In the course of the past 20 years, the University of Graz has run an intensive
programme on initiating activities towards implementing sustainable development across the university. Maybe unconsciously as contribution to sustainability but essentially affecting its performance, in 1991 university students have launched the study programme on Environmental System Sciences to integrate more social and environmental oriented contents into their traditional studies. In the years after, actions followed by the university management, faculty, and student organisations, all to contribute to the common aim of improving the university’s sustainability performance. A sustainability library was established, Austrian first university sustainability report was published, a sustainability task force was initiated and actors across the university initiated manifold more actions that will be partly discussed in this paper. Today the University of Graz is well known in Austria and across Europe for its performance in crossuniversity sustainability integration. Still the question remains how all those activities interrelate and the progress remains active. This question is being discussed in this paper and analysed by the Graz Model for Integrative Development (MADER 2009)