More than half (54 per cent) of students would be more engaged with their future pension savings if they knew the funds were invested in environmentally sustainable ways to tackle climate change, research from Now Pensions has revealed.

The research, conducted in partnership with charity Debate Mate, highlighted varying opinions amongst university students (aged 18-25) on how to tackle climate change, suggesting that while they care deeply about the environment and sustainability, they are unsure how to translate that into their relationship with money and savings.

Indeed, the survey found that while more than three-quarters (81 per cent) believe that tackling climate change is equally, or more, important as growing their savings, 49 per cent still believe that ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ is the most effective way to make an impact on climate change.

When asked where savings and investment could make the biggest positive difference, 58 per cent of students felt strongly that investing their savings in companies that were already having a positive impact on the environment was more effective than investing in companies that are having a negative impact on the environment with the goal of spurring them to develop ambitious environmental transition plans.

Debate Mate group CEO and founder, Margaret McCabe, highlighted the findings as representation of the need to do more to communicate to young people how their money can tackle the problems of today.

"At Debate Mate, we know that the young people we work with care deeply about the environment, and they are the generation that will bring about change," she said.

Adding to this, Now Pensions UK head of sustainability, Keith Guthrie, said: “Through our partnership with Debate Mate, we aim to help students build a healthy relationship with money and understand how pension savings impact their future and the environment.

"It is a privilege to work with young people to shed light on the often-overlooked role pensions play in driving real-world impact.”

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