholars and stewards part of our community
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29

Progress Medals given since 2016

In The Spotlight

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How Talent Can Thrive in an AI-Driven World

Soft skills and integrated ecosystems are crucial for success in this age of disruption.In this era of "permacrisis" and constant disruption, adaptability and resilience are vital traits that require collaboration and an increasing focus on human-centric skills. That’s the messaging to come out of the 2025 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI), an annual report that highlights the latest talent trends and offers insights into the current global talent landscape. 
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products on shelf

When Brain Scans Beat Surveys (and When They Don’t)

Brain imaging and consumer surveys predict different stages of the purchase journey – a distinction that can make or break a product launch.A food company spends months and significant budget on consumer research before launching a new product. The survey scores are strong, and so the store managers stock it. Six months later, the product is quietly pulled from the shelves. The consumers who said they would buy it did not. This pattern – confident pre-launch research followed by disappointing sales – is one of the most persistent and costly problems in marketing. Our research investigates whether brain imaging data can offer something traditional methods can’t: a more accurate window into what consumers will do, rather than what they say they will do.
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women looking at the horizon

Five Global Trends in Business and Society in 2026

At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s sobering speech warned that “we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition”.This sombre outlook was mirrored in the WEF’s Global Risks Report 2026, released a week prior to Davos. In it, 50 percent of some 1,300 global experts expressed a pessimistic world outlook over the next two years. The report named geopolitical, economic and technological risks as issues to watch for in the short term and warned that environmental concerns are being forced to take a back seat due to these more urgent concerns.
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landscape

What the Next AI Revolution May Look Like

There is a particular pleasure in dialoguing with someone who has spent more than a decade building a potential game-changer and is now on the cusp of success. That was the backdrop of my chat with Yann LeCun onstage at INSEAD’s recent AI Forum Europe, shortly after he left Meta to found Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI Labs), a new venture headquartered in Paris.
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apples in tree

How Nature Nudges Us to Eat Better

What really shapes our food choices, and why brands keep getting it wrong.People who eat healthily don’t have that much more willpower. They have just engineered their environment to avoid having to resist temptation.
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character opening her arms

The Courage to Tackle Fear as a Leader

Fear is inevitable in leadership. The weight of responsibility for an organisation’s performance and the livelihood of its people, especially in times when the next crisis is never too far away, can feel overwhelming. The question is how leaders should respond to fear.
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glass window

Is Your Board Stuck in the Wrong Gear?

Effective boards shift between passive, mentor, partner and control modes to optimise engagement.The Covid-19 pandemic unexpectedly prompted a much-needed change in boardrooms. Many boards, once content to simply sign off on decisions, were forced to collaborate closely with management to navigate the crisis. They shifted from a passive, backseat approach to one of active engagement, providing more feedback and advice, or even getting involved with decision-making. 
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fork with food

INSEAD Explains Sustainability: Nutrition and Health

From the number one global health issue of obesity to climate change and ethical animal welfare, INSEAD Professor of Marketing Pierre Chandon explores the multiple challenges currently facing the global food industry.While governments can help through regulations, he argues that it is up to businesses to devise smarter ways to improve consumer health. Marketers have an important role to play because they understand the needs of the different stakeholders. This puts them in a prime position to help find solutions that offer a triple win for sustainability, for the consumer and for the company. 
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When Nutrition Labels Work – and When They Don't

At-a-glance nutrition labels on restaurant menus can promote healthier choices among middle-class consumers. But what about the rest?Imagine walking into a quick-service restaurant where every item – main, side, beverage and dessert – displays a simple colour-coded grade indicating its nutritional quality. Would this information make you order healthier food? 
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plastic bags

Five Ways to Innovate for Sustainability

Companies that view sustainability as a source of innovation rather than a compliance problem open new paths for growth.Companies are setting ambitious sustainability goals at a time when many of the needed solutions do not yet exist. The firms that make real progress treat sustainability as an opportunity for innovation and growth, not a compliance burden. This shift forces leaders to rethink how they design products and run the business. It also exposes tensions between green goals and the usual measures of success.
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book cover with wedge

New Book Exposes ‘Wedge’ Between Performance and Progress

For too long, business has prioritised performance at the expense of societal progress – be it fairness, well-being or sustainability.A new book, edited by Subramanian Rangan, Professor of Strategy and Management at INSEAD, explores how flawed assumptions in business theory are cleaving apart performance and progress.
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bulb clouds sustainability

The Economics of Sustainability

Is it really possible for a profit-driven organisation to be sustainable? This existential question may well be keeping leaders awake at night amid pressure from consumers, regulators and investors – and potentially their own conscience. Today’s challenging economic climate is certainly making this question more acute than ever.
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hbr article cover

