<p><i>Do behavioral factors and awareness of sustainable development goals (SDGs) affect sustainable policies in academia?</i> Implementing sustainable activities at the academic level requires an understanding of individual and organizational behavior, as psychological factors might undermine technical solutions. We thus extend the standard theory of planned behavior (TPB) model to include SDG awareness in order to investigate how psychological factors influence the sustainable activities of heads of universities and research centers in Europe. We also include economic barriers in the model as a moderating effect on the relationship between Intention and Positive Behavior. We estimate the model using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results confirm that behavioral models are effective at explaining decision-making in academia. Specifically, <i>subjective norms, moral attitudes,</i> and <i>SDG awareness</i> play a significant role in how sustainable practices are implemented in academia. In contrast, <i>perceived control behavior</i> does not significantly affect academic decisions. Finally, economic barriers have a significant moderating effect.</p>