Higher education institutions play a pivotal role in fostering innovation to address climate change, through the promotion of sustainable development initiatives within university incubators. This is particularly significant in Central Mexico, a region characterized by agroindustrial and manufacturing activities. While many universities in the region have integrated sustainability into their academic curricula, a gap remains in recognizing the relationship between innovation for sustainable development and climate change in student-led initiatives. University incubators serve as crucial platforms that link student ideas to innovation and investment, accelerating the transformation of these projects into successful ventures. However, these incubators often lack robust criteria for assessing projects based on their impact across the three dimensions of sustainable development: environmental, economic, and social. This research examines the potential and challenges of university incubators in Central Mexico as they integrate Sustainability evaluationsustainability evaluation criteria, with a particular emphasis on climate change mitigation actions. Through interviews with key stakeholders responsible for university incubators, three significant findings emerged: (i) climate action, as a facet of sustainable development, is largely absent from the core philosophy of these incubators; (ii) incubators could better utilize the interdisciplinary nature of their institutions to foster the skills necessary for projects focused on sustainability and climate action; (iii) there is a critical need to design and implement comprehensive tools for evaluating projects based on sustainability and climate change criteria. In conclusion, enhancing both human and institutional capacities is essential to fully understanding the impacts and opportunities of incubators in advancing sustainable development projects that support climate action. This study underscores the urgent need for a paradigm shift in how university incubators operate, with a specific focus on sustainability and climate change mitigation.