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Living Sustainably: Search for Eco-Friendly Homes with the New PropertyGuru Green Score
Singapore has made massive strides in encouraging sustainability and combating climate change. Our country’s key strategy is to reduce carbon dioxide – the most significant greenhouse gas in Singapore – that is produced when we burn fossil fuels for our essential energy needs, from powering our homes to propelling vehicles on the road.
In 2009, the Government pledged to cut emissions by 16% by 2020. In 2015, they went a step further to set an even higher target to slash our Emissions Intensity (which is the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per dollar GDP) by 36% from 2005 levels by 2030.
These may seem ambitious goals, but they’re backed by an eco-conscious nation willing to support them. A 2019 public perception survey by the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) found that over 90% of people in Singapore were aware of climate change and almost 80% were prepared to do more to make a difference. About 9 in 10 said they support Singapore shifting to become a low carbon economy, with 8 in 10 saying they would not mind bearing additional costs and inconvenience if needed.
These findings align with our Consumer Sentiment Study H2 2021, where 82% of Singaporeans said that they will consider paying more for an eco-friendly property. The top sustainable features that have become increasingly important to them are smart cooling systems, high-insulation windows and doors, and solar panels.
Why is Sustainability Important to PropertyGuru?
As market leaders in the property space, we believe that we too have a huge part to play in protecting the environment. This is a role we take seriously: We have introduced small transformational measures in our lives, our offices and in the community. From green travel to sustainable office practices, we hope to make the world around us a better place.
We are happy to share the release of our newest feature, the PropertyGuru Green Score, which assigns a sustainability rating to properties listed on our portal. Through this, we hope to empower consumers to choose sustainable homes that align with their eco-conscious values and continue raising awareness around green living.
What Does the PropertyGuru Green Score Mean?
With the new PropertyGuru Green Score, you can check and compare how sustainable each listing is to identify eco-friendly residences. This makes it easier than ever to ensure that your next home doesn’t impact the environment more than it needs to.
Partnering with Reomnify*, we have devised the PropertyGuru Green Score based on:
Number of MRT stations and bus stops within 400m
Number of sustainability awards won
With a rating of one to five, properties are rated from Average to Good and Excellent.
Public Transportation Accessibility
Cars, buses, and trains are one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, responsible for one quarter of direct CO2 emissions globally. Hence, it is clear that our daily transport habits very directly affect the environment. Choosing public transport over a private vehicle is the first and easiest step to lowering our carbon footprint.
But we shouldn’t stop there. In Singapore, about 5% of our nation’s electricity consumption comes from the transport sector, especially our islandwide MRT network. This is why the Government has been taking active steps toward having a greener public transport system – from 2010, MRT lines and stations have been graded and scored based on their eco-friendliness as well.
So, we should strive to reduce our reliance on private transport as much as possible too, for example, 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 can also walk to the transport node to begin your commute (instead of taking a feeder bus).
Sustainability Awards Won
Buildings and construction account for over one-third of the world’s energy consumption and nearly 40% of the total CO2 emissions, which is why many developers are making conscious efforts to improve efficiency in their buildings’ design and infrastructure.
Environmental awards like PropertyGuru’s Asia Property Awards and the BCA Green Mark certification, a green building rating assessment, recognise such efforts. By shining the spotlight on these accolades, we hope to raise awareness about sustainability efforts in Singapore and encourage more property seekers to take such attributes into account in the home buying process.
What’s Next?
Sustainability is one of the core pillars we place front and centre in our work, and the PropertyGuru Green Score is one of our many initiatives towards enabling a conversation and enhancing awareness around green living.
By displaying the PropertyGuru Green Score prominently on our property listings, we hope that impact on the environment will become a major consideration when it comes to property seeking. This, in turn, will encourage developers and others in the sector to prioritise sustainability in the way they research, develop and innovate new products.
Together, let’s do part and look after our shared home – planet earth.
Enjoyed This Article? Read More of Our Green Living Guides:
[ArticleCallout]{ “title”: “5 Eco-Friendly Home Improvement Ideas For Your New Home”, “excerpt”: “Read more here.”, “link”: “https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-guides/eco-friendly-home-renovations-paint-solar-panels-31340”, “image”: “https://img.iproperty.com.my/angel-legacy/1110×624-crop/static/2020/08/eco-friendly-homes-main.jpg” } [/ArticleCallout] [ArticleCallout]{ “title”: “Green Electricity in Singapore: 4 Electricity Providers to Run An Eco-Friendly Household”, “excerpt”: “Read more here.”, “link”: “https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-guides/green-electricity-retailers-singapore-28210”, “image”: “https://img.iproperty.com.my/angel-legacy/1110×624-crop/static/2020/06/green-electricity-singapore-.jpg” } [/ArticleCallout] [ArticleCallout]{ “title”: “HDB Eco-Towns: Punggol and the Upcoming Tampines, Choa Chu Kang and Nee Soon<br><a href=\u0022https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-guides/author/eugenialiew\u0022></a>”, “excerpt”: “Read more here.”, “link”: “https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-guides/hdb-eco-towns-punggol-waterway-treelodge-32606”, “image”: “https://img.iproperty.com.my/angel-legacy/1110×624-crop/static/2020/09/eco-towns-ff.jpg” } [/ArticleCallout] [ArticleCallout]{ “title”: “How to Go Green with Secondhand Furniture at Home”, “excerpt”: “Read more here.”, “link”: “https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-guides/secondhand-furniture-singapore-price-38657”, “image”: “https://img.iproperty.com.my/angel-legacy/1110×624-crop/static/2020/12/pexels-go-green-with-secondhand-furniture.jpg” } [/ArticleCallout]
For more property news, content and resources, check out PropertyGuru’s guides section.
Looking for a new home? Head to PropertyGuru to browse the top properties for sale in Singapore.
Need help financing your latest property purchase? Let the mortgage experts at PropertyGuru Finance help you find the best deals.
* Reomnify is a location data intelligence platform that strives to enable better decision-making in sectors such as real estate, insurance and retail. Read more about Reomnify and what they do here.
