Higher education plays a crucial role in the context of sustainable development in as much as it has a significant influence on the way in which future generations will deal with the responsible societal switch points with the complex requirements, which during the course of globalisation, worldwide trade, dealing with poverty as well as environment and development, have been brought upon them. Thus, universities’ central tasks of teaching, research and continuing education programs have to be taken as much into consideration as their societal outreach and the implementation of sustainability principles into the university management.
In this paper the current state of affairs is presented by unfolding efforts of implementation in the areas of teaching and learning, and sustainability research against the backdrop of international and national political framework conditions. Furthermore, the debate on education for sustainable development in higher education is characterized by substantial initiatives of non-governmental organizations and informal groups of actors. The paper concludes with a series of proposals for the future development of higher education for sustainability.