REFLECTIONS FROM THE IUCN GLOBAL YOUTH SUMMIT:
NATURE, CLIMATE & YOUTH ENGAGEMENT WITHIN THE PRIVATE SECTOR
“When you negotiate with companies, negotiate based on values and not on positions…. By listening, you find out that you share the same values, you just need to negotiate a better solution.”
Stepping into our intergenerational and cross-sector discussion about the private sector’s engagement with youth and for climate and nature, it was clear that there are many conflicting opinions and dichotomous understandings. Before we introduced our speakers, we asked the audience to share what words came to mind when they thought about the private sector and nature, and the two most prevalent words were “partnership” and “extraction,” along with “collaboration” and “incompatible”. Indeed, we would require the equivalent of 1.6 Earths in order to maintain the world’s current living standards. This is why we believe it is imperative that we break the generational gap and we partner with or engage in the private sector to turn this around considering their key position as economic, social and environmental actors.
This event was structured as two roundtables with experts from different areas of the private sector. The first roundtable focused on the private sector’s engagement with sustainability, including in energy, human rights, and ecology. The second roundtable focused on the role that youth can play in the private sector, and how the private sector can better engage with young people in their decision-making processes.
“It is important for youth to be part of discussions. Companies need to align with youth values if they want to move forward in the future. For our business leaders, seeing young people as allies should be a critical part for a successful business and sustainable future. ”
One of the main takeaways from our discussion was that the private sector plays a vital role in engaging with youth and finding innovative ways to fight climate change and ecological degradation, or at least to consider their probable environmental harms. It is essential that young people step up, and that businesses put young people in leadership positions, include them in decision making, and provide sufficient funding for these global issues. In future events, Youth4Nature will bring opportunities for youth to engage with the private sector on environmental issues into clearer focus.
Another key takeaway across the board was the power of thoughtful communication. Many of the speakers shared their experience and success leading conversations with their values, and taking the time and energy to truly listen to other actors to understand their values and perspectives. They shared the importance of coming to solutions driven by and based on shared values between different actors. As Eliane Cohen put it, in order to have a successful discussion, one must first understand the other speaker’s context, then empathize, and listen.
“To get more young people involved, we have to examine first the political systems where these young people are operating under, we have to become innovative in the way we engage them with the private sector”
There is a real need for the private sector to take stronger action in fighting the global issues we face, and through these discussions it became clear that fighting the private sector may not bring about the best results. Instead, we can work with companies and the individuals who lead them to inspire action in a way that is engaging and recognizes the issues. This will help foster a business case for sustainability, benefiting companies, their shareholders, consumers, and the planet alike.
More from our time at the IUCN Global Youth Summit:
