The opportunities and challenges related to sustainability impose not only a societal transformation but also a personal one. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have great potential to promote sustainability and shape future generations’ skills, knowledge, thinking, and actions. Addressing environmental, social, and economic pillars, education for sustainable development (ESD), or education for sustainability (EfS), is a catalyst for quality education towards a sustainable future. This paper aims to analyze the state of the art and prevailing trends in the scientific literature pertaining to ESD/EfS. In this regard, specific objectives were established to identify the following: (1) authors’ productivity over time; (2) countries’ contribution and collaboration; (3) the most relevant keywords; and (4) the most prominent themes—in terms of relevance and degree of development. To fulfill the research objectives, quantitative research employing bibliometric analysis was carried out in April 2023. The research data sample was collected from the Web of Science (WoS) database. By conducting the search using a combined topic (“education for sustainable development” OR “education for sustainability”), a total of 2827 documents in English were identified within a timeframe of 33 years (1989–2023). These documents served as the foundation for subsequent data processing, visualization, and analysis using Biblioshiny/Bibliometrix (version R-4.2.0), as well as Excel (version 2309) software. The visualization and analysis focused on examining the most prolific authors and countries, in addition to generating word clouds based on keywords. Moreover, the thematic map that was delineated into four quadrants—Basic, Motor, Niche, and Emerging or Declining themes—provides an overview of the researched subject. ESD—embracing environmental, social, and economic pillars—implies transformative learning, action-oriented pedagogies, and professional development. As a holistic framework, it requires interdisciplinarity, system thinking, critical and experiential thinking, problem-based learning, and the use of 4IR technologies to enhance the teaching-learning process.

The present scientific approach is based on the premise that an interdisciplinary approach in research allows us to solve more complex problems and to create a bridge between fields of knowledge in order to reach relevant solutions. In this context, as a general line of achievement, the proposed study aims to identify a management solution for implementing organizational change. The conceptual paradigm related to the link between sustainable development management and organizational culture is also incorporated, with a focus on the dimensions of sustainable development. The authors’ collective understanding of organizational culture, part of the organizational management system, and sustainable development management, as a cross-cutting approach, is the object of a study applied to the Romanian higher education environment, considered a catalyst for change with an impact on society as a whole. The specific objective of the study is to analyse the relationships between organizational culture and sustainable development management, aiding some stakeholders to identify solutions for increasing performance in the implementation of sustainable development management in Romanian universities. It is intended to contribute to internalizing the idea of a higher value of organizational culture as an internal barometer of an organization, an imprint of values, beliefs, rules and norms, which is why the study also takes into account the investigation of the role of culture in the diagnosis of organizational sustainability, and finally, the contribution of the culture vector to the implementation of changes is highlighted. Achieving goals in the field of sustainable development involves changing mindsets that shape human behaviour. The analysis of the university environment aimed precisely at investigating its relationship with ecological and sustainability issues and identifying ways to improve these practices. In order to achieve these research goals, a methodological framework centred on two pillars was used: a brief bibliometric research accompanied by a critical analysis of the literature and questionnaire-based research. The first pillar resolves the conceptual issues that underpin the study and the second provides an insight into the main characteristics of the organizational culture that can influence sustainable development in Romanian universities.

Any organisation, in order to develop harmoniously and cope with a changing environment, needs to be flexible and adaptable. Such an organisation is one that encourages and supports the creation of a learning culture. By encouraging and supporting employees to learn and develop new skills, organisations can create a culture of continuous learning and growth. Learning culture is more personalised and engaging than traditional culture. Organisations where a learning culture is implemented at all levels become agile, innovative and protected in the face of uncertainty in society. Another benefit of implementing learning culture is attracting the best employees and retaining them in the organisation. A strong learning culture drives motivation, satisfaction and commitment of the organisation’s members.

Since 1972, at the level of the European Community, as a result of the Stockholm Conference, a series of successive programmes have been adopted, which have established both future legislative proposals and prospects on environmental policy. The programmes were aimed at setting goals that will be achieved in environmental protection field in the European Community. So far, seven such programmes have been established, called Environmental Action Programmes.

Analysis of an organization’s internal environment, including the factors that influence the organization’s activity: its owners, managers and leadership, employees, material resources, organizational culture, should determine the capabilities/capabilities/potential of the organization to adapt to/integrate to the external environmental components. In general, the characteristics and quality of an organization’s internal environment allow the “exploitation” of the opportunities offered by the organization’s external environment.

Higher education institutions, as organizations that “provide education”, are those that generate and transfer knowledge to society through teaching and research activities. Viewed as open systems, higher education institutions influence and, in turn, are influenced by their external environment. In the case of military institutions of higher education, the particularities of the military environment determine the appearance of specific characteristics of the external environment.