Environmental Education Day, which is held on 26 January, will soon celebrate 50 years since its establishment at the International Seminar on Environmental Education in Belgrade in 1975. Seventy countries shared possible solutions to the deterioration of the natural environment, as well as actions to sensitise society of the need to tale action to avoid it.
Half a century later, it has gone from concern to urgency in the face of the climate crisis facing humanity, with environmental education being a fundamental tool to increase social sensitivity and jointly find solutions to this problem.
That is why the Endesa Foundation, in its commitment to quality education, the environment and biodiversity, has been developing projects for years focused on creating social awareness among young generations about the importance of taking care of what surrounds us, in order to build a society that respects the environment and in which equal opportunities are not lacking. It is about illuminating young talent to encourage the search for improvements and solutions to the environmental challenges facing our planet.
And, according to the latest Ecobarometer 2021: Ecological culture in Spain: Priorities, costs, attitudes, and the role of school, more than half of young Spaniards, 53.4 percent, demand more environmental content in the classroom. The study, carried out by the Endesa Foundation in collaboration with the European Society and Education Foundation, analyses the ecological culture of young people, as well as the role of school education in promoting environmental sensitivity.
Two samples of 1,200 and 1,000 individuals were used for this study, representative of the population of 18 to 35 years and the general population of 18 to 75 years, respectively. As well as young peoples' perception that they receive insufficient content on the environment in curricula, the study adds other conclusions that value the opportunity to continue promoting programs that add education and the environment. 91.9% of the young people interviewed think that the problem of environmental conservation is very or quite serious, and 90.8% are convinced that tackling it is very or quite urgent. In addition, 87.5% say they strongly or quite agree that school education contributes greatly to shaping peoples' attitudes about the environment.
This study is an updated version of the one published in 2016. For the Endesa Foundation, it was a starting point to invest in actions to improve the ecological culture of the general population and, in particular, of students through their educational centres, and it led to the creation of the Endesa Foundation Awards for Educational Eco-innovation, which is celebrating its sixth edition this academic year.
With these awards, both entities seek to identify and reward the commitment of students and educational centres throughout Spain with the conservation, protection and care of biodiversity, encouraging them to develop entrepreneurship and ecological innovation initiatives, and with special focus on the joint work of all as a key to promoting a better (and greater) environmental awareness.
Endesa Educa: a fun way to save the planet
Another initiative that seeks to promote ecological awareness, this time through the promotion of the efficient and responsible use of energy, is Endesa Educa, one of the most historic projects of the Endesa Foundation. This initiative allows more than 45,000 children and young people from all over Spain to learn about the efficient use of energy, sustainability and caring for the natural environment. This project was born 20 years ago with the purpose of disseminating knowledge and raising awareness among children in the classroom. To facilitate learning, it offers families, teachers and students a large collection of educational resources, totally free, which allows them to learn while having fun. In 2019, it launched its online platform so that teachers and students can continue learning with total time and geographical flexibility, and in which they are presented with missions and energy challenges with one final mission: save the planet.
Through the Ecoinnovation Awards, the Ecobarometer and Endesa Educa initiatives, the Endesa Foundation is committed to raising awareness about the importance of the natural environment in our young people, giving tools to our educational community to be an active part of the solution to the current climate crisis, which is the greatest global challenge we face.
About Endesa
Endesa is the largest electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. The company is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. Endesa operates an end-to-end business from generation to marketing and through Endesa X also offers value-added services aimed at the decarbonisation of energy uses in homes, companies, industries and public administrations. Endesa is firmly committed to the United Nations SDGs and therefore strongly supports the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power España, the electrification of the economy and Corporate Social Responsibility. The Endesa Foundation is also active in CSR. We have a workforce of 9,600 employees. Endesa is a division of Enel, the largest electricity group in Europe.