3.1 Environmental protection – the next generation

Will the eco-wave die down if the younger generation consistently acts less sustainably than their parents’ generation? Not necessarily – as can be seen from the interest of younger people surveyed in new methods of environmental protection, which can mainly be put into action through apps – mini programs for the popular internet-capable smartphones. In this regard, the younger people surveyed are considerably more open than the pioneers of the environmental movement. For example, almost one in two under-30s (48 percent) are enthusiastic about electronic tickets on smartphones. This saves paper and pleases the technology-friendly young people (50 to 65-year olds: 34 percent). 44 percent of under-30s would find it useful to be able to monitor the costs of their household energy consumption via their smartphone (50 to 65-year olds: 33 percent). Equally, 44 percent of under-30s show interest in the possibility of getting more information through their smartphone when shopping, for example, on the life cycle assessment, social sustainability, or ingredients of a product, as enabled by certain apps by means of scanning barcodes. Smartphone buying guides, for example on season vegetables, appeal to one in three (35 percent) of the under-30s. Perhaps each generation needs its own form of environmental protection: two thirds of the over-50s have carried out the old tradition and planted a tree in their lifetime. Smartphone owners can now do this via an app.