Earth Day was celebrated here and around the world on April 22 with events to remind us to do our part for the environment. After Earth Day, are we continuing our environmental efforts?

There are seven habits commonly found in people who are green conscious. We could learn these habits and take individual actions so that Earth Day becomes a daily event.

One, respect and renew our bond with nature and its biodiversity. Nature has much to teach us on how to live with the rest of life on Earth. Without this respect and bond, there will be no desire to protect nature. Start exploring nature areas such as Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Chek Jawa and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, and join the guided walks.

Two, read up on local and global environmental issues, from various channels such as websites, books, newspapers and non-government organisations. What are the current trends and problems? What needs to be done?

Three, reduce our environmental impact in energy, water and waste. Embrace sufficiency in our consumption and practise the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) in our daily lives.

Reduce by not creating wastage or minimising waste in the beginning. Reuse by using the waste several times or for another purpose. Recycle by sending the waste to be processed as a resource.

Four, spread the green message to family, friends, classmates or colleagues. Share our knowledge with them and post about environmental problems and solutions on social media.

Influence our organisation, be it a school, company or social group, to be more environmentally friendly.

Five, participate in government initiatives such as the National Environment Agency’s National Recycling Programme and the National Parks Board’s Community In Bloom programme. Support local NGOs and join their activities or volunteer.

Six, participate constructively as active citizens in the formulation of government policies on the environment. This could be through government dialogues or feedback channels and through the media.

We can advocate green causes we feel strongly about and try to persuade the Government in rethinking its policies and decisions.

Seven, choose to be a responsible consumer. Buy only what we need and always think twice before buying. Choose more eco-friendly products with less impact and made by sustainable businesses.

Buy ethical products and support businesses that take care of their employees’ well-being.

We can all commit to adopting these habits and to do our part for our only home. Let us celebrate Earth Day daily.

By Eugene Tay Tse Chuan

The writer is an environmental consultant.

Source: Today

Greenstore is offering a free online copy of The 7 Habits of Green Conscious Singaporeans book for its newsletter subscribers!

The 7 Habits of Green Conscious Singaporeans is a book published by Eugene Tay, the Director of Green Future Solutions and Founder of Greenstore.

If you wish to go green and take action, this book makes it easier for you. Eugene has compiled a list of 7 habits that are commonly found in people who are green conscious and environmentally aware. All of us can start learning these 7 habits now and take action to improve and protect the environment. The 7 habits include:

Habit 1: Respect nature and renew your bond
Habit 2: Improve your environmental awareness and knowledge
Habit 3: Reduce your environmental impact
Habit 4: Spread the green message and influence others
Habit 5: Support green initiatives and groups
Habit 6: Participate as an active citizen
Habit 7: Choose to be a responsible consumer

The habits begin with first developing your “Self” by respecting and renewing your relationship with nature and its biodiversity, improving on your understanding of environmental issues and knowledge, and taking personal actions to reduce your energy and water usage, and waste disposal.

Next, move on to influence your “Family, Friends, School, Work or Group” by spreading the environmental message to others such as family members, friends and colleagues, and convincing organisations that you belong to, such as schools, companies, or social groups, to be more green.

Finally, go one step further to shape your “Community and Local Environment” through supporting green initiatives by the government and environmental groups, volunteering or joining activities organised by the groups, participating actively as a citizen to shape government policies, and choosing to be a responsible consumer who supports green businesses and products.

You can practise all the 7 habits or adopt a few habits to do something for the environment. The habits are only a guide to help you make the first move and to inspire you to do more.

Greenstore is offering a free online copy of the book for its newsletter subscribers!

At the International Furniture Fair Singapore 2012 held from 9-12 March, the Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) presented the inaugural Green Pavilion, curated by British material extraordinate, Chris Lefteri. The Green Pavilion featured 10 SFIC members’ products that showcase their sustainable practices.

SFIC also launched an e-book titled The SFIC Green Guide – Embracing A Greener Furniture Industry. We were involved in the preparation of the e-book, which contains an introduction to the various green labels and certifications across the world that are relevant to the furniture industry, and includes green business practices and trends. This e-book serves as a useful guide for furniture companies who are interested to develop more sustainable products and green their business operations.

At the furniture fair, SFIC also signed a MOU with the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), to promote the certification and adoption of green furniture. The new certification scheme for green furniture products will be an extension of SGBC’s Singapore Green Building Product certifications scheme.

With the various green initiatives driven by SFIC, the furniture industry in Singapore is moving towards a more sustainable future.

Here’s some of the survey results and our thoughts:

Gap Between Awareness and Action

These survey results show that most Singaporeans are concerned about climate change and its effect on Singapore, and feel that they play a part in taking action. The results are not surprising, as it is similar to responses from previous NEA and Gallup surveys, which show similar positive responses from Singaporeans on environmental and climate change issues.

We think that Singaporeans know about climate change as we are being exposed to local and international environmental news through the printed and online media, but we tend to stop at awareness and not translate that into action. The survey results show a concern about climate change and a desire to take action, but does not describe actual actions. We feel that there is still a big gap to be bridged between awareness and action in Singapore.

