Sustainability stories resonate with Millennials

The Millennial Generation (born roughly between 1982 and 2004) has the greenest attitudes of any age group but not the greenest buying habits.

The easy explanation is that they are young (between 9 and 31) and short of money. But our Eco Pulse™ ’12 study tells us the contradictions run deeper, and that it’s essential to engage and influence this under-30 market now, as it continues to form long-term habits and viewpoints.

It starts with stepping into the Millennials’ shoes.

As generation study gurus Neil Howe and William Strauss wrote in a 2007 Harvard Business Review article, “The Millennials’ culture is becoming less edgy, with a new focus on upbeat messages and big brands, and more conventional, with a resurgence of oldies and remakes.” They go on to say, “In their willingness to use government aggressively to protect the community, strengthen the middle class, and reduce economic risk, they will seem liberal. Yet in their conventional life goals, respect for rules, and patriotism, they will seem conservative.”

Millennials are part of a growing number of consumers (31 percent) who say they know a product is green because it’s made by a company with a strong environmental reputation.

For this and other reasons, communicating your sustainability stories will pay off as this generation ages.