We analyzed two educational frameworks that seek to embed "education for sustainable development" into higher education (HE). Both identify that HE is failing to educate graduates able to address the sustainability needs of society and suggest approaches to remedy the situation. We used discourse analysis and framing analysis to explore the communication frames that the text activates in the context of education. Our results suggest that exponents of this form of sustainability-education have struggled to situate affect within HE learning and teaching and as a result may have underestimated the extent of pedagogical change necessary to achieve desired outcomes.