The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) promotes capacity building through various initiatives, including the Guidelines for Conservation Literacy developed in 2004. Considering advances in scholarship and practice, an update of such guidelines is likely warranted in line with the 4DEE framework. Here, I aim to address the following questions: (i) how can SCB benefit from and help advance 4DEE teaching? (ii) what are the opportunities for adoption and adaptation of 4DEE by SCB? (iii) how can SCB and ESA collaborate to achieve broader implementation and elaboration of the 4DEE framework? (iv) What challenges might SCB face in incorporating 4DEE?