Go Green Your Way – Four reasons to support local eco-friendly organisations

When the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise since last year, the nation’s economy was affected significantly and we witnessed the vulnerability of local businesses and small and medium enterprises within the year. Amidst the pandemic, another pressing issue was also brought to the forefront – Climate Change.

From what seemed like a trying time, a silver lining emerged and we saw global emissions fell a record of 7%. Witnessing this significant reduction, the world grew even more aware of the importance of being eco-friendly and its effects on global warming. More Singaporeans also took notice of local businesses with a green mission to meet these increasing demands for sustainability.

And here are 4 reasons why you should continue to show your support for our eco-friendly organisations, especially in these challenging times, and #PowerTheChange for a greener environment!

1. Reduce your carbon footprint

In a recent report by McKinsey & Company, the fashion industry contributed about 2.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions in 2018, which is about the same quantity of GHGs per year as the entire economies of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined. Without any action taken, the emissions are predicted to grow to 2.7 billion tonnes a year by 2030.

While brands and retailers are the main driving forces to mitigate the greenhouse-gas contributions, consumers can also play their part to #PowerTheChange and make a difference for the environment.

Which is why fashion retailers like our ChangeMaker, REFASH, are trying to change consumers’ buying behaviours and pave the way for a more sustainable fashion future. By giving new life to pre-loved apparels and reselling them, they have saved over 1.5 million pieces of clothing and displaced 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent since 2015.

To help our customers reduce their carbon footprint even further, we have also partnered with REFASH, as part of their BYOB initiative, to give away complimentary Geneco tote bag (made from 100% recycled material) when you make a purchase of any pre-loved item at their stores. Simply show your Geneco e-bill to redeem the bag!

2. Improves our nation’s food security and creates job opportunities

Singapore imports over 90% of the food we eat, with some of our fresh produce and meat coming from other countries as far as Brazil, which makes us dependent and vulnerable to their supplies and price disruptions. Adding on to the dependency, the onset of the pandemic last year also further highlighted the importance for our homeland’s food security.

Realising this importance, Singapore set a 30 by 30 goal as part of our Singapore Green Plan 2030 and local farmers have been working hard since then to produce 30% of our nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030.

To help meet this goal as well, another of our ChangeMakers, Comcrop, have also expanded their urban farming facilities and continues to partner with senior citizens and other members of the community to help grow their crops whenever possible.

With your support and purchases of their local produce at Fairprice Finest stores and Redmart online, not only are you helping to improve our economy and creating more job opportunities, you are also contributing to our nation’s green goal!

3. Promotes circular economy and zero-waste

In the current linear economy structure, which we are all familiar with, the ‘take-make-dispose' method often result in large amount of waste and causes a huge strain on our natural resources. A circular economy on the other hand, aims to reduce waste to the minimum and reuse these precious resources for as long as possible.

Working towards our zero-waste vision by adopting the circular economy approach, our nation has identified 3 key resource loops – Food, E-Waste and Packaging to act on, in order to lessen our impact on the environment. Our ChangeMakers, The Food Bank Singapore and Repair Kopitiam, are striving exactly towards this vision.

If you find yourself disposing untouched or unopened food on a regular basis, why not consider donating them? Through Food Bank’s Donation Boxes, which are available island-wide, this excess food can be put to good use when distributed to their large network of beneficiaries.

And to help you cultivate a repair mindset, why not join Repair Kopitiam’s latest project eRevival Square, where you can learn how to reduce your e-waste and take a pledge to solidify your commitment? Alternatively, you can also sign up to be a repair coach and help others make a positive impact!

4. Provides customised service

Local businesses usually tend to have a smaller customer base compared to big national retailers, which means they are likely to go above and beyond to add more value to customer service.

Green Nudge, a leading green social enterprise in Singapore believes that lasting environmental impact can only be achieved collectively, which is why they have designed various sustainable services that can be customised to the needs of companies and communities.

In support of their mission, we have also collaborated with Green Nudge by sponsoring their Coastal Cleanup Toolkit for our customers! Check out our PowerUp Rewards page to find out how to redeem this reward and join in on their green efforts!

Here at Geneco, we believe in building a more sustainable home for our future generations. Not only do we support like-minded organisations and our ChangeMakers in their environmental cause, we also believe in empowering our customers to #PowerTheChange for the environment.

With our Power Eco Add-on, Singapore’s first-and-only customisable and green add-on for an electricity plan, we want to encourage and help you #gogreenyourway with a choice between Carbon Credits (CC) and Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) to offset/avoid up to 3,920 kg of CO_2, which is equivalent to the absorption of carbon emission by 192 rain trees!