Sustainability as a Business-Model Transformation

Many global companies have made public commitments to sustainability targets. Fulfilling these commitments will require firms to transform their business models and organizational architectures. A few pioneers are leading the way, demonstrating that companies can make sustainability not only a goal but also the driver of their business model. They are leveraging what they’ve learned from developing innovation capabilities to help them on their sustainability journey. This article identifies three fundamental tensions that companies must address. First, they need to maintain a long-term sustainability vision while delivering on short-term financial targets. Second, they must introduce systemwide change while keeping their employees engaged at the local level. And third, they have to be open to external collaboration while maintaining strong internal integration. Drawing on real-world examples such as the Italian energy group Enel and Swiss cement giant Holcim Group, the authors describe the practices companies can use to face each challenge with intention
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knowledge cover apple

Business Practice Gone Astray? Improve Business Theory

Flawed assumptions in business theory are pushing firms off course.What’s common across the Boeing 737 MAX debacle, the 1MDB financial scandal and America’s opioid crisis? They are all illustrations of how business leaders, in pursuit of performance, neglected and undermined progress – specifically fairness, well-being and sustainability.
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bags

Thoughtful Consumption: The “Last Mile” in Well-Being and Sustainability

Understanding consumer behaviour is key to making fashion more sustainable.Fashion, one of the most unsustainable industries on Earth, has long grappled with its damaging environmental and social impact. Consumers, on the other hand, tend to act like passive bystanders at a crime scene, placing the blame solely on brands and producers. While companies and executives face mounting pressure to adopt sustainable practices, consumers need to recognise that they are actively complicit in the very same crime.
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government

Why Do Governments So Often Disappoint?

Notwithstanding serious effort and dedication, so often there is a shortfall between peoples' expectations of government and what government delivers. At a recent symposium on government and progress, participants explored why and suggested that a new social contract is needed between public leaders and citizens.
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Governing in an Age of Great Expectations

Government matters for societal progress and will always do so. In which ways and to what extent depends on the social contract.There is little doubt that society is in a new age. The 20th century, characterised by the dramatic convergence of countries from colonialism toward development, has entered a new era where progress takes another shape entirely. The engine of development has been fuelled by the market-oriented practices of resource allocation, which has pulled many out of poverty. But the most powerful actor remains government, which is depended on to regulate such markets, provide infrastructure, security, healthcare and education. It has even come to stand as a powerful buffer between markets and society.
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Upcoming Events

12 Oct '26

Centres & Initiatives

FEEL Workshop Preview Session

Discover what the INSEAD Family Enterprise Consortium Workshop, Family Enterprises: Engaging Generations for the Long Term (FEEL), has to offer at the online preview session on Monday, 12 October, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm CEST.

The session will be led by Christine Blondel, FEEL Workshop Director, Family Business Lecturer at INSEAD, and Family Business Advisor. She will be joined by Simon Lau, Executive Coach at INSEAD. Together, they will provide an overview of the workshop curriculum, highlight its unique features, and share the key benefits participants can expect from this distinctive learning experience.

We warmly welcome members of family enterprises across generations and in diverse roles who are interested in exploring this learning opportunity.

Webinar
1:00 - 2:00 pm CET
Open to Public
Webinar
1:00 - 2:00 pm CET
Open to Public
image for FEEL workshop preview session
24 Oct '26

Centres & Initiatives

Family Enterprise Day - Roots & Reinvention: The Henokiens Blueprint for Multi-Generational Success

Europe Campus, Fontainebleau
8:30 am - 2:30 pm CEST
Open to By Invitation Only
Europe Campus, Fontainebleau
8:30 am - 2:30 pm CEST
Open to By Invitation Only
Banner Image of Family Enterprise Day October 2026
28-29 Oct '26

Centres & Initiatives

Annual Marketing & Sales Symposium 2026 - Where Academic Rigour Meets Business Reality

Where Academic Rigour Meets Business Reality: Exploring the Future of Commercial Excellence.
Fontainebleau, France
CET
Open to Public
Fontainebleau, France
CET
Open to Public
Annual Marketing & Sales Symposium Event 2026

Our Donors

The INSEAD Progress Initiative is founded thanks to a generous gift from Suzano, the leading pulp and paper producer headquartered in Brazil. Founded in 1924 by Leon Feffer, the firm has grown on the back of pioneering innovation and internationalization. This gift commemorates Suzano's centenary. 

Suzano and INSEAD share a belief in the power of business to integrate profit, people, and planet. The firm is keen to support scholarship that can enlighten and educate the next generation of business leaders worldwide on the challenge of integration.

The IPI expresses profound appreciation to Suzano and the Feffer family.

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