Sustainable Development Goals in Higher Education Institutions: A Multi‐Actor Analysis

ABSTRACT Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have emerged as a central framework for advancing sustainable development within Higher Education Institutions. While research on this engagement has grown substantially in recent years, most studies adopt fragmented perspectives, focusing on isolated actions or single dimensions rather than a systemic analysis of the coordinated roles of multiple actors. This has produced only a partial understanding of how commitment is actually produced and sustained. Adopting an integrative and problematizing approach, this article presents a multi‐actor exploratory analysis of the Spanish case. A qualitative exploratory analysis was conducted using extensive multi‐actor documentation (including 144 mandatory course syllabi). The analysis draws a portrait in which practices resembling SDG‐washing stand out, without clear substantive effort to specifically and comprehensively promote the SDGs in Institutions' core activities (e.g., curricula). Theoretical and practical implications for scholars and other stakeholders are discussed.