All participants in the economy have to integrate sustainable development into their strategy as well as into their behavior in order to achieve this goal.

Since environmental problems cannot be solved without keeping economic progress in mind, industry’s resource and energy requirements need to be harmonized with the interests of environmental protection.

In recent years the human aspects of sustainable development have received increasing attention: the way and quality of life, consciousness, preservation of values, traditions, and health. Furthermore, maintenance of employment, as well as the respect for human rights and the democratic institutions are also important for sustainable development.

For Hungary the creation of jobs and the development of environmentally friendly industrial activity in the less developed regions are of particular relevance.

Without radical and definitive change of the present practices, economic development cannot be maintained for much longer. However, we can achieve the positive changes only over a longer transition period, and we have to accept a stepwise incremental progress, as long as the direction is right.

The process of transition into the sustainable stage of economy will certainly take some decades in Hungary – and will be directed and organized by the students of today. Therefore, all those who want to positively contribute to this process should support education at the school and university level, and research into environmentally friendly products and lifestyles for future generations.

After all, it is the thinking and behavior of people, as well as the development of their knowledge, that can make the most important difference in creating a sustainable society.