Since 2008, the Sustainability Award has been presented as a nationwide competition for universities, universities of applied sciences, and colleges of education in Austria every two years. It is jointly awarded by two ministries: the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) and the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology (BMK). The award recognizes especially innovative and sustainable university projects.

In 2022, the project "Sustainable Universities – Measuring and Shaping Impacts" implemented by the Institute for Sustainability Management secured third place in the "Structural Embedding" category and was honored with the Sustainability Award.

The project examined the diverse impacts of WU Vienna on the economy, environment, and society, showcasing these through 30 case studies from research and 20 case studies from university teaching. By publishing these case studies, WU aims to raise awareness among researchers and educators about the various impacts of a university, share their experiences with other higher education institutions, and better embed sustainability structurally.