ABSTRACT Armed conflicts, climate change, natural hazard-related disasters such as earthquakes, and other threats, can have deleterious effects on the integrity of cultural and natural heritage; yet, the notion of integrity, as applied to cultural heritage in particular, has received little attention, not least in the World Heritage system, which is the principal disseminator of heritage discourses, policies, and practices. Curiously, concern for loss of integrity is obvious in the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention, notably through the ‘d’ words of ‘decay,’ ‘deterioration,’ ‘damage,’ ‘destruction,’ and ‘disappearance’ caused by ‘dangers.’ This article draws on the Operational Guidelines for the implementation of this Convention and on Statements of Outstanding Universal Value to offer a closer look at integrity and its relation to the future in policy and practice. Can the notion of integrity maintain continuity whilst accommodating change over time? Can it deal with potential threats and risks? Can it create potential benefits for people? The article explores these questions and argues for ‘picking up’ integrity in global heritage discourses because its dynamic nature can enable a future-oriented approach to cultural heritage, not only to consider different future scenarios and responses to loss, but also to achieve sustainable development goals and reconcile conservation with the needs of an evolving world.