First, looking at the answers to the question “How sustainable do you think you live?”, we can see that young people are generally willing to make some efforts. Most of them, however, do not go beyond the regular, basic examples of sustainability, which closely mirror their concerns identified in our previous post. David (24, Management) says, “I try to save energy, I recycle, and use public transportation.”

Then how do these people imagine a society in which their efforts are better supported? What new initiatives do they expect and from whom? One way to go about this, is by focusing on the community aspect of this shared responsibility we have towards our environment and future generations, says Jana (26, Immigration specialist). “In my village we have a waste collection point in the central square, where everybody brings their recyclables.”

Furthermore, sustainability need not always be more expensive, claims Petr (29, working in Sales & Marketing). “The ecological option can also be the economical one by using less, you waste less. For example we have to pay for the collection of non-separated waste. The more you separate, the less you pay.”

Also the business world should not be overlooked, as many young people cite an apparent lack of contributions from this side of society as reason for not seeing the benefit of changing their own behaviour. Ingel (26, Swedish): “The government should give subsidies to companies that are trying to be more sustainable. We need to enlist the free market in this effort, by giving them the right incentives.”

But of course, as Eva (25, Statistics) rightly points out, “the separation of waste works so well, because of constant promotion by the government, and because it is so easy to do.” Repeating this success story for other sustainability issues, such as overconsumption or intensive car use, would be much more difficult—if not impossible—without additional support measures, including a combination of fines and rewards, or even re-organising our cities to enable more sustainable choices. Finally, we need to “educate, educate, educate”, as Daniel (21, Law) puts it. “You can get grown-ups to recycle, but they will still buy too much stuff in plastic bags.” But more on this crucial role for education in a next post.

“You learn a lot at school, but not everything. Even when you finish university, you have to start from the beginning and you don’t know anything”, says Silvija (23, Law student). The answers of young people across Europe consistently point out that none of our project’s topics—European politics, youth participation, sustainability, and entrepreneurship—are being taught at high school and university in a meaningful way—if touched upon at all.

Additionally, graduating with a Master’s degree is less and less a guarantee for finding a job in today’s economic climate. Mateusz (23, Computer Science): “More than half of Polish youth are studying, so if you want to have any chances at getting a job, you have to do something extra, like being active in an organisation. It can really help you with your career.” Justyna (22, Logistic Studies) continues: “By being active in an organisation, you show that you care about something more than studying. You want to meet people, be creative, manage a project, manage people.”

So plenty of young people are taking care of their broader development, next to pursuing a formal education at university, increasing their chances on the job market. But does it also make them more active citizens? Do they have a better understanding of for example politics? “The best way for young people to learn more about politics is to start debating with each other, for example in youth organisations”, says Justyna. The role of youth organisations, they agree, is to facilitate this debate, arranging meetings with young politicians and offering a space for discussion.

Surely many young—but also older—people have reasons for venting their disagreement with current politics and policies. The answer, however, lies not in merely complaining, but in taking action. This applies for education but also for politics, says Diana (29, American-Finnish Studies). “If you think politicians are doing nothing for you, educate yourself and get into parliament!”

But what are they doing about it? How much are young people aware of their own impact on the sustainability of our planet, and how does it influence their lives? The first responses from Berlin show a mostly basic understanding of sustainability among youth, but young people also face a number of obstacles when pursuing a more sustainable life-style.

The first of these problems is a lack of information. Lise (25, Business and Marketing graduate looking for a job): “One of the rules in marketing is that you have to go to the people, instead of letting them come to you. So also with sustainability: you have to provide people with the information they need, and present it in the way they like, instead of expecting them to search for it.”

Does this mean young people are too lazy to search the internet for information on how to recycle correctly or what energy provider to take? The problem lies deeper, as the complexity of sustainability makes it hard to distinguish green from greenwash. On top of this, young people lack the time for doing all the research themselves, says Florian (22, Law student). “We are being pushed to finish our studies as soon as possible, leaving very little time for other engagements.”

Finally, sustainability is still largely seen as an expensive fashion, which is not within reach of the average student budget. Lise concludes: “It doesn’t make sense that I would have to pay more for sustainable products and services!”

What about you? Are you prepared to pay more for sustainable products? How much? And how to distinguish between greenwashing and genuine sustainability? Can we achieve this structural switch to supporting sustainability? And what can young people do to help this happen?

Arriving at Tilburg University, Janneke (21), student in Fiscal Economics disagrees. Janneke: “If the situation does not improve, we may be heading for a conflict, where either Greece will have to leave, or other countries like the UK or Netherlands will be fed up with paying for member states which do not follow the rules.” Asked about solutions to avoid this doom scenario, she says that “we need tighter admission criteria and better budgetary control.”

We return to the hall and find 3 students in International Business Administration giving a video interview to our team. One of them, David (20), born in Spain but living in the Netherlands, explains his vision on the topic: “In southern countries like Spain, people first think of themselves as members of the community, and their role within it. In the north, the individual comes in the first place, and people focus more on their personal achievements. This creates completely different economic behaviours, which are hard to combine in an economic union.”

Are the northern and southern members of the EU really too different to cooperate efficiently? Will Greece stay in the EU and what are the effects of this? Is the future of Europe with the younger generations which are growing up in an increasingly more united Europe? Will we ever see a United States of Europe? More on this in the next post!