How To Pull Off Wallet-Friendly, Greener Living From Your Home In 2021

A wallet-friendly, sustainable lifestyle is attainable. Here are the easy steps you can take to support the environment right from the comfort of your home.

Climate change is more real than ever: you are not imagining the hotter, dryer spells, or colder, wetter, occurrences around the world. Neither is it fake news that New Zealand has introduced a new bill that requires banks and financial institutions to disclose climate risks in a world first.

A recent sobering report spotlighted the possibility of over a third of the Antarctic ice shelf collapsing should climate change continue to warm the Earth. A petition spurred by Netflix film ‘Seaspiracy’ to protect the oceans garnered over 100,000 signatures in just three days.

Regardless of where you are right now in the context of doing all that you can to save Planet Earth, environmental sustainability is paramount.

Besides investing in energy efficient appliances, there are other easy steps you and I can take to do our part for our home, our Planet Earth, both in the short and long run. And in case you need a nudge, know that no effort is too small or insignificant!

#1 Look into ESG investing

Are you a budding investor? You can grow your wealth and investment portfolio the responsible, sustainable way, via ESG investing.

This investment strategy requires investors like yourself to consider the environmental, social and governance factors when analysing the company or business’ sustainability and societal impact. This, obviously, has to be done in tandem when you analyse the company or business’ financial health and fundamentals.

Can’t wait to get started? Spare some time reading up on the types of ethical investments you can participate in as well as some of the best sustainable investments in Singapore, too.

#2 Minimise cheap fashion

Have you ever wondered how much is cheap fashion costing the Earth? Well, it turns out that the fashion industry actually produces more carbon emissions than the airline and shipping industries combined! If that’s not shocking, I’m not sure what is.

The main reasons attributing to the massive amounts of carbon emissions released by the fashion industry — frequently underestimated by the public no less — include (i) the very long supply chain and (ii) overproduction and overconsumption of fashion pieces, especially fast fashion.

Do the future generations and Planet Earth a favour — buy less, buy better.

In case you’re wondering, sustainable fashion is always a good idea. Sustainable fashion brands utilise sustainable materials in their production, such as materials that are biodegradable, recyclable and or course, sustainable.

#3 Adopt eco-friendly habits 

Lifestyle changes may not be the easiest but these small steps can go a long way if everyone makes an effort to do their part.

Fret not if you aren’t quite sure where to start. Here are some eco-friendly habits you can start building:

Live your life with less plastic

• Bring your own reusable containers for food takeaways
• Bring along a reusable tote bag for your grocery shopping trips
• Opt for cutlery-free food deliveries

Up your recycling game

• Do not put contaminated recyclables or food waste into recycling bins
• Set up a bin system in your home and recycle common household items such as plastic bottles, newspapers or cardboard boxes
• Be in the know about your neighbourhood recycling programmes or download the ezi app to book for a recyclables collection

Embrace good energy-conservation habits

• Turn off your lights when not in use and unplug your charging points
• Keep cool with the fan instead of the air-conditioner
• Use water sparingly by taking shorter showers

#4 Switch to a sustainable electricity provider 

In addition to building eco-friendly habits, you can also make the switch to power your home via a green electricity provider like Sembcorp Power.

True to its commitment to build a sustainable future, Sembcorp Power offers blended-green power plans that utilise sustainable energy, as well as a 100% Solar Energy Plan aptly called Sunshine Plan.

How does the blended-green power plan work? Sembcorp Power will retire 50kWh worth of renewable energy certificates (RECs) every month on their customers’ behalf. It’s as simple as choosing Sembcorp Power on your end as a consumer.

As for the Sunshine Plan, the Open Electricity Market retailer has its own existing Sembcorp Solar assets to generate solar energy.

Something exciting is brewing

Slated to be completed later in 2021, the massive 60 megawatt-peak (MWp) floating solar photovoltaic (PV) system on Tengeh Reservoir will utilise over 146,000 solar panels to generate clean, renewable energy. The energy generated will be sufficient to power approximately 16,000 four-room HDB flats for an entire year!

Impressive, isn’t it? To put things into perspective, that will offset around 32 kilotonnes of carbon emissions annually – equivalent to reducing about 7,000 cars on the roads.

How can you go green with Sembcorp Power?

Sembcorp Power offers competitive electricity rates with quarterly bank promotions that give you even better savings. Choose between fixed rates throughout your contract period or guaranteed discount off the regulated tariff plans to suit your household energy consumption needs.

Maximise your electricity bill savings with these deals

Visit Sembcorp Power’s website to view more promotions.

*Prices are inclusive of GST and accurate as of time of writing. Promotions are subject to changes

Other perks
Aside from great customer service and providing utmost reliability for households (read: Sembcorp Power has its own power plants and has been powering Singapore for more than 20 years till date), customers can enjoy a myriad of partner deals and offers. You can also earn S$20 bill rebates with each successful referral.

This article is written in partnership with Sembcorp Power.

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