The organisation set up by 117 universities aims to enable the higher education sector to effectively help restore natural resources and biodiversity, the statement said. More than 400 universities have joined the network so far, it added.

The fact that the University of Sopron was among the founding members of NPUA is also a recognition of the institution’s efforts for sustainability, the statement said.

These include a comprehensive development of the Botanic Gardens which also functions as a campus, the university’s advance towards carbon-neutral operation and a forest planting scheme it manages.

In addition to its membership in NPUA, the University of Sopron is also a founding member of the Hungarian Universities Sustainability Platform established last autumn, it added.