Final Event of the project " How urban youth can be an engine to achieve more sustainable low-carbon lifestyles: beginning with Bogotá"

On December 5, 2018, the closing event of the project "How urban youth can be an engine to achieve more sustainable low-carbon lifestyles: beginning with Bogotá" was carried out. This project was developed by the University's Environmental Engineering Program El Bosque in partnership with UN Environment, since June of 2017. The main objective of the project was to enhance the understanding of the opportunities to develop sustainable low-carbon lifestyles for urban youth in Bogotá around 5 main domains: mobility, leisure, housing, food and consumer goods. and thus, facilitate its adoption and inclusion in urban policies. The event was attended by different institutions that were part of the project such as the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, the Bogota Environment Office of the Municipality, the Secretary of Education of Bogotá, some delegates from universities and initiatives that promote sustainable lifestyles. As well as a group of young people who worked with the project since May 2018 and were trained as young multiplying leaders. The event began with a few words from the project director, also the director of the Environmental Engineering program, Kenneth Ochoa Vargas, who not only thanked the guests for their attendance but also the young leaders, as they were the protagonists of the event. Followed by the words of the delegate of the UN Environment Regional Office, Mateo Ledesma. Subsequently, the results of the project were presented. For the mobility domain: • The use of the private car decreased by 50% compared to the initial survey. • The use of the bicycle increased by 10%. • 62% of young people changed their way of moving in the last year, towards a more sustainable one, with the use of bicycles and public transport being the most implemented actions. • The carbon footprint of the private car decreased by 24% and taxi by 17%. For the food domain: • 62% of young people decreased their consumption of meat, given the environmental impacts that it has. • The carbon footprint decreased in all the foods studied (beef, pork, chicken and rice). For the domain of consumer goods: • 76% have changed the way of buying. • Activities such as checking labels and rejecting disposable products are carried out by the majority of young people. For the leisure domain: • The main enabling conditions for developing leisure activities are the economic aspect, personal preferences and social groups. • 95% of young people have become more aware of the environmental impacts of their leisure activities during this year. For the housing domain: • 99.9% of young people became more aware of saving water and energy in the home and 78% of young people began to separate their waste this year or already did. The main results of the project yielded the following: Joint work with more than 20 initiatives that promote sustainable lifestyles in Bogotá, training of 30 young people in sustainability issues, more than 7,000 followers in the social networks of the project and 600 participants in events.