To tackle climate change, start at home

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 it was sorting our trash or setting up a hydroponic urban farm in our balconies. As we assessed the carbon footprint of our household, there was certainly room for improvement – like using the air conditioner less often – and we definitely made the 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 changes disrupted daily routines. As we took care of our loved ones and prayed for vaccines, our focus on sustainability slipped away. 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 to almost take a deep healthy breath. 

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 need to come together to ensure that our precious resources are cared for and used in ways that create a better tomorrow. 

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Start At Home

As we help our communities in Southeast Asia build back better, sustainable urban living should take the center stage. It starts right from the home we choose, and how we plan to build and manage it plays a central role to how healthy our community and city will be.

PropertyGuru is determined to make a difference in the countries where we operate in. Take Singapore for example – PropertyGuru is committed to the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and building a better home for our future generations. 

Singapore is my home and the latest trends here look promising. 

Our latest consumer sentiment study 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%) willing to pay more to live in one. 

To support this shift in mindset and drive greater awareness around eco-living, we have just launched PropertyGuru Green Score, a sustainability rating attributed to condos and HDBs listed for sale or rent on PropertyGuru.com.sg for property seekers to understand how eco-friendly a project is. The Green Score parameters include the projects’ accessibility to public transport and recognition by PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards. Since its soft launch in February 2021, nearly 2 million property seekers have viewed Green Score and more than 54,000 of them have engaged with it.  

To increase transparency around sustainable living practices, our resources also include green living guides and over 100 articles for the 37 million property seekers in Southeast Asia visiting our marketplaces, including PropertyGuru and Commercialguru.com in Singapore, PropertyGuru and iProperty.com.my in Malaysia, Batdongsan.com.vn in Vietnam, DDproperty.com and thinkofliving.com in Thailand, Rumah.com and Rumahdijual.com in Indonesia. 

Property developers across Southeast Asia are also joining the move towards a greener tomorrow. We 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. 

Be the Change We Want to See

A transition to sustainability permeates the way we live, travel, and eat on a daily basis. 

For us , sustainable living goes beyond a corporate promise and is instead, a way of life to address climate change. As leaders, we have the power to lead the collective fight against climate change and by pooling our resources and network, we can accomplish more as a whole.

Conscious that change starts from me, I have been actively working 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. 

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.

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 further reduce our greenhouse gas footprint. 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

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.

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. 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. This change needs to start now – in our mindsets, our behaviours, and our actions.  

The writer is CEO & MD at PropertyGuru Group.