Abstract Sustainable finance has become a central issue across many sectors, including higher education, where universities must balance fiscal responsibility with environmental, social and governance (ESG) imperatives. In this paper, sustainable finance is defined as the systematic integration of ESG criteria into budgeting, investment, procurement and asset management decisions within academic institutions. At the same time, students increasingly demand that universities translate sustainability pledges into ethical and transparent financial practices. The aim of the study is to assess students’ familiarity with sustainable finance concepts and to identify the main educational barriers limiting competence development in this field. A quantitative Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) survey was conducted among students in Austria, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovenia and the Netherlands. Findings reveal strong student interest in ESG and sustainable finance topics, yet significant shortcomings remain. Respondents observed that ESG content is rarely integrated into curricula, that opportunities for interdisciplinary and practical learning are limited, and that qualified teaching staff are insufficient. These gaps reduce student engagement and represent a missed opportunity for universities to use education as a driver of sustainability. The paper concludes with recommendations to enrich curricula, foster experiential and interdisciplinary learning, and strengthen faculty expertise in order to better align higher education practices with the principles of sustainable finance.
Tomala et al. (Thu,) studied this question.