Gen Yers may have swapped playgrounds for office spaces and Gameboys for smartphones since the mid-’90s, but it seems they’re playing the same old games. What is it about Pokémon GO that’s gotten audiences of all ages hooked on a craze that many grew out of before the turn of the century?

Non-profit environmental startup Urban Rivers is building a river-cleaning trashbot that can be remotely controlled by anyone via the Internet. The initiative engages people in litter-picking through gamification, enabling them to make an impact on a local scale.

For Earth Day 2018, Pokemon Go will invite players of the AR title to earn in-game rewards for picking up rubbish at selected events. Organised in collaboration with NGOs and social enterprises, the move appeals to tech-savvy Gen Z’s desire to be environmentally sustainable.

Chinese mobile payments leader Alipay is incentivising citizens to engage in low carbon footprint activities. More than 280 million people in China are already going green with the Ant Forest app, which provides an easy and fun way to actively contribute to ecological causes they hold dear.