Is the sustainable option really more expensive? Does one individual’s carbon footprint reduction have a real impact? Should we give up beef? Are we willing to spend more for a sustainable product? At the Alumni meeting of the “Leaders of the Future” talent program, the focus was on the individual: the topics of the evening were individual responsibility for carbon footprint reduction and the role of sustainability in our shopping habits. Our host, KPMG, hosted us in the cozy Rooftop 825 Café on April 5.

Márta Irén, the director of the BCSDH, said in her welcome speech that it was a pleasure to see that in 10 years, a cohesive community based on the values of sustainability was formed, who can turn to each other with business or sustainability issues, and which has now stood on its own two feet, since its programs are also organized by its members.

Edina Vadovics, the professional director of the GreenDependent Institute, presented their work regarding the “1.5-degree lifestyle”. Through the results of their research, they explained a number of available lifestyle options that we ourselves can use to reduce the carbon footprint, thus achieving the 1.5-degree climate goal. For this purpose, the “Climate Puzzle” board game was also created, which shows in an insightful way how the modifications in different areas of our lives – such as housing, food consumption or transport – contribute to achieving your own “1.5-degree” lifestyle, and how much we still have to do to achieve our individual goal.

Julianna Nagy, Senior Manager of KPMG ESG & Sustainability Services, presented KPMG’s “Me, My Life, My Wallet” research, which examines the role of sustainability in purchasing decisions and defines customer groups based on this. She presented the main characteristics of the habits and values of each group member, and also shed light on which groups were most sensitively affected by the recession last year. Ágnes Deme, Manager of KPMG ESG & Sustainability Services, guided the participants in a playful way through the series of questions, from which they found out which of the customer groups they met were the most important based on their values and purchasing decisions.

After the presentations, an informal discussion followed, which gave the opportunity to think further about what was said, to try the board game and to network.

Although the individual is a very small element of the big machine, it is still of great importance: with their values, decisions, and shopping habits, they contribute to the whole in the present; and they create new standards, expectations, and demands for the future, which affects producers, manufacturers, and service providers. Last, but by no means least, who would be the most efficient operators of the engine of sustainability, if not personally committed individuals?

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