Low on emissions, high on ambition: meet generation net zero

When Navneet Dharni, 25, was looking for her first job, she knew she wanted something different. “I didn’t want it to just be business as usual,” she says. “I have a passion for tackling climate change and reducing my carbon footprint and I want to make an impact.” For this reason, Dharni applied to work at National Grid, where she is currently on their 18-month graduate scheme. “The organisation is transforming the energy network to power a cleaner, greener Britain and I want to be part of the change,” she says. “That’s what motivates me. I care because it’s my future.”

Many young millennials and Generation Z are passionate about tackling the climate crisis, research shows. They also want to work at organisations that have a strong commitment to sustainability.

This was the case for Dharni. National Grid’s ambition is to deliver a grid network that is ready to handle 100% zero carbon by 2025, and this is part of what makes her want to work there, she says. “We have to turn things around quickly. National Grid wants to meet these targets urgently, and that ties in with my personal passion.”

The new generation also wants to make tangible changes. “I love that I can see the impact of my work,” says Dharni. “Around 80% of homes in the UK currently rely on gas for heating and cooking, but that gas generates emissions. So I’ve been looking at how we could reduce the carbon impact of that by adding hydrogen to the mix, which is a much cleaner gas,” she says.

Across the UK, young people like Dharni are working to create a healthier planet. For example, Sadie DeCoste, 23, is an analyst at E Co, a London-based consultancy, which works on low-carbon, climate-resilient projects. DeCoste says she’s always been interested in sustainability. “I’ve been really passionate about it since high school,” she says. “I find it meaningful and interesting.”

Dharni and DeCoste both point out that young people have grown up in the internet age, seeing the impact of the climate crisis around them. “People our age care because we’re more educated on the subject,” DeCoste says. A recent report warned that 100 million more people could be driven into poverty by climate change impacts on natural disasters and agriculture by 2030 unless precautions are taken now.

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For this reason, many young people want to make a difference through their work. “If you’re going to spend such a big part of your life working, why wouldn’t you try to maximise your impact?” DeCoste says.

Dharni wants to work for a large organisation so she can have the greatest impact possible. Sam McConnochie, 22, feels the same. He works as an environmental assessor for Suss Housing, a company that helps social housing associations to meet environmental targets. “I work with 10 or 11 housing associations around the country,” he says. “My role involves looking at the data they’ve collected, or going to visit them to talk through ways they can [be more sustainable].”

McConnochie believes there’s only so much he can do as an individual and wants to achieve more than that. “I’m a realist, I believe that as an individual there’s only so much of an effect you can have. So taking up this role has allowed me to have the most influence outside of my personal actions. I’m able to work with some of the biggest housing associations and to start seeing some real significant change within them.”

Other young people are founding their own companies or working at startups that offer alternative ways of doing things. Anna Lopez-Fujimaki, 22, works at Olio, a startup that connects neighbours with each other and with local businesses so surplus food can be shared, rather than thrown away. “I started at Olio in April and it’s been a wild ride,” she says. “I’m having my mind stretched by all these problems and solutions. I’ve been so busy – it keeps you on your toes.”

Lopez-Fujimaki says she couldn’t imagine working at an organisation that wasn’t taking climate positive action. “Young people don’t see change happening so they want to change things themselves,” she says. She finds it fulfilling to see the impact of her work on the world around her. “I can see the effects of what I do in day-to-day life,” she says. “I see bags of food and know they would have been thrown away [if it wasn’t for Olio]. Knowing that I’ve been the one to help save the food makes me feel like I’ve done a good job.”

For Dharni, working at National Grid allows her to bring a fresh way of doing things to life. “I feel proud to work for an organisation that’s rewiring the UK and transforming the energy network,” she says. “The energy industry is starting to make very tangible transformation [towards decarbonisation] and it’s a really exciting place to be as a young engineer.” For young people deciding on their future career, taking action to tackle social and environmental problems matters. “I think young people are naturally becoming more passionate about it,” Dharni says. “There’s no alternative.”