This study explores what motivates Sustainability Champions to include sustainability in their research and teaching. The study used a narrative inquiry approach, and explored the life experiences, beliefs, and knowledge that shaped Champions’ identity and the role that it had in their engagement with sustainability. The findings reveal that personal motivations, self-image, and views on sustainability significantly influence their teaching practices. This study was conducted as a case study in the Faculty of Business Administration at Ritsumeikan University, in Kyoto Japan.