Before there was Gen Z.
There were MillenNials.
In 2003, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD), the world's largest water district, hired Centaur North to conduct some of the most consequential public research it had ever commissioned.
Our study, 'Shaping the Millennial Generation of Water Users,' probed the attitudes toward environmental stewardship of Boomer and Gen X parents and their Millennial children. What we discovered was groundbreaking—not only were Millennials more environmentally aware than their parents, but they were also significantly more progressive on issues related to environmentalism.
These Millennials influenced their parents' attitudes on environmental and social issues more than any other American generation before them. Additionally, their parents often looked to these Millennials for advice on conservation practices. The data was so striking that we recommended MWD shift the majority of its public advertising dollars to target young people. This generational shift in the environmental ethic has only become more pronounced among Generation Z.
That research has been invaluable in helping Centaur North not only understand the dynamic values of the Millennial and Gen Z generations but also tailor our marketing campaigns to digital adaptation strategies.
So when you hear the terms 'climate justice' or 'environmental justice,' remember that we studied them first."
