This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

On November 29, the Italian Embassy held a live broadcast on Gen Z's Habits and Tech Tools. (Gen Z begins around 1997 and ends around 2010, so as of 2020, the Generation Z age range is roughly between 10 and 23 years old. Many of the oldest members of Gen Z now make up a significant portion of the workforce. Generation Z is the largest generation in American history and constitutes 27 percent of the country's population.) During the broadcast, a speaker discussed Gen Z's SMS (texting) and consumption habits. (SMS stands for Short Message/Messaging Service, a text messaging service component of most modern cell phones.) The speaker said that she uses SMS with the personality of a prosumer. While Gen Z is emerging as a consumer in various fields, members are actively engaged in professional activities by proudly stating their needs to companies and directly participating in product planning beyond simply consuming what they term "good products." The term "Prosu...

         As a designated member of the "Gen Z" generation, I recently attended an event put on by The Hill Newspaper focused on my age group - "Gen Z: Writing Their Own Rules" in Washington, D.C. The event focused on young people of the New Millennium and their activities. Among the speakers, there was actually a woman who belonged to Gen Z and she led the discussion quite realistically and honestly. The speaker indicated that "Gen Z is more passionate than any other generation. That's why Gen. Z is interested in politics, economics, and culture, and that's why young people's voices have grown. As an example, the number of political demonstrations has also increased." In contrast, the Gen Z discussant said he was the most sensitive to the way others see him. There is more exposure to social media than any other generation. Perhaps that's why Gen Z said he thought his own space and time should be cherished and protected.   Society has his...