He began developing the field of environmental economics in Hungary more than 30 years ago, at a time when there was no Hungarian literature on the subject, and international literature was only available by bringing home new international textbooks purchased with per diem allowances. In 1989, he established the Department of Environmental Economics, and in 1990, the Institute of Environmental Sciences. Relying on his background in natural sciences, he began to build up the field of environmental economics with great faith and self-confidence, competing but at the same time cooperating and befriending János Szlávik and Dezső Kulcsár, who were working in similar fields. 

He had the courage to build professional relationships with world-renowned professors in these early days, so we were able to learn from the most renowned professors. Among them, David Pearce stands out, the most influential European resource economist, head of CSERGE, whose works form the basis of today’s European environmental policy. He was one of the founders of the journal Ecological Economics, to whom we owe one of our first international projects.  

He regularly invited Denis Meadows, founder of the Club of Rome, and established a lasting collaboration with John Morelli, head of department at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he sent many of his colleagues on study trips. He was president of CEMS and remains a regular guest at its events to this day. He earned his doctorate from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2003, presenting in his doctoral thesis that there is a significant gap between the environmental status of countries and their environmental policy assessments. His scientific works are incisive, provocative, and thought-provoking. 

His workshop-creating activities are characterized by the textbooks he has written, which are used as required reading at many universities: Environmental Economics, Environmentally Friendly Corporate Management, Local Environmental Policy, Sustainability, Environmental Economics, Welfare. He has trained the largest number of PhDs in the field. He was a founding member of the PhD Committee for Management Sciences at Corvinus University and head of the environmental economics and environmental management specialization. Twenty-nine students have earned PhD degrees under his supervision, and this number will continue to grow as he remains an active supervisor at the doctoral schools of Corvinus University and MATE Kaposvár Campus. 

Many of his students remained in higher education, and 10 of them have attained positions as department heads, institute directors, and senior university administrators. 

He considered the willingness of others to work with him to be a measure of his own value, and he did not shy away from working with outstanding but difficult people. 

He had great respect for István Láng and József Kindler, in whose honor he established a high school competition, which he personally organized. 

His international recognition is evidenced by the fact that he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Warsaw, where the Warsaw choir sang Omega’s song “Gyöngyhajú lány” (Girl with Pearl Hair) in Hungarian at the inauguration ceremony. 

His scientific convictions are characterized by deeply felt optimism. Although he considers environmental problems to be poorly structured, wicked problems, we can never be sure that we are asking the right questions and not creating even bigger problems with our solutions. Nevertheless, he always encouraged us to love the world, love people, and believe in the future, because even if we cannot change the world, we can make our lives more beautiful in this way. 

Congratulations on the Golden Lifetime Achievement Award!