Sustainability is a practice that benefits the collective good, and everyone should have access to it, both as beneficiaries and as agents of change. To achieve this, the engagement of all fronts—political, business, and social—is crucial. Within this concept, we can say that the involvement of communities and youth in environmental education is the foundation for an effective behavior change.

Sustainability is studied and developed as a benefit for the planet and future generations. Thus, the ideal situation is for society to be engaged, ensuring that the proper tools are offered regionally, respecting the culture and peculiarities of each territory.

Since 1992, at the Rio92 conference, this theme has been directly addressed within the concept of sustainable development. During this meeting, the Treaty on Environmental Education for Sustainable Societies and Global Responsibility was developed, highlighting how environmental education is a right and an opportunity to create more equitable solutions in the development of communities, which can prepare and plan for the implementation of sustainable goals within their policies and realities.

Companies, Community Engagement, and Youth in Environmental Education

Companies committed to sustainable development should recognize the importance of involving communities and youth in environmental education, so that together, they can find suitable alternatives to promote sustainability efficiently in the regions where they operate.

The community is a fundamental part of the company, a stakeholder that must be consulted about proposed projects to ensure that the implementation is done effectively and respectfully.

Here at Orizon, we promote projects that drive local sustainable development. These include meetings and visits to our Eco-parks as a way to maintain a connection of transparency, communication, and education with society.

We aim to democratize access to information about waste valorization, a topic that is still not widely known by the public. We believe that knowledge empowers the community to recognize their choices and learn new ways to apply sustainable practices to their daily routines.

This movement of education coming from purpose-driven companies is crucial to achieving effective results regarding sustainability and developing solutions aligned with the challenges faced by society.

Initiatives like this are part of the work of the Orizon Social Institute, a non-profit organization that understands that companies, schools, and communities can work together to create sustainable solutions in their localities.

Organized around four pillars: promoting Environmental Education, empowering Youth Leadership and Local Solutions; developing the Culture of Circularity and Low Carbon, and recognizing Young Talents, the Institute aims to encourage new generations to act as promoters of disruptive transformations toward a more sustainable society and a more circular, low-carbon economy.

Young People at the Forefront of Environmental Education

Research highlights the difficulty of the human brain to think about a distant future, something that is essential to understanding the impacts of a crisis that is already happening.

For this reason, experts defend the importance of study tools that help bring closer and materialize concepts that today seem so distant or inaccessible. This is the path to begin taking care of tomorrow.

A favorable environment to develop this theme is the school. Encouraging access to environmental education for young people is essential if we want to have more conscious individuals, prepared to face the climate crisis and future socio-environmental challenges, and there are already initiatives bringing more and more young leaders to environmental issues.

In partnership with the Live Lab NGO, Orizon developed the Jornada X Orizon, which, through gamification, invites young leaders to mobilize school groups and communities to take action. In this initiative, young people are invited to map a problem in their community and, together, develop solutions for the issue.

Collaboration with community participation, youth, and public authorities allows the private sector to offer more effective solutions, generating medium-term results with broad engagement.

Orizon is always looking for new projects with the communities in which we are involved.

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