The SDG Framework Is Changing: Here Is What Higher Education Wants From It

As higher education institutions have sought a common reference point to structure and benchmark their sustainability efforts, many have turned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — the most widely used global framework available to them.

The SDGs were designed as a universal call to action for countries and national governments. As such, they do not address sector-specific contexts. For higher education, that absence is consequential.

With 2030 approaching, the conversation about what comes next is already under way and higher education now has a seat at the table.

The Digital Education Council's Re-Defining Sustainability: A Higher Education Perspective for Post-2030 is one contribution to that discourse.  

Developed by expert delegates from the DEC 2025 ESG & Sustainability Working Group, the report draws on a global survey of 46 institutions across 25 countries. It examines where the current framework falls short and what higher education needs from the next one.

A Framework That Doesn't Fit

The SDG framework was designed primarily for national governments. It does not include institution-level targets, which means universities have no clear expectations to work towards and no shared indicators against which to measure progress. 

Institutions advancing net-zero commitments, sustainability literacy and community engagement are therefore doing so without a coordinated framework to guide or benchmark their efforts.

The result is action that remains fragmented and dependent on voluntary leadership rather than systemic guidance.

During the DEC Executive Briefing #024, Shruti Tiwari, Professor at IIM Indore, observed: "After COVID, the real world has changed. It's time that the UN Sustainability Framework gives us guidelines on how we can prepare students in terms of their abilities, their intention and their action plan to tackle the problems of the real world."

"We need to constantly adapt and we need to understand that the realities in the territories are very different," said Alexandra Petcu, Head of Innovation and Technology Transfer at West University of Timișoara.

What Needs to Change

Data from the report illustrates the need for explicit institution-level goals in the post-2030 agenda, ensuring that higher education institutions are recognised as essential agents of transformation.

Figure 2. Importance Rating of the Current SDGs and the Proposed Goals and Sub-goals (Out of 5). 

Source: Re-Defining Sustainability: A Higher Education Perspective for Post-2030

The first is Education for Sustainable Development, currently a sub-target under SDG 4 (Quality Education). Survey results show it received the highest inclusion rating of all proposed goals, yet implementation lags behind, pointing to the need for a dedicated, globally recognised standalone goal.

The second is Net-Zero and Resilient Institutions. Higher education institutions are major actors with significant carbon footprints, yet SDG 13 (Climate Action) focuses almost exclusively on national-level climate action. A dedicated sub-goal would define expectations for organisational net-zero transition and enable more coherent, institution-wide climate action.

The third is Social Inclusion. Expert delegates stressed the importance of addressing inclusion challenges such as disability inclusion, gender diversity and environmental justice in an integrated way. However, the current SDGs do not reflect this holistic reality. Inclusion challenges do not fall neatly into SDG 5 (Gender Equality) or SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) but rather cut across multiple areas of implemented action.

"We really do need to think about this intersectionality," highlighted LaKisha Barrett, Associate Dean of Belonging and Purpose in Teaching and Learning at Austin Community College. "What can we do as educators to make sure that we show up in 2030 better; both as colleges and universities, operating at the crossroads of technology, learning, equity, and community?" 

What Higher Education Brings to the Table

Research was consistently identified as one of the sector's most significant contributions to sustainability. Expert delegates shared cases where research in environmental science, engineering, and technology directly enabled major emissions reductions in industry, in some cases surpassing the institution's own carbon footprint.

Institutions also play a regional leadership role in sustainability education.

In regions where public awareness and technical capacity remain limited, institutions have delivered large-scale capacity-building programmes to municipal commissioners and political leaders, covering issues such as water and waste management. This work strengthens local sustainability governance beyond the campus. 

Marizoila Fontana Roos, Sustainability and Social Responsibility Director at Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, said: "Education is a primary tool for developing people to have better opportunities to transform their lives. We must educate our students in sustainability so that they can educate others and lead the change in the future.”

As the post-2030 agenda is still being shaped, the next framework must be built with higher education, not around it.

This post draws on the Re-Defining Sustainability: A Higher Education Perspective for Post-2030 Report, developed by the DEC 2025 ESG & Sustainability Working Group. 

The full Report is available for public download here. 

‍DEC Members can access the full Report and Briefing exclusively via the DEC Member Area.