As early as 2016, in its Sustainability Policy Statement, Freie Universität Berlin committed itself to the "broad integration of sustainability content into the university curriculum" and to the implementation of the concept of "Education for Sustainable Development" (ESD). This commitment was reaffirmed in the Climate Emergency Declaration signed in December 2019 and in the 2021 Guiding Principles for Studies and Teaching.

Since the summer semester of 2016, the Sustainability & Energy Management Unit has been evaluating all courses with regard to their relevance to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. This evaluation is based on all course titles and descriptions in the course catalog, combined with criteria for SDG relevance or focus (see graphic for definitions).