On International E-Waste Day, Kaspersky explores an emerging paradox in Gen Z’s behaviour: while Gen Z is the most digitally immersed generation, it also leads in awareness of technology’s environmental impact — one in five Gen Z respondents identify environmental damage caused by digital infrastructure as a risk for future generations, shows new global research by Kaspersky’s internal market research centre.
For Gen Z, digital technology is an integral part of everyday life: almost six in ten Gen Z respondents (59%) say they feel confident in the digital environment. At the same time, Gen Z appears particularly aware that a digital lifestyle has an environmental cost — from the resources required to manufacture and replace devices to the infrastructure needed to store, process and transmit increasing amounts of data.
According to the Kaspersky research, 20% of Gen Z respondents identify environmental damage caused by digital infrastructure as a risk for future generations, the highest proportion among all generations surveyed globally. Similarly, 22% of Gen Z point to overconsumption and increasing waste as a concern, compared with 19% overall on the global level.
Some representatives of Gen Z are also aware of green data centres and identify them as a promising trend for the future, with 11% of respondents selecting this option.
Could Gen Z drive the next wave of green technology?
The findings raise an interesting question about how Gen Z’s expectations could influence the future of the technology industry. As this generation becomes an increasingly important group of consumers, employees and, eventually, decision-makers, its awareness of the environmental impact of digital technologies could potentially contribute to greater demand for more sustainable solutions. This shift could encourage the industry to place greater emphasis on several areas:
- Improving the energy efficiency of digital infrastructure. As demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other data-intensive technologies continues to grow, optimising computing resources and improving the energy efficiency of data centres and networks could help limit the environmental impact of expanding digital services.
- Reducing the environmental impact of technology production. Greater attention to the materials, resources and manufacturing processes involved in producing digital devices and infrastructure could encourage more responsible sourcing, resource-efficient production and the use of recycled materials where feasible.
- Extending the lifecycle of digital devices. Making devices more durable and easier to repair, encouraging longer use of existing hardware and promoting responsible recycling could help reduce electronic waste and the environmental impact associated with frequent device replacement.
Kaspersky’s own sustainability approach reflects the broader shift towards considering environmental impact as part of responsible technology development. The company focuses on reducing the environmental impact of its operations through more efficient resource management, responsible handling of electronic waste and initiatives that support more sustainable business practices. At the same time, Kaspersky recognises the role cybersecurity can play in environmental sustainability. By protecting devices and systems against threats such as cryptomining malware, its technologies can also help prevent unnecessary energy consumption and the associated carbon emissions. Learn more in the latest ESG report.
“It is interesting to see that the generation that has grown up surrounded by digital technologies is also the one most likely to recognise the environmental cost of the digital world. Gen Z’s expectations do not necessarily mean that they will single-handedly drive the transition towards greener technology, but they may become an increasingly important factor in the future. For the technology industry, this is a reminder that innovation should be considered not only in terms of performance and security, but also in terms of how efficiently we use resources and how we manage the lifecycle of the technologies we create,” said Maria Losyukova, Head of ESG and Sustainability at Kaspersky.
