Higher education institutions have different facets in which sustainability can be implemented, namely: in the curriculum of the various programmes, in the research and teaching facilities and in the management. The ISO advocates an integral approach by higher education institutions, in which all these facets come together and are incorporated into the DNA of the institutions. The ISO wants higher education institutions to pay structural attention to sustainability in their core activities and to make transparent how they do this. The ISO sees opportunities for the development of knowledge and skills to understand the context of the challenges and to be able to shape and give substance to their work and social role from there.  

The ISO sees visibility and overview of sustainability measures and subjects/researchers at institutions, the drafting of sustainability policy and the standardisation of a sustainability approach as concrete measures for an integral approach to sustainability in higher education. The ISO is interested in exploring the possibilities for a centralised and uniform approach and sees a task for itself in actively entering into dialogue with its partners in the field of education and representing the interests of students and employee participation, wherever this subject is discussed at the national level. Not only the liveability of the earth, but also the quality of education and the learning environment will benefit from the connection between education and the challenges of tomorrow.