Generation Green is leading the sustainability agenda

Just mention climate change, and I think of Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who, last year, spurred millions of children across 150 countries to conduct the most massive climate strike in history. In 2016, eight year old Mari Copeny became famous as “Little Miss Flint” after she wrote to the then-President Barack Obama and brought national attention to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Malala Yousafzai was only 17 when she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

Yes, the face of today’s environmental and social causes is decidedly wrinkle-free. Because young people have the most significant stake in a sustainable future, I’m not surprised they are leading the charge and driving sustainability on global and corporate agendas, as well as in their daily lives.

As consumers

Increasingly dubbed “Generation Green,” millennials and Gen Z demonstrate environmentally and socially-conscious consumer behavior. With rising spending power and digitally-enhanced information access, they are translating awareness into conscientious, organic, and environment-friendly product choices. In fact, industry watchers believe that association with ethical and eco-friendly choices is becoming the new status symbol for young consumers and an expression of their identity. Smart retailers will realize the tangible impact of this trend on shoppers – 53% of millennials say they would buy environmentally friendly products instead of a brand (as compared with 34% of baby boomers).

As investors

Millennials are keen to further the sustainability agenda through investment power. Capgemini’s World Wealth Report 2020 revealed that 41% of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) younger than 40 are interested in sustainable investing as compared with 27% of HNWI respondents overall. Youthful HNWIs also told us they were willing to commit a more significant portion of their assets (53%) to sustainable investing by 2021, compared with HNWIs overall (46%).

Among the high-net-worth individuals we interviewed, environmental risks and climate change emerged as leading sustainability focus areas. HNWIs under 40, however, rated effective and ethical corporate governance systems as a priority, followed by environmental risks. Wealth management firms will be wise to keep the unique needs and preferences of millennial investors in mind when designing sustainable investment offerings.

As employees

More and more, I hear from millennials who expect their employers to take an active role in driving sustainability. With millennials slated to make up the majority of the workforce in the coming years, a commitment to sustainability is critical to employee engagement, talent recruitment, and retention. Nearly 40% of millennials say they chose a job because the employer performed better on sustainability than other firms, according to a 2019 survey. Less than a quarter of Gen X and 17% of baby boomers said the same.

What does it mean for business?

As the proportion of millennials and Gen Z grows within consumer and employee bases, their sustainability demands will be both impractical and impossible to ignore. At the same time, let’s not consider sustainability as just another tool to capture brand value or market share. To generate positive societal, environmental, or organizational impact, it must be an action-based companywide commitment.

Thinking about developing a sustainability strategy? Keep these thoughts in mind:

• Fold sustainability into your organization’s DNA. Sure, this may not happen overnight, but commit to a strategy that goes beyond piecemeal initiatives to engrain sustainability principles in everything from your products and business operations to your organizational infrastructure, policies, and culture. At Capgemini, we have made a strong commitment to become a net-zero business by 2030, which we aim to achieve by embracing new ways of doing business and working with our entire value chain.
• Recognize that sustainability expands beyond the environment or climate. While environmental priorities are critical, the social and governance aspects of sustainability are also quickly gaining ground. Social sustainability involves identifying and managing the positive and negative impact of business on people, and it includes priorities such as health, education, alleviating poverty, gender equality, diversity, inclusion, and more.
• Support sustainability outside your organization: It heartens me to see more firms stepping up to contribute to society. For instance, I am proud of a recent Capgemini effort in which we sought ideas internally to address COVID-19 challenges and then set up a dedicated Social Response Unit to fast track implementation of the ideas.
• Provide Generation Green with ways to give back: Youthful employees are keen to contribute, and empowering them with the right tools and avenues can enhance customer and employee engagement while also delivering impact on a grander scale. In fact, let’s offer avenues for everyone to contribute!

Would you like to know more about corporate sustainability efforts? I encourage you to get in touch via social media.

Amit Choudhary

Expert in Change Management, Leadership, Strategy and Transformation

Amit brings a rich and diverse experience of an engineer, management consultant, P&L manager, mergers & acquisitions and financial leader in some of the industry leading organizations. This experience is built on a strong foundation of excelling in top educational institutions in Engineering and Management.
He currently leads a multicultural finance team of the Global unit spanning North America, UK, Continental Europe and APAC. As part of the FS Executive Council, he contributes to and drives the Strategic direction of the organization to stay relevant for evolving clients and market dynamics.
In this role, he ensures a balanced and independent view of operations which is imperative to deliver continuous transformation while maintaining financial control of business.
Amit has held positions in Capgemini Investment Committees and was the Chairperson of FS India Leadership Council. He believes in leadership by design and is passionate about leadership and team development.
His prior roles have seen him take on globally mobile client serving responsibilities like Account Management and Global Delivery solutions including Rightshore & outsourcing components.
He has been a key driver of Corporate Strategy and Change Management including Pre-Merger evaluation & Post Merger Integration of acquisitions ranging from string of pearls to Billion+ US$ deals
Amit has consulted at Board and CXO levels across a wide range of industries including financial services, health care, pharmaceuticals and industrial goods. His engagements span areas of strategy consulting, financial management, business development, e-commerce strategy, organizational change management, leadership development and business process re-engineering.
His clients included start-up ventures, major domestic, multinational/multicultural players and industry associations.