How far have higher education institutions progressed towards complete institutional integration of sustainability? Where are they on the scale from “bolt-on” to “redesign”, from “education about sustainability” to “education as sustainability”? We explore rich stories from five different European universities with very different contexts, shedding light on integration processes to embed sustainability in different ways, with a focus on the leadership skills of pioneers, their learning journeys to develop competencies and skills for sustainability integration, and their insights into networks as safe spaces to engage in collaborative learning. With this collective effort, we hope to increase the scope and quality of embedding sustainability at the core of higher education institutions.