What do Italian citizens of different generations think about the role of digital technology in tackling the main environmental challenges? This is the question at the basis of the new research ‘Sustainable Environment 2025‘, carried out by the Foundation for Digital Sustainability: a research that, this year, analysed and compared the perceptions and behaviours on the topic of four generations of Italians – Generation Z (18-28 years old), Millenial (29-44 years old), Generation X (45-60 years old) and Baby Boomer (61-75 years old) – and whose main results were presented in a dedicated webinar, and commented by experts in the field from the academic and corporate world.
“The research results show how our country is still ill-prepared to face the great environmental challenge that affects us all,” commented Stefano Epifani, President of the Foundation for Digital Sustainability. “This scenario is worrying and underlines the urgent need for institutions to support citizens through adequate training and the provision of the necessary technological and cultural tools. Unfortunately, so far the institutions are showing a lack of both concrete commitment and an effective strategic vision‘.
Climate change: are young people the most attentive?
The research results show that it is far from obvious that environmentalism and the fight against climate change see young people at the forefront. On the contrary, the data show how the perception of the seriousness of the environmental crisis crosses generational barriers.
Overall, more than one in four Italians – around 27% – still think that climate change, however serious, does not require immediate action. A figure, this, that becomes even more significant considering that, contrary to what one might think, the percentage does not improve among young people.
While Millennials (31%) lead this ‘wait-and-see’ view, even the very young Generation Z (27%) believe there is still time to address the problem. Baby Boomers show a slightly higher sensitivity to climate change, with 77% of them seeing the problem as no longer procrastinable.
Between environmentalism and techno-distrust
It is also interesting to note that those who declare more deeply rooted environmentalist views tend to be more distrustful of technology. From this point of view, however, there is a marked difference if we analyse the data from a generational perspective: in the younger generations – Generation Z and Millenials – those who express greater closeness to environmentalist positions also tend to be more digitally literate. In contrast, in the more mature generations, environmentalism is often accompanied by a strong distrust of digital solutions. “Besides talking to everyone, it is above all necessary to act on individual awareness. Digital sustainability is in fact not just a technological issue, but a cultural process that requires transversal education to clearly explain why to adopt these technologies, even before the how“, commented Daniela Leotta, Chief Strategy, Sustainability & Communication Officer of E.ON Italia. “For this it is essential to use clear language, concrete examples, stories of positive change, and an empathetic approach that supports people in dealing with doubts and difficulties. Companies, institutions and stakeholders must take a central role in building trust, transparency and widespread involvement, accompanying everyone towards a future in which digital is truly useful and accessible to every segment of the population“.
The digital that Italians don’t use
Among the research data presented during the webinar were also those relating to citizens’ knowledge and use of those apps useful for living their daily lives in a more sustainable and planet-friendly way. And here, the results tell of an Italy that is still not very digital, although with some positive signs among the youngest.
Only 17% of Italians, for example, use apps to help with waste collection: the most active on this front is Gen Z – one in four uses them (25%) – followed by Gen X (18%). Among Baby Boomers, on the other hand, 59% claim not to know about the existence of these apps, but when they do discover them, about half of them start using them at least occasionally. The real obstacle, therefore, does not seem to be a lack of interest, but rather a lack of information and digital skills. “With reference to the possibility of exploiting technological solutions for a better management of waste collection,” commented Eleonora di Maria, VSIX President at the University of Padua, “the results show how technology is not uniformly seen by all generations as an enabling factor for an improvement in environmental impacts, as opposed to a process that is still seen as being only marginally innovative.
Similar, and very low, percentages related to the use of apps such as those for booking bulky waste collection and for booking access to the ecological island: only 7% and 5% of the citizens surveyed use them regularly, and here too it is the youngest who are the biggest users – although often only occasionally.
Even less well known are the apps that monitor water quality and those that monitor air quality, used respectively by only a residual percentage of citizens (2% and 3%). As for those related to water, Baby Boomers are the least informed with 63% not knowing about these apps; among young people under 28, on the other hand, 75% know they exist, but only 4% use them regularly. A similar percentage of Baby Boomers (59%), on the other hand, do not know about air-related apps, twice as many as the 30% of Gen Z. “The data shows how users do not clearly perceive their contribution, due to a lack of tangible personal return and difficulties in understanding how their actions can concretely affect environmental quality,” commented Sara Volino Coppola, Chief Information & Digital Officer of Alia Multiutility. “Many questions arise from users’ perceived lack of power: once they know the level of water or air quality, what actions can they take to concretely improve it? And to what personal benefit? It is therefore necessary to direct communication and services towards more effective motivations for citizens, focusing mainly on digital channels, so as to make them active users in environmental protection“.
“We need an intervention that works on two tracks, and that is targeted for each of these generations,” emphasised Giulia Parenti, Head of Digital Products at Plenitude. “On the one hand, we need to work on education, to create awareness. On the other, on motivation: that is, to give people a reason why it becomes interesting for them to adopt a certain technology. In short, you have to realise targeted strategies towards needs that are different today‘.
In all this, however, we must not forget another fundamental issue: how much, that is, the construction of digital applications, which are the ones we are going to use, actually impacts on the environment. A theme that, as highlighted by Michele Slocovich, Solution Design Director of CAST Italia, strongly concerns software sustainability: ‘today we are faced with applications that are digitally realised without there being a real perception of what is set in motion by their very creation,’ he explained. “In this sense, I believe that some baby boomers in particular, who grew up in a context of extremely limited digital resources, can introduce best practices to realise, or improve, existing software so that it is less impactful.