Although survey participants indicated their current practices to address climate change, we feel that the numbers are too positive and higher than the real situation. For example:

• 90.3% of survey participants indicated that they turn off electrical appliances at the main. In a 2010 LOHAS Study of the Singapore market, only 71% out of 1,000 participants say they unplug or tun off electronics.
• 80.3% of participants said they practise the 3Rs. In 2010, Singapore’s recycling rate is only 58% and the household participation rate in the National Recycling Programme is 63% in 2008.
• 76.8% say they use public transport when possible. A transport survey of 10,500 households in Singapore show that 59% of respondents used public transport.
• 72.3% choose appliances which carry an Energy Label. Since 2008, it is mandatory for all air-conditioners, refrigerators and clothes dryers to have the Energy Label, so Singaporeans are already choosing Energy Label appliances by default.

Like all our New Year resolutions and plans to lose weight and exercise more, we are always concerned, feel we need to take action, and feel we will be affected if we don’t take action. But in reality, we are swept by the waves of our busy daily lives and go on business-as-usual. We know and we care, but we don’t act, until it hurts.

The government has to find ways of helping Singaporeans translate their awareness, knowledge, concerns and desires into real actions.

Both Individual and Systemic Actions

The survey results show that 56.3% of Singaporeans think that individuals are mainly responsible for taking action on climate change, followed by government (26.3%) and businesses (10.6%). While it is important for the individual to take action on climate change, it is even more important to focus on systemic actions. We must understand that the main contributors of carbon dioxide emissions in Singapore are from the industry and building sectors – 70% in 2005.

We need systemic actions such as building sustainable urban infrastructure and green buildings; increasing the resilience of our energy, water and food security; redesigning and developing new ways of making and reusing products and materials; and conserving our biodiversity. These large systemic actions can only be achieved through the efforts of the government and businesses, but it can happen faster with individuals pushing for these actions to be discussed and implemented.

Everyone can play a part to tackle climate change in Singapore, through our own individual actions and through encouraging the government and businesses to take action in creating systemic changes.

Images: NCCS

In 2010, Singapore threw away 0.64 million tonnes of food waste and only 16% was recycled. This means that on average, each person in Singapore generated about 126kg of food waste a year. This is common throughout the world and according to a 2011 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 1.3 billion tonnes or one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year gets lost or wasted.

Food waste has several environmental and social impacts, and represents a waste of resources used in food production, distribution and disposal, such as land, water, energy, fertilisers, labour and capital, and produces unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions leading to climate change. The food wasted could be used to feed the poor and the nearly one billion malnourished people in the world.

To tackle this problem of food waste, we are thinking of organising a campaign to reduce food waste in Singapore. The campaign would aim to help consumers, households, food outlets, retailers, caterers, food distributors, and food manufacturers in Singapore understand the environmental and social impacts of our food cycle, and take actions to reduce, redistribute and recycle food waste in Singapore.

We are still in the process of conceptualising the campaign and trying to get sponsors, and will share more about the campaign later. Meanwhile, if you have any ideas and suggestions, do share them with us. Thanks!

Do you want to know more about the environmental scene in Singapore? Find out now from our 3rd edition of the Singapore Green Landscape.

This year, the Singapore Green Landscape 2012 provides a review of 90 key environmental news in Singapore last year, and gives an overview of 156 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), green groups, business associations and groups, green websites, government agencies, and institutes and centres in Singapore, which are related to the environment.

We hope that this publication is useful for everyone who wishes to know more about the state of the environment in Singapore, find and connect with the environmental organisations in Singapore, or explore personal and business opportunities. This publication is free for download. Feel free to share this.

Fill in your contacts below to download the publication.

Having come across many green ideas over the past few years, there is one recent idea Eugene would claim that he ‘die die must share’ – the idea of Collaborative Consumption.

Collaborative Consumption refers to the idea of sharing that is empowered by technology and social networks, and how it changes consumption and the way businesses operate.

Sharing also covers renting, swapping, lending, trading, exchanging, bartering, and gifting. The advantages of sharing are that fewer resources are used to make and ship products, and less waste are generated and disposed.

The term Collaborative Consumption was first described in 2010 in the book What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers.

Other resources with similar ideas on sharing include the book The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing by Lisa Gansky and the Shareable website.

Eugene believes that Collaborative Consumption is an important and emerging idea because consumers are starting to realize that they can share rather than buy more stuff.

This is motivated by greater environmental awareness and cost consciousness, the proliferation of mobile peer-to-peer technologies and social networks, and the need to be part of a community.

In the book What’s Mine Is Yours, the authors describe three systems of Collaborative Consumption – Product Service Systems, Redistribution Markets and Collaborative Lifestyles.

Product Service Systems

Product Service Systems is where you pay for and enjoy the benefit of using a product without having to own the product.

