Singapore
SINGAPORE — Contrary to the general perception that baby boomers in Singapore are less environmentally conscious than their younger counterparts, a recent study has shown that this group of people aged between 58 and 65 scored the highest in terms of awareness and adoption of greener lifestyles compared with younger generations, and are also doing more to advocate for sustainable behaviours.
SINGAPORE — Contrary to the general perception that baby boomers in Singapore are less environmentally conscious than their younger counterparts, a recent study has shown that this group of people aged between 58 and 65 scored the highest in terms of awareness and adoption of greener lifestyles compared with younger generations, and are also doing more to advocate for sustainable behaviours.
The OCBC Climate Index 2022 study also found that baby boomers have become more exposed to environmental news and are more confident in using social media to advocate on climate issues, OCBC bank said in a media release on Tuesday (Aug 16).
Unlike Gen Zs aged 18 to 25, this group of older Singaporeans are more likely to adopt a non-meat diet, purchase local produce and bring reusable containers for takeaways.
Releasing its latest findings on Tuesday, OCBC said researchers polled 2,169 respondents between June 4 and 16 this year.
Apart from a survey, researchers also conducted another focus group study to understand why baby boomers, rather than younger Singaporeans, are leading the way in climate action.
Said OCBC: “Baby boomers are doing well overall… They have adopted good habits since young and have accumulated awareness and knowledge of climate change over time.”
Several remember initiatives such as the Keep Singapore Clean Campaign in 1968 and have experienced first-hand weather shifts caused by climate change.
“Green habits suit their life stage — they said they are less busy and can take the time to walk, cycle or take public transport, instead of opting to drive,” said the bank.
“Such actions lead to better health and help them save costs as well, another motivating factor in their adoption of greener behaviours.”
Nevertheless, the study found that overall attitudes and behaviours towards sustainable living in 2022 across all age groups remained unchanged from last year, despite increased talk about the environment recently.
Singapore’s national average score for OCBC’s climate index, which researchers determine by measuring people’s awareness of environmental issues, adoption of green activities and advocacy of environmental issues, remained unchanged at 6.7.
Baby boomers scored 6.9 when it came to their adoption of sustainable lifestyle habits, 0.4 higher than Gen Zs, the study found.
These results come after increased green activism, the launch of the Singapore Green Plan in 2021 and more conversations on climate change in Singapore and internationally.
Climate change has been the culprit for various erratic weather events, including dangerous heatwaves, globally.
While the Government has taken action, including dedicating S$23.5 million to climate change and sea-level research, survey results show that Singaporeans are still stagnant in adopting sustainable behaviours — the national average score was 6.7 in both 2022 and 2021’s survey.
The study found baby boomers had the highest scores in all three components of the index when compared with other generations, noting that there was a sharp rise in their advocacy score, which went from the lowest among the generations in 2021 to the highest.
This phenomenon was spurred by their increased usage of digital tools, such as social media, brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, said OCBC.
Gen Zs scored worse than baby boomers when comparing their adoption scores — which look at how much and how often one adopts green practices.
When respondents were asked why they do not adopt certain sustainable actions, the majority (44 per cent) said it was because of cost.
Inconvenience (36 per cent) and time-consuming (32 per cent) were also part of the top three reasons to not act.
But for climate actions they did take part in, the study found that they did so largely for personal reasons, such as for better health, to save money and for convenience.
These reasons are motivating more (71 per cent) to walk, cycle or take public transport, rather than travel by car in 2022 than in 2021 (68 per cent), among other actions.
While the study noted that there have been some improvements compared to its findings in 2021, more Singapore are taking part in activities producing high emissions.
Some activities where there have been increased participation includes:
Ms Jessica Cheam, founder and managing director of Eco-Business, said that the OCBC Climate Index findings highlight some improvements, such as in transport.
“Mainstreaming sustainability-driven consumer behaviour takes time, and many factors such as cost, convenience and infrastructure heavily impact personal decisions,” she said.
“The findings from the Climate Index suggest that policymakers, businesses and civic society have to work harder at understanding basic human behaviour and how to improve sustainability outcomes by providing the right environment for consumers to make the right choices.”
Some takeaways highlighted in the study include:
The study suggests that Singaporeans look at making small and attainable changes in their daily habits, and look for better alternatives when possible.
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