From Ideas to Action: Young People Shape the Consumo Justo European Action Plan

Young people are often invited to learn about sustainability, but they are not always given a meaningful role in deciding what sustainable action should look like in their communities.

The Consumo Justo European Action Plan took a different approach. Instead of creating recommendations for young people, the project invited them to identify problems, develop local responses and decide which actions would be realistic in their own countries.

The result is a European framework for fair, ethical, local and sustainable consumption built from five youth-led proposals developed in France, Latvia, Spain, Norway and Poland.

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Why youth participation matters

Young people experience the consequences of today’s environmental and economic decisions, but they are also active members of schools, universities, neighbourhoods and local communities. Their daily experiences can reveal barriers that may not be visible to institutional decision-makers.

Many young people already care about sustainability. However, awareness does not automatically mean that they have an affordable or practical way to act. Repair services may be difficult to find, sustainable products may cost more, public spaces may not be available for youth initiatives, and institutions may not have clear procedures for responding to youth proposals.

Meaningful participation allows young people to move beyond being recipients of sustainability information. They can define the issue, suggest a response, test it in practice and evaluate whether it should continue. This also strengthens the quality of decisions. Actions designed with young people are more likely to reflect their real habits, communication styles and local circumstances.

From local youth committees to a European plan

Each Consumo Justo partner created a local youth committee. These were small working groups that met more than once, discussed responsible-consumption challenges and developed their ideas into Local Action Plans. The local process included online and in-person meetings, brainstorming, guided discussions, collaborative reflection, creative development, voting and communication between meetings.

Four European online youth sessions connected the work across the five countries. Young people first imagined what a sustainable city could look like. They then compared barriers related to money, access, information and daily habits, developed possible actions and connected them to personal, community and system-level change. During the final session, the groups presented and discussed their proposals.

The objective was not to make every country produce the same activity. Young people were encouraged to create something that responded to the reality of their own community.

Five countries, five youth-led proposals

The five Local Action Plans show how differently responsible consumption can be approached:

• In France, young people proposed the Pontonx Sustainable Market, combining second-hand exchange, local producers and youth-led awareness activities in a rural community.

• In Latvia, young people developed the idea of recurring clothing swaps in schools, youth centres and community spaces as an accessible alternative to buying new clothes.

• In Spain, the youth group created The Chain, a participatory theatre performance exploring chocolate production, fair trade, global inequality and consumer choice.

• In Norway, young people proposed Oslo Sustainable Action Days, bringing together ideas for electronics repair, second-hand exchange and food redistribution through separate local pilots.

• In Poland, the youth team developed Bring Your Own Cup Day, encouraging students to use reusable cups through a university cafeteria campaign and a possible discount.

The proposals differ in format and scale, but they share an important principle: sustainable consumption becomes more meaningful when people can practise it in a real setting.

More than consultation

Youth participation in the Action Plan was not limited to answering questions or giving feedback on ideas already developed by adults. Young people helped identify the problem, select the focus and shape the format and language of each action. They were also expected to support peer communication, take visible roles during implementation, collect practical feedback and contribute to decisions about whether an activity should be repeated, adapted or stopped.

This level of participation matters because youth involvement can otherwise become symbolic. Inviting young people to an event is not the same as sharing decision-making with them. Real participation means giving young people influence throughout the process, including when practical decisions are made and when the results are evaluated.

What young people identified

Across the five countries, young people identified a common gap between caring about sustainability and being able to act on it. At the personal level, they highlighted the need for practical skills, understandable information and affordable alternatives. Knowing that fast fashion, disposable products or food waste create problems is not enough if there is no realistic alternative available.

At the community level, they recognised that action needs a place and a coordinating group. A clothing swap needs a venue, a repair activity needs specialist support, and a public performance needs permission and an audience.

At the political and institutional level, young people identified the importance of clear decision-making routes. Schools, municipalities, universities and businesses often control the spaces, permissions, services and operational rules required to make an idea possible.

The Action Plan therefore shows that responsible consumption cannot depend only on individual choices. Institutions and businesses also influence whether sustainable options are accessible and practical.

Three shared European actions

The five national proposals were brought together into three shared European directions. The first is to make sustainable choices practical. Learning should be connected to something participants can try, such as exchanging clothes, repairing an item, understanding a supply chain or choosing a reusable alternative.

The second is to support youth-led circular and fair-consumption actions. Communities need accessible opportunities where young people can organise, participate and make sustainable alternatives visible.

The third is to create clearer commitments between young people, institutions and businesses. Youth teams need to know who can approve their proposal, what support is available and how decisions about continuation will be made.

Adults and institutions still have an important role

Youth-led does not mean that young people should carry every responsibility themselves. Youth workers and organisations provide coordination, safeguarding and continuity. Schools, municipalities and community organisations can offer venues and communication channels. Businesses and specialists may provide operational knowledge, equipment or changes to existing practices.

The role of adults is to make participation possible without taking ownership of the idea away from the young people who developed it. Institutions should also respond clearly to youth proposals. Even when an initiative cannot be supported, young people deserve a transparent decision and an explanation rather than silence or an unclear process.

A framework for continued action

The European Action Plan is designed for young people, youth organisations, schools, educators, authorities, European networks and private-sector organisations interested in supporting responsible consumption.

It does not ask young people to solve complex consumption systems alone. Instead, it calls for practical knowledge, accessible community spaces and institutions willing to take youth proposals seriously.

When young people are treated only as an audience, they remain observers of sustainability discussions. When they are given real influence, they can identify local challenges, build practical responses and help institutions understand what meaningful change requires.

That is the central message of the Consumo Justo European Action Plan: decisions become stronger when young people are not only consulted, but actively involved in shaping what happens next.

Erasmus+ Cooperation partnership

Consumo Justo

Project No.  2024-1-FR02-KA220-YOU-000248910

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.