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Sustainability science as a transdisciplinary academic field has taken off since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Recent reflections have traced its practical origins back to the 1980s when sustainable development became popularized. Using academic and governmental literature as primary sources, I argue that these reflections are incomplete and that the practices of sustainability science as espoused today are embedded in the establishment of a normative and pragmatic form of ecosystem sciences that emerged in Europe and North America in the early twentieth century—informed by scientific principles of holism, conservation, and faith in scientific expertise and by social sensibilities of love of nature, morality, and pragmatism. Following World War II, years of scientific and intergovernmental debate led to the creation of an international program of applied research and education in the 1970s—the Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme of the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. The most enduring legacy of the MAB Programme is the world network of Biosphere Reserves, first initiated in 1976 and now numbering 669 in 120 countries. While this program is not the only contributor to sustainability science, this network became an embodiment of sustainability science, by implementing a use-inspired, transdisciplinary research and action program at the human–environment interface. A major challenge has been to generate consistent uptake and cross fertilization by scientists internationally. Reviewing the ideas and ideals that helped found the MAB Programme uncovers enduring institutional, methodological and epistemological challenges facing sustainability scientists and suggests opportunities to transform the research and practice of sustainability science so that they better align with contemporary aspirations and values.