Working toward a sustainable future, universities have the potential to be transformative change-making laboratories. Real-world problems will require universities to transform their traditional roles of teaching and research into innovation ecosystems, responsible stewards and partners in their communities. Such a change shows the broader rethinking of universities' purpose and responsibilities. The requirement to produce graduates is no longer the only purpose of universities. It is also their responsibility to produce socially conscious graduates who can address the complex issues the world faces, such as equitable development, public health challenges and resource depletion. Sustainability has become a distinguishing feature of scholarship and a primary criterion for an institution's relevance and impact over time. Sustainability is no longer an optional goal for an institution. 

There has been a greater push with the changing frameworks for quality and policy. In India, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 advocate multidimensional learning, research, innovation and experiential education with a focus on extensive community engagement. The excellence of an institution is defined in a broader sense by incorporating established frameworks of community/social engagement through various accreditation and ranking systems, such as the NBA, NAAC, NIRF, THE Impact Rankings, and QS Sustainability Rankings. Universities have become socially sustainable and well-recognised. 

There are several reasons why universities can lead this change by embedding sustainability across multiple dimensions. Unlike other organisations, universities have a singular systemic combination of education, research, infrastructure, innovation and community engagement. This means that there are no barriers to transferring ideas within the university to/from the community, research and policy and teaching and practice. 

Indian institutions are redesigning building plans to include renewable energy, water-saving and waste management strategies as well as resource-sensitive infrastructure designs and biodiversity conservation. The interdisciplinary research within these institutions helps develop solutions in renewable energy, circular economics, climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, health care innovations and smart urban development. 

Students focus on research to promote and support sustainability and social and environmental responsibility. Integration of experiential learning, innovation challenges and projects, including start-up and field-community collaborations, provides ample opportunity for students to apply academic knowledge to real-world sustainability challenges. It enables students to learn to think critically about systems, promote ethical leadership and teamwork and solve complex problems. Schools are strengthening partnerships with the government, the private sector, civil society and community organisations. These partnerships will help the school catalyse sustainable development and resilience in the local ecosystem. 

Sustainability has become part of national accreditation systems and international benchmarking systems. More schools are using ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) metrics. The most important thing is that these systems make sustainability an ongoing process and an institutional responsibility rather than a report to stakeholders. 

Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies has made sustainability a priority through interdisciplinary research, responsible on-campus practices and engaged communities by integrating sustainability into its curriculum and core teaching practices. Rather than viewing sustainability as a separate component, it is being integrated into everyday decisions for teaching, research, operations and outreach. 

While working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), universities will play a vital role in building resilient societies; they will be assessed on the quality of their teaching and the positive changes in society they can bring. 

Views expressed are personal