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This study aims to assess the extent to which sustainable development practices are prevalent at the College of Open and Distance Learning (CODL), St. Mary’s University, Ethiopia. The assessment focused on identifying the college’s inclusion of the sustainable development agenda in its policy statements, various functions and practices.

The study adopted a mixed-method approach and used a case study in its design. Data were generated from a standard survey questionnaire, adopted from the unit-based sustainability assessment tool (Togo and Lotz-Sisitka, 2009), a semi-structured interview and documentary evidence.

The findings revealed that CODL has limited involvement in sustainability issues despite relevant policy directions set at national and institutional levels. Current engagement patterns are limited to teaching, course provision and a few areas of operations and management while a serious gap has been noted as regard the two core functional areas of research and community service which happen to be neglected.

This study was based on a single CODL, albeit an institution with a long history of offering distance education in Ethiopia. Despite its contribution to an understanding of how sustainability issues are addressed in the context of Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular, the generalizability of the findings to other similar institutions is limited.

There is very little research in Africa as regard the involvement of higher education institutions in promoting the issues of sustainability in general and distance education providers in particular. In addition to addressing this gap, the study suggests the need for distance education institutions to improve their mapping strategies and respond to the greater concerns of sustainable development.

This study aims to investigate the contribution of higher education institutions (HEIs) to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and propose strategies to cultivate a culture centred on the SDGs in HEIs.

The methodology used encompassed an integrative literature review, combining bibliographic analysis on how HEIs incorporate the SDGs into their practices, adopting a qualitative approach for the analysis and categorization of the results.

The multifaceted contributions of HEIs in promoting the SDGs stand out, through their roles in teaching, research, management and integration and communication between university and society.

While influencing policies at various levels, HEIs encounter challenges in the effective integration of SDGs into their strategies. This underscores the need for contextualized governance, understanding students’ perspectives on sustainability and active external collaboration in policy formulation.

There is an urgent need to integrate SDGs into academic programmes, emphasizing the importance of redesigning curricula, actively involving teachers, researchers and students, establishing partnerships and promoting research applied to SDGs.

The social relevance of the study lies in the emphasis on an SDG-centred culture, involving teaching, research, outreach, community engagement and governance practices.

The study’s uniqueness lies in identifying persistent challenges during the transition to an SDG-centred culture, necessitating multisectoral collaboration and educational programmes that integrate sustainability principles into the strategy of HEIs.