The effort to change the shopping lifestyle of the young generation in order for them to become more aware of environmentally friendly with the ecolabel product is what brought four students from Gajah Mada University to win a youth video competition on Responsible Consumption held by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
“Our video concept is actually simple but we brought a deep thought on environmental damage in it,” said Sheila Noor Baity from the Gajah Mada University videomaker team whose video titled “You Can Do It Too” won the “Young Videomaker of Responsible Consumption” competition.
Even though they only knew each other in a matter of months, these young people aged ranging from 18-23 years were able to express their concepts well. Muhammad Iman and Sheila did have an interest in video production, while Dwiki Aditya and Vina Habibah were students of UGM’s Faculty of Agricultural Technology and often participated as volunteers in the environmental projects.
In the three-minute video, they describe how young people who tend to be consumptive can participate in maintaining environmental sustainability by choosing what to buy.
“We invite the young generation to do three simple things: First, buy what we need, buy ecolabel products, and think where our garbage goes,” Sheila said when met at Jalan Wahid Hasyim, Central Jakarta, on Monday 27 August 2018.
By choosing ecolabel products, the young generation and society, in general, have participated directly in environmental sustainability in Indonesia.
The jury, consisting of Miss Earth Indonesia 2017 Michelle Victoria Alriani, Indonesian Vlogger Pascal Meliala, Margareth Meutia from WWF-Indonesia and Dhiny Nedyasari from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), considered that “You Can Do It Too” surpassed 81 other videos in this competition.
Through this competition and its high-quality videos, RSPO hopes that the young generation can learn to develop the values, attitudes, and skills needed to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. The most effective way to help is through education and by facilitating more involvement of young people.
“I am very pleased and proud to see the efforts of young Indonesians to learn about the challenges and opportunities related to palm oil, and want to be involved to lead the change towards responsible consumption,” said RSPO Country Director Tiur Rumondang after the competition awards ceremony.
Rumondang considered one of the most effective ways to help young people become more aware and environmentally friendly is through education and also more involvement of young people.
To her, simple steps “such as limiting excessive consumption, reading eco-labels on products, or separating waste according to its type” can change the young people’s lifestyle pattern to become more responsible, including for the environment.
Met at the same event, WWF-Indonesia Footprint Campaign Coordinator Margareth Meutia said that awareness of the need for sustainability in Indonesia had been heading in a positive direction compared to 5 years ago.
According to the 2017 survey, consumers in Indonesia have been willing to buy more eco-friendly products even though the price is more expensive.
“At present, WWF-Indonesia, the RSPO, and other institutions are still trying to complete their homework, which is the expensive prices and limited products. Manufacturers and retailers have not yet seen this as a sufficient market potential for their products,” Meutia said.
The RSPO, established in 2004, aims to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil products through global standards that are credible and involve various stakeholders.
RSPO brings together various stakeholders from seven sectors throughout the palm oil industry, namely palm oil producers, consumer goods producers, retailers, banks, and investors, as well as NGOs in the environmental and social conservation field.