Across South Africa, the effects of environmental injustice are deeply entangled with the challenges of poverty, unemployment and infrastructure breakdown. While these issues shape the daily lives of many young people, they are often excluded from the ways we speak about sustainability – both in terms of the narratives we construct and the practices we elevate.

Efforts to engage youth in environmental campaigns often begin with an assumption that awareness is the missing ingredient. But this kind of thinking can oversimplify what is ultimately a complex relationship between information, relevance and lived experience. Not all young people have the same exposure to environmental challenges. And even when awareness exists, the ways in which messages are delivered may not connect with their daily realities or priorities.

This disconnect raises an important question: how can we support more grounded, accessible and participatory forms of youth engagement in sustainability, especially in contexts where basic services are limited and opportunities are scarce?

Awareness still matters, but so does context

When we talk about sustainability issues such as recycling, climate change, biodiversity loss, energy use or water conservation, we need to anchor these conversations in context. Without that connection, messaging can feel abstract or disconnected from more immediate concerns like food security, personal safety or reliable access to basic services.

In these contexts, awareness-building is still essential, but it needs to be approached differently. Framing sustainability through questions of community health, service delivery or household affordability can offer a more accessible starting point for engagement. This approach also respects the diversity of youth experience, rather than assuming a single environmental worldview.

The growing role of communication

Communication, at its best, is not only a tool for education, but also a way of opening dialogue. For young people, especially those in under-resourced areas, this dialogue should be grounded in local realities and reflect the constraints they may face. Campaigns that focus on individual behaviour change without acknowledging systemic challenges risk alienating rather than inspiring.

This does not mean diluting the message. It means asking better questions. What language feels familiar? What values are already shaping how young people interact with their environment? How can communication invite participation instead of prescribing solutions?

At SUSCO, our work with different clients has shown us that communication is most effective when it is designed in conversation with the people it aims to reach. In many cases, young people respond strongly to approaches that are interactive, creative and locally relevant – whether through storytelling or activities-based learning.

Youth-Based Responses Already Exist

While structural barriers remain, there are growing examples of young people creating their own responses to environmental issues – some through formal programmes, others through informal action. Youth-led social enterprises and grassroots initiatives are working across a range of issues: waste management, food security, climate resilience, gender-based violence, conservation, and economic inclusivity.

These efforts are not always captured in mainstream sustainability narratives, but they reflect a broader point: that young people are not just audiences to reach, but potential partners in building responses that are relevant to their contexts.

Beyond the campaign

The challenge, then, is to use communication not as a one-way message delivery system, but as a mechanism to support participation, visibility and shared meaning. This requires patience, cultural sensitivity and a willingness to allow messages to be shaped and reshaped in process.

At SUSCO, our aim is to create the conditions for engagement that is inclusive, respectful and context-aware. We work to co-develop communication approaches that leave room for different perspectives to emerge. In this way, sustainability communication becomes less about pushing a message and more about building relationships and capacity over time.