Shelton Group, a marketing and research firm which focuses on energy and environment, conducted a survey on the habits of Millennials, the generation of people born between 1979 and 2000. They found that only one third of Millennials recycles, compared to the almost 50% of Americans overall. Young people are also 15% less likely to save energy (e.g. by turning down the thermostat) than the general population.
On the other hand, three out of four millennials say they would pay more for a sustainable product and the same amount of young people is “somewhat to extremely concerned about the impact climate change will have on their quality of life during their lifetimes,” compared to only 51 percent of the general population.
Suzanne Shelton, president and CEO of the Shelton group, commented the apparently conflicting results in a statement: “Millennials are pushing companies to make a positive impact on the world because they believe global problems are too big for individuals to solve“. Thus, they put less value on individual action.
Shelton calls the trend “reverse crowdsourcing“: Millennials buy from green companies as a form of activism. “Millennials are looking to corporations to take action” Shelton said. “That gives companies a real opportunity: Help the planet, help your business.”