Sandpiper Communications unveils Gen Z's top sustainability concerns

(Photo by Tyler Casey on Unsplash)

Gen Z will soon become the largest living generation and they will hold the most economic power, making it essential to understand their thoughts. In a recent survey, environmental, social and economic issues are the areas that concern them most.

According to Sandpiper Communications' survey, sustainable development was the major concern among Gen Zs in China (90%), followed by Gen Zs in Hong Kong (87%). Only 81% of respondents in Australia and Singapore said sustainable development was their major concern. In terms of the pillars of the sustainable development goals, Gen Zs across all markets were most concerned by environmental issues (86%), followed by social issues (84%), and economic issues (83%).

The issues with the most overall concern were decent work and economic growth and reducing inequalities, which worried 90% of Gen Zs in Asia Pacific, followed very closely by climate action at 89%. Among issues with the highest levels of significant concern, climate change ranked first, with close to one third (30%) of Gen Zs in the region saying this causes them significant personal concern.

Hunger (77%) and gender equality (79%) ranked lowest among Asia Pacific Gen Zs.

“While economic stability is a concern in the pandemic’s wake, environmental issues still pose more concern than social and economic issues to Gen Zs. Among the top environmental concerns, climate change has become a hot button issue for Gen Zs across the Asia Pacific region," said Kelly Johnston, COO of Sandpiper Communications.

"With Gen Z becoming the dominant generation in terms of population and economic power in the next decade, we can expect the focus on environmental issues and climate action to grow as part of the global sustainability agenda," Johnston added.

The study surveyed a total of 1,226 respondents aged between 18 and 24 online across four markets in Asia Pacific in October 2020, including Australia (302), China (309), Hong Kong (306) and Singapore (309).

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