Green Generation(s): the Generational Peculiarities of the Environmental Attitude

Abstract

Making consumption sustainable has become indispensable nowadays and is a necessary step in development. Several studies are dealing with the environmental attitude of consumers. Scientists are interested in the generational differences as well. However, there is still a gap that proves the difference between generations. More studies have examined how age affects environmental values. For example, this topic was examined in 6 countries between 1991 and 2017 in the framework of the European Values Study (EVS). Nowadays, generation Z may be regarded as the most environment-conscious. On the other hand, different results also came to light, which proves that however apparent the environmental efforts of generations Z and Y are, they still do not occupy the first rank in reducing the ecological footprint. The aim of the study is that based on a sample consisting of 2224 Hungarian people, an answer can be given to the question of whether age can really determine environmental attitude and whether generational differences occur in „thinking green”. The focus of the study is the wide-range examination of the environmental attitude. The basis of the study is, for example, socially conscious consumer behaviour and ecologically conscious consumer behaviour. Besides this, such background factors also appear in the study, which may affect the attitude and behaviour, such as optimism, pessimism, motives and other influencing factors.