Local examples in Singapore include HollywoodClicks.com, which rents movie DVDs to customers who receive and return the DVDs via post; Maternity Exchange, which offers maternity and nursing wear rental for mums-to-be; and Clean Mobility Singapore, which provides electric vehicle sharing and rental scheme.

Another example of Product Service Systems is MyRideBuddy, a dynamic and real time carpooling solution in Singapore, which matches users near common start and end points so that they can share a car ride together according to their convenience and preferences.

It allows individuals to benefit from the convenience of the car without owning one, while reducing costs and the problems of congestion and air pollution.

Redistribution Markets

The second system of Collaborative Consumption is Redistribution Markets, where you transfer used or unwanted stuff to somewhere or someone where they are wanted.

Local examples include SG Freecycle, where anyone can post their unwanted items or request for stuff that they want; Offstock, where companies can buy or sell excess stocks of chemicals and raw materials; and Pass It On, which allows the public to donate used furniture and appliances, which are given to needy families and charities.

Another example of Redistribution Markets is Waste is not Waste (WINW), an online waste exchange for businesses and organisations in Singapore and Malaysia.

WINW facilitates the exchange of waste materials and unwanted items from companies and organisations that no longer need them to businesses, non-profit organisations, designers and schools that can utilise those waste.

This reduces waste and keeps valuable resources out of the incineration plants and landfills while helping companies save time, money and reduce their environmental impacts.

Collaborative Lifestyles

The third system of Collaborative Consumption is Collaborative Lifestyles, where you share and exchange less tangible assets such as time, space and money with people of similar interests.

Local examples include Hackerspace Singapore, which provides a co-working and relaxing space for techies to work and collaborate; Give.sg, which allows anyone to organize their own fundraising campaigns; and SG Cares, which matches volunteers with volunteer groups and opportunities.

Another example of Collaborative Lifestyles is Milaap, a social enterprise providing a microfinance platform that enables individuals to make microloans that help villagers in India gain access to basic services, such as education, healthcare, electricity, and clean water.

While Collaborative Consumption is still in its infancy in Singapore, Eugene believes that this idea would gain more interest in the coming years and more companies would start to explore the business opportunities of sharing.

The earlier business examples show elements of sharing, but they have not really made full use of technology and social networks to better enhance sharing.

For the companies, they would have to work with the green and tech community, and maximize the use of technology to come up with better and more sustainable ways of sharing.

For consumers, it’s time to get ready for Collaborative Consumption.

Images: Love God and your neighbor 1 by sraburton; Collaborative Consumption Graphics – The Complete Picture by Rachel Botsman under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license

The National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) is currently preparing the National Climate Change Strategy 2012 (NCCS-2012) publication, and is seeking public feedback and ideas.

The NCCS-2012 will provide a framework and overall strategy for Singapore to tackle climate change, and will outline policies and measures to reduce emissions, cope with the impact of climate change and build our capabilities.

The public consultation by NCCS involves conducting an online consultation exercise, focus group sessions and community forums. You can give your feedback and ideas via the NCCS website from now till 14 Oct.

Here are 12 ideas for the National Climate Change Strategy 2012, which was submitted by Low Carbon Singapore to NCCS:

1. Support a National Campaign on Climate Change Involving Different Stakeholders
2. Explore Soft Approaches to Create Behavior Change
3. Expand the Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme to Other Common Products
4. Encourage Carpooling, Carsharing and Bikesharing
5. Provide Incentives for Commercial Transport Fleet Operators to Reduce Fuel Consumption
6. Set Clear Direction to Promote Cleaner Vehicles
7. Provide Practical Advice for SMEs to Measure and Reduce Energy and Carbon Emissions
8. Mandate Building Owners to Reduce Lightings at Night
9. Include SCEM Training Curriculum into Relevant Tertiary School Courses
10. Set Mandatory Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard
11. Work Towards a Four National Switches Energy Strategy
12. Rethink the Use of Coal

If you wish to read more about the 12 ideas, you can download the report by filling in your info below:

Image: Screenshot of NCCS website

GAIA is Singapore’s first sustainable living mook (magazine book), published by Green Future Solutions. This free publication is for consumers interested in news, ideas, tips and products that benefit people and planet.

The first Sep issue of GAIA covers:

• NEWS
• FEATURE: Die Die Must Share – The Idea of Collaborative Consumption
• INTERVIEW: Carpooling 2.0 – Interview with MyRideBuddy
• HOME: Give It Away – 10 Ways to Clear Your Stuff
• HEALTH: Choosing a Healthy Dinner – 2 Tasty Vegetarian Recipes
• STYLE: Playful Elegance – Organic Clothing Mix and Match
• LEISURE: Simply Ling Kai – Supporting Local Music
• BOOKS
• DEALS

The first issue of GAIA is now available for download below. Feel free to share this. For advertising enquiries or any feedback, please send an email to eugene@greenfuture.sg.

Fill in the info to download GAIA and subscribe to updates on future issues:

He also shared local examples of companies involved in Collaborative Consumption, and new business opportunities for entrepreneurs and companies interested in this new but important trend.

Here’s his presentation slides: