By Prof. Daniella Tilbury, UNECE Steering Committee on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
Higher education has long been recognised as a vital driver of sustainable development, with many universities now placing sustainability at the heart of their institutional strategies. Yet there is growing concern that sustainability is too often incorporated superficially within universities as a label or add-on rather than as a driver of meaningful transformation in teaching, research, and institutional practice. Quality assurance (QA) agencies have a potentially critical role to play in strengthening the credibility and depth of sustainability within higher education. However, the question of how QA agencies can effectively support this agenda remains underexplored.
To address this gap, ENQA and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Steering Committee on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) have begun a collaboration to examine how sustainability and Learning for Sustainability are currently understood and addressed within QA systems. Their first joint activity was a survey undertaken in late 2025, designed to map current approaches, identify barriers, and explore the roles agencies consider they can play in advancing sustainability within higher education.
The findings paint a nuanced picture of a sector at an important crossroads. While many agencies recognise sustainability as an emerging dimension of higher education quality, conceptual understandings remain highly diverse. Some agencies draw on established frameworks such as Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while others report no formal definition of sustainability within their QA activities. In some systems, agencies indicate that sustainability lies outside their statutory remit, with responsibility assigned to other government bodies. Understanding of Learning for Sustainability is even less developed, with many agencies noting that the concept has not yet been explicitly considered within their quality assurance processes.
Where integration does occur, it tends to be piecemeal. Sweden’s 2017 national evaluation of sustainable development and Andorra’s 2020 quality criteria for higher education remain notable examples of work in this area. Elsewhere, agencies point to pilot accreditation features, SDG-linked indicators, or project-based collaborations linking sustainability with curriculum and institutional review processes. These initiatives demonstrate innovation and commitment but are rarely embedded in core QA methodologies. As a result, systemic integration of sustainability across quality assurance systems remains limited.
The barriers identified by agencies are largely structural rather than technical. Many point to the absence of sustainability within the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG), limited reviewer expertise, and already overloaded QA frameworks. Agencies also express concerns that poorly designed approaches could reduce sustainability to a “box-ticking exercise,” undermining the transformative potential of the agenda. Resource constraints and fragmented policy responsibilities across ministries further complicate efforts to embed sustainability within quality processes.
Despite these challenges, the study also highlights significant opportunities. QA agencies identify a wide range of ways in which they can support the mainstreaming of sustainability even without formal mandates. These include strengthening sustainability literacy within reviewer training, disseminating examples of good institutional practice, producing thematic guidance, and contributing to policy dialogue. A smaller group of agencies already integrate sustainability directly into evaluation standards, programme benchmarking tools as well as assessments of institutional strategy, governance, curriculum design, and student learning outcomes.
Importantly, agencies express a strong appetite for greater coordination and support at European level. Many see ENQA as well positioned to facilitate peer learning, develop practical guidance and tools, and provide leadership in strengthening the conceptual foundations of sustainability within QA. Future discussions on the evolution of the ESG are also seen as a potential lever for change, helping to clarify expectations while respecting the diversity of national systems.
The findings suggest that the integration of sustainability within quality assurance across the EHEA is at an early but evolving stage. Agencies broadly support the direction of travel but emphasise that progress should follow a developmental rather than prescriptive path. Clearer conceptual frameworks, practical guidance, and sustained investment in professional competence development will be essential if QA systems are to support meaningful institutional transformation rather than superficial compliance.
To continue this conversation, ENQA and UNECE will host a webinar on 12 May 2026 to present the study’s findings and explore practical pathways for the sector. Quality assurance professionals, QA agencies’ staff, and higher education stakeholders are warmly invited to participate and contribute to shaping the next phase of this important agenda.
