Charlotte Mei de Drouas, 29
Besides being a nutritionist and host, Charlotte is also an advocate of sustainable living. She frequently shares tips on how one can minimise their carbon footprint without having to compromise on their lifestyle.
“As a child, I’d see my dad bring his own bags to the supermarket, return excess napkins to service staff, and save letters printed on one side so we could reuse them for note-taking purposes. Now, I try to live sustainably, and besides practising these habits, I compost food waste, grow my own vegetables, and rehome items I no longer have a need for. When shopping for groceries, I go for package-free options as much as possible, and when shopping for clothes, I try to pick those made with natural materials, as this means less micro plastics will get washed into our waterways. I also make it a point to support brands that are actively working towards lowering their carbon footprint.
A common misconception about sustainable living is that it is expensive, but it usually involves a one-time expenditure, as the idea is to purchase an item that one truly needs and that would last a long time. When it comes to fashion, sustainable options do tend to cost more, but that is because it is an ethically produced item, and will cover fair wages and supplier costs. That said, I feel that actionable steps are different for everyone, and usually suggest starting with low-hanging fruit like getting your daily takeaway drink filled into a reusable tumbler.
The more support we have for the lifestyle, the more it signals to the government and marketplace that there is a demand for a particular type of product or service. The efforts that the government and big corporations make are only as good as consumer behaviour allows, so our individual action matters. Human behaviour works in a way where we adjust our beliefs and actions according to what our peers around us are doing – you never know who you may be influencing!
My advice for anyone looking to be a sustainability advocate is to read widely and critically on the topic. Also, find a group of like-minded people who share ideas and keep you challenged.”
The efforts that the government and big corporations make are only as good as consumer behaviour allows, so our individual action matters.
“When it comes to the Singapore Green Plan 2030, its key targets for infrastructure are to green 80 per cent of Singapore’s buildings by 2030, improve energy efficiency in bestin-class green buildings, and see
80 per cent of new buildings be Super Low Energy (SLE) buildings.
Sustainability has always been a significant part of my focus at OUE, where I’m in charge of leasing, marketing and property management of malls and office buildings. To see that we’re on track to meet the goals set out in Singapore’s Green Plan 2030, we’ve been ensuring that our buildings obtain the Green Mark certification. Our buildings are not new, so that’s a bit challenging, as it’s a process to re-engineer them to meet those requirements. The next step is examining the properties and their positioning, and whether they meet the needs of tenants who are more conscious of green leases and expect to be located in buildings that share the same mission. On the retail front, we’re starting to adopt green clauses in our leases, and we work with the tenants to make sure that they are mindful of their carbon emission and their consumption of energy, water and gas.
I feel that real estate developers are taking an interest in ensuring that, collectively, we’re able to achieve those goals by 2030. Starting with decisions like installing sensors for areas that don’t need lighting all the time, and keeping escalators on sleep mode when they don’t need to be running, I think a lot of properties have been actively implementing such changes. These are all part of ensuring that properties consume less energy.
Having sustainability goals, requirements and regulations in place does make it harder to do business initially, but this would improve over time. That’s why at the start, grants and assistance are made available to bigger corporations to start the ball rolling, and those initiatives then cascade to SMEs, which are able to enjoy the benefits of the cost reduction over time, when there are more people participating in these movements.
Though there’s been more discussion on energy-efficient spaces in recent years, and everyone has that intention in mind, I think we’re still at the learning stage. For corporations, where buildings and infrastructure are concerned, it’s clearer as to what should be done, as there are clearer guidelines. But in reality, sustainability is more than that: Individuals need to buy into it so that they incorporate the whole mentality and mindset as part of their life, and only with that and a very collaborative effort will we see real, significant change.”