Purpose: Sustainability has globally become a mantra to address complex and unprecedented survival, social, political and peace issues. Higher education institutions bear responsibility to address them. This paper aims to explore barriers that Pakistani public universities (PPUs) face in embedding sustainability at their campuses. This paper also offers potential opportunities to take initiatives to minimize barriers and move towards a sustainable future. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on case study approach, and data were gathered through interviews and documents. Interviews with 11 academic administrators were conducted to gain deeper understanding on issues of governance and its influence on sustainability. Data were analysed using thematic analysis that created thematic map/model. Findings: Key findings include, firstly, that majority of participants think poor governance is the biggest issue in demoting sustainability. This barrier causes an array of interconnected barriers. Secondly, participants strongly associate unsustainability with lack of institutional change and training. Finally, lack of resources was the most frequently articulated barrier. Findings provided a rationale to propose suggestions to promote sustainability. Originality/value: Developed countries are leaders in promoting sustainability, whereas developing countries are laggards. Pakistan, a developing country, does not have substantial research to reveal the barriers PPUs are facing to promote sustainability. This paper is an attempt to address research gap in identifying barriers to sustainability.