Generation Alpha
The future of sustainability for Gen Alpha
Generation Alpha (born 2010-2024) are the youngest members of our households and families. There are 2.8 million of them born globally every week, and when they have finished being born, they will be the largest generation in history! Their voice will shape our future, and they will live up to their name Alpha; not a return to the old, but the start of something new.
Sustainability at the forefront
Growing up, Generation Alpha will have access to more information and will increasingly be faced with the importance of sustainability, more than any generation before them, even more than Generation Z. For today’s young people, sustainability has become a lifestyle through purchasing and consuming products that avoid harming the environment as well as choosing products that are good for their own wellbeing.
According to the Stockholm Resilience Centre, providing healthy food to our growing population is one of the biggest challenges in our modern time. Today’s food production systems pose a threat to our climate, and in order to move forward in food production, sustainable ways need to be found. Some examples include designing innovative ways to farm and decrease food waste. The build of something new is needed, and different choices of diets therefore will be made.1
Different choices for Generation Alpha
Because Generation Alpha recognises the importance of the environment, their choices will reflect that indefinitely. Already 81% of their parents say their Generation Alpha children have influenced their actions or consumption decisions, making them more environmentally aware.
As they get older, Generation Alpha will continue to raise their consciousness. With health becoming a pressing factor, they will avoid mainstream ways and will defer to alternate ways of consumption like non-dairy options and plant-based proteins. They will choose from a wider range of healthier food, be mindful of their sugar intake and make healthy portion-size decisions about what they consume.
1https://stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2020-01-22-how-to-feed-the-world-without-crossing-planetary-boundaries.html
