The next generations, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, are being dubbed the anxious generations, for good reason—the future burden of today’s headlines falls on their shoulders. But look beyond the hype around how their mental health is suffering and instead talk to the new graduates who are working on groundbreaking projects on behalf of governments, companies, and charities. It’s not just anxiety that is driving them to make a significant difference. It’s hope.
World Cities Day, on October 31, commemorates the UN’s ambition to reduce inequality in cities. Urban environments offer access to greater opportunities and services but are also home to the starkest representations of inequality in the world. Natural disasters highlight and exacerbate this inequality when access to basic resources is threatened.
The theme of 2024’s World Cities Day is “Youth leading climate and local action.” It calls for local governments to invest in youth programs that accelerate youth empowerment and education in designing and future-proofing urban environments.
It is my belief that 2024 is also the year that all institutions, including and especially businesses, should invest in youth in ways that make a tangible difference. We currently have the largest youth generation in history, with over 1.8 billion young people aged between 10 and 24. Their potential to accelerate change is immense.
Investing in new perspectives and future leadership
I am fortunate to see first-hand the positive impact of supporting youth development in the crucial areas of water and climate change.
In collaboration with the International Water Association (IWA), Grundfos sent 13 young water professionals from around the world to the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York. The delegates later came together to gather their learnings. They contributed to a publication about how the water sector could benefit from integrating young people in its strategy to meet its 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of achieving clean water and sanitation for all and shape the future of the water industry. Some of them told me the fellowship was “life-changing,” thanks to the new perspectives and cultural exchanges it facilitated. One told me he felt the urge to “pay back” after the experience.
Meanwhile the company benefited from their fresh perspectives, innovation, global perspectives, and tech capabilities. We also ensured the wider water sector remains dynamic, resilient, and capable of meeting both current and future challenges.
We are now recruiting another 14 young water professionals as part of our second collaboration with IWA, which is focused on building a deeper understanding of city resilience to floods and droughts and developing local-led solutions to promote city resilience and adaptation. Candidates will be selected by a committee that includes C40 (the global network of mayors of the world’s leading cities united in confronting the climate crisis) and will be hosted at a side event during C40’s Mayor Summit before COP30 next year.
Youth engagement must be meaningful and integrated
ESG leaders must ensure their environmental programs are part of a long-term strategy that involves the whole company. The public is quick to call out token gestures and bold statements that lack a wider strategy as greenwashing. Companies engaging youth should be applying the same lens. Without a long-term youth engagement strategy to link to, a one-off token gesture could be seen as opportunistic, or even “youth washing.”
Last year, the UN released guidelines on meaningful youth engagement in policy making and decision-making processes. The report states that while youth have become a driving force of societal change when it comes to climate change, racial justice, gender equality and dignity for all, they are almost invisible at a public policy-making level.
The UN’s 11 principles for youth engagement encourage quality over quantity. Engagement must be integrated, as opposed to ad-hoc. It must also be transparent, informed and crucially, adequately funded.
“When youth engagement strays from these principles, it risks becoming tokenistic and can result in decision-making that is divorced from young people’s lived realities, expertise and solutions. As a result, trust and confidence in public institutions are eroded,” the report states.
There is no doubt the local governments that involve young people in their ideation, research, and decision-making as part of this year’s World Cities Day initiative will benefit from the drive, creativity, and hope of their local youth.
Businesses that invest in the next generation through capacity building and bringing youth to the brainstorming and decision-making table will also benefit hugely. Not only can the next generation positively contribute to mitigating the impact of pressing issues like climate change, but they can also prevent the erosion of public trust in the business.
Having the privilege of being involved in the IWA-Grundfos fellowship program has shown me the world has been quick to misjudge the power of Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Investing in their leadership should be a cornerstone of all businesses’ ESG agenda, if not their overall business strategy.
Astrid Nørgaard Friis is Head of Group Sustainability, External Relations & Communications and Group Vice President, Grundfos.