Worldwide universities have attempted to use the Sustainable Development Goal 4 target 7 (SDG 4.7), as the heart of their sustainability strategy in accordance with the 2030 Agenda. However, a holistic implementation of sustainability policies and regulations in the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) systems and operations have not yet been achieved due to the complex and dynamic nature of both sustainability and HEIs. There is a need for a holistic and reliable framework, monitoring approach and tool that can help in aligning the sustainability requirements with the HEIs strategy. In addition, the Group of Twenty (G20) that was held in Saudi Arabia in 2020, recommended a focus on accelerating monitoring by the design and implementation of holistic frameworks to map progress on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Yet there are few studies on frameworks, tools and approaches that can help in the understanding of how a systematic transformation can be undertaken to enhance institution-wide integration of sustainability principles with HEI’s strategies. In this paper we review the relevant literature and develop a holistic conceptual strategic framework to understand and implement a sustainability monitoring system for HEI’s.