Growing up green

'The environment' is one of the major issues of our time, and according to a new study by the Future Foundation on behalf of the National Lottery, teenagers are particularly concerned about being green.

The report surveyed 1,600 16-19 year olds, and found that green credentials are so important to some that they suffer from ‘green angst’ – anxiety about whether they are green enough. Environmental awareness even influences their choice of friends and partners.

Girls are most likely to worry about their green credentials. Of the girls questioned, 59 per cent were worried about not being green enough compared with 50 per cent of the male teenagers.

Many young people (45 per cent) are disappointed that their parents' generation have not done enough to tackle climate change. And 12 per cent of respondents are embarrassed by their parents' lack of green credentials.

Around 20 per cent of youngsters surveyed can be classed as 'hard core greens', the most enthusiastic about environmental issues. Almost 10 per cent say they would be prepared to take part in guerrilla activities carried out by environmental groups.

More than one in eight support a ban on travelling by air for leisure purposes, while one in 10 say they would back a ban on cars if global warming continues to worsen.

Half the 16 to 19-year-olds surveyed want a total ban on plastic bags while 71 per cent think that unnecessary packaging on food should be stopped.

To request a free copy of this report, visit http://www.futurefoundation.net/publications.php?disp=437 

Changing Lives: 1 February 2008, Olympia Conference Centre, London

Can brands resolve the paradoxes and dilemmas facing the modern consumer-citizen – and still make margins/build pro-active loyalty?

The Future Foundation's latest twice-yearly Changing Lives conference will focus on the theme of paradox: those contradictions in the choices made by individuals and the debates about how we ought to live within society.

For more information and to book your place, visit http://www.futurefoundation.net/changinglivesuk2008

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