The objective of this study is to identify challenges in implementing education for sustainable development (ESD) into higher education institutions (HEIs). We introduced innovative pedagogies utilizing educational technology as a solution to promote ESD. We conducted an extensive literature review and keyword analysis on the topic. According to PRISMA protocol, the search yielded a total 367 articles and with a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria, 30 articles were selected for the further analysis. The keyword analysis was conducted to explore the main clusters in the selected articles using VOSviewer software. As a result, we identified three main clusters: 1) current challenges on ESD implementation, 2) implications of ESD in higher education curriculum, and 3) innovative pedagogical strategies for ESD. The result shows that in implementing ESD, the challenges are mainly related to the lack of framework for measuring competencies and systematically designing teacher training on the necessary ESD competencies. The findings also imply that the effective use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has a great potential to enhance teachers' technological and pedagogical expertise for ESD teaching and learning.