From Commitment to Integration: A Systematic Review of Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions

This study examines conditions associated with systemic sustainability integration in higher education institutions, focusing on institutional pressures, internal capacities and leadership agency. It reports a PRISMA-guided review of 234 peer-reviewed studies published from 2014 to May 2024, identified through searches of Scopus and Web of Science last conducted on 14 May 2024, and analyzed using descriptive bibliometric analysis and thematic synthesis guided by Institutional Theory, Resource-Based Theory, and Responsible Leadership. The reviewed literature gives increasing attention to systemic, data-informed approaches to sustainability integration. Evidence clusters in five linked domains: leadership and governance, institutional strategy, teaching and learning, university social responsibility, and sustainability metrics. Reported enablers of integration include responsible leadership, strategic alignment, organizational resources and accountability. The review synthesizes how institutional pressures, organizational capacity, and leadership agency jointly shape outcomes and proposes the domains of a Sustainability Integration Framework as a conceptual synthesis for future empirical testing. Its English-language, peer-reviewed focus may underrepresent regional practice; future work should use longitudinal mixed methods and examine digital infrastructures and policy shifts. This research received no external funding. This review was not registered.