In early-2020, a frequent topic of discussion at my family’s dining table was living sustainably and how we could overcome the hurdles that individuals, communities, and cities faced.
With a teen and a child below the age of ten, my wife and I have been passionate about infusing the right values and behaviours around sustainable living from a young age.
We sought to lead by example– trying our best to make better decisions, whether sorting our trash or setting up a hydroponic urban farm in our balconies.
As we assessed our household’s carbon footprint, there was certainly room for improvement – like using the air conditioner less often – and we definitely made an effort.
Then, like most of the world, our community was hit by COVID-19 last year. Circuit breakers, working from home, home-based schooling, and various restrictions disrupted daily routines.
Our focus on sustainability slipped away as we took care of our loved ones and prayed for vaccines. Cars disappeared from the roads, air travel ground to a halt, tourism vanished, and factory activities slowed down.
Amidst the whirlwind of changes, something amazing happened as well. With us marooned in our homes, the Earth began to heal itself. The air was suddenly (and momentarily) cleaner again. Nature thrived, and our planet seemed almost to take a deep healthy breath.
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As our attention turned to health and economic recovery, more and more businesses, governments, and societies started to recognise a responsibility that extended beyond just ourselves. We had to bounce back not only stronger but also better – socially and environmentally.
Today, as I reflect on our progress over the past few years, especially amidst the pandemic, I realise that more than ever before, sustainability requires a stewardship mindset.
Every individual, family, and business needs to come together to ensure that our precious resources are cared for and used in ways that create a better tomorrow.
PropertyGuru started at home
While discussions around sustainability have now been around for years, it has remained a complex topic, with many people missing the link between eco-living and home choices. Today, sustainable living can take many forms– environment quality (ventilation, daylight, air quality etc.), energy and water efficiency (less power consumption, generate energy on our own), responsible resource usage (recycle and renewal of resources), and/or commutation (bicycle, access to public transportation, carpool etc.).
Singapore is my home, and the latest trends look promising.
Our latest Consumer Sentiment Study H2 2021 found that 82 per cent of Singaporeans are willing to consider paying more for an environmentally sustainable home. This includes millennials (83 per cent), Generation X (79 per cent) and Baby Boomers (86 per cent), indicating more ecological and socially conscious buyer behaviour across generations.
For these Singaporeans, the top three desired sustainability features in their future home are smart cooling systems (65 per cent), high insulation windows and doors (60 per cent), and solar panels (54 per cent).
It thus comes as no surprise that Singaporeans welcomed the government’s effort in its HDB Green Towns Programme, with 2 in 5 (46 per cent) willing to pay more to live in one.
As Singapore strives to become a smart and green nation, sustainable urban living should take centre stage. It starts right from the home we choose, and how we build and manage it plays a critical role in ensuring our cities and communities are healthy.
To make sustainability a key consideration in today’s consumers’ property search, we have just launched PropertyGuru Green Score, a sustainability rating attributed to condos and HDBs listed on PropertyGuru.
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The Green Score parameters include the projects’ accessibility to public transport (within 400m), green building rating assessment such as BCA Green Mark certification, and sustainability awards won from ‘PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards’ to help property seekers understand how eco-friendly a project is.
When it comes to public transport accessibility, cars, buses, and trains are among the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, responsible for one-quarter of direct CO2 emissions globally.
In fact, a car carrying only the driver uses nine times the energy used by a bus and 12 times that a train uses on a per passenger-kilometre travelled basis.
As such, choosing public transport over a private vehicle is the first and easiest step to lower our carbon footprint– and why we chose the number of MRT stations and bus stops within 400m of a project to be a key parameter for PropertyGuru Green Score.
The proximity to public transport reduces our reliance on private modes of transport, and by giving such projects a better Green Score, we encourage consumers to make sustainable choices.
By living near a bus interchange and/or MRT station, not only will you be more encouraged to use the bus and/or train to get around, but you will also walk to it to begin your commute.
On the other hand, construction accounts for over one-third of the world’s energy consumption and nearly 40 per cent of the total CO2 emissions, urging developers to improve efficiency in their buildings’ design and infrastructure.
Environmental awards like PropertyGuru’s Asia Property Awards and the BCA Green Mark certification recognise such efforts to encourage more property seekers to take such attributes into account in the home buying process.
To check a development’s Green Score, property seekers can visit the project page for condos and HDBs on PropertyGuru.com.sg. The score ranges from 1-5, denoting average, good and excellent sustainability rating of the project.
Becoming the change, we want to see
Green Score is just the start for us. A transition to sustainability permeates the way we live, travel, and eat daily. Sustainable living goes beyond a corporate promise and is a way of life to address climate change.
Internally, we have undertaken a series of ‘GreenGuru’ initiatives motivating our community of over 1,700 Gurus to reduce their carbon footprint. All our offices across Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia have e-waste and recycling bins, and we have replaced single-use plastics with reusable food containers and bags.
Employees also participate in fun green challenges, such as switching to vegetarian lunches and using public transport for a month to reduce individual carbon emissions.
To increase transparency around sustainable living practices, our resources also include green living guides for property seekers in Southeast Asia.
We’re also working with property developers in the region and have seen an increase of 50 per cent in entries of green projects nominated for sustainability awards categories at our PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards.
This means that even when property seekers buy homes as an investment, making a greener choice will likely result in increased demand from renters and future buyers.
Today, we commit to making changes in our own business to meet the goals stated in the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and building a better home for our future generations.
In line with this, we are working on a Greenhouse Gas Emission Audit and Reduction Plan to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint further. The plan goes hand in hand with our Green Travel Policy for business travel decisions to be eco-conscious.
Building better and greener homes and communities
It is heartening to see that since its soft launch in February 2021, nearly 2 million property seekers have viewed the Green Score.
With all of us spending more time at home, we have re-discovered the importance of sustainable living. In time, I hope this will be a natural way of life, and each of us will place environmental considerations top-of-mind.
Also Read: Life after COVID-19: How and why smart cities need to focus on sustainability
As a parent, a business leader, and a citizen of the world, I am clear on my role in helping build better homes and communities for the future.
Conscious that change starts from me, I have actively worked with my immediate circle of influence to catalyse change. Internally, as a company, we have become more mindful of our responsibility to fuel positive practices in the community we have been a part of over the last fourteen years.
My kids and their peers deserve a planet that is healing itself with the help of each of us who inhabits it. To build this future, we must choose to make better decisions and demand more from ourselves, collectively fighting against climate change.
This change needs to start now – in our mindsets, our behaviours, and our actions.
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