PropertyGuru launches ‘Green Score’ to guide Singaporeans to sustainable homes

With 82% of Singaporeans willing to consider paying more for eco-friendly homes, PropertyGuru champions sustainable urban living 

SINGAPORE, 2 September 2021 – PropertyGuru Group (‘PropertyGuru’ or ‘the Group’), Southeast Asia’s leading property technology (“PropTech”) company, today announced the launch of ‘PropertyGuru Green Score’ (‘Green Score’), a sustainability rating attributed to condominiums and HDBs listed on Propertyguru.com.sg. Green Score empowers property seekers in Singapore to learn how eco-friendly their present or new home is, and to support environment-friendly lifestyles. The Green Score of a project is based on the proximity to public transport (within 400m), green building rating assessment such as BCA Green Mark certification, and sustainability awards won from ‘PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards’, Asia’s biggest property awards program, with additional relevant criteria to be added in the future. The score ranges from 1-5, denoting average, good and excellent sustainability rating of the project.

Green Score addresses the increasing demand among property seekers to make sustainable life choices, especially around choosing their future home. PropertyGuru’s latest H2 2021 Consumer Sentiment Study found that 82% of Singaporeans are willing to consider paying more for an environmentally sustainable home, with their top three sustainability features comprising smart cooling systems, high-insulation windows and doors, and solar panels. This willingness demonstrates more ecological and socially conscious behaviour across generations, from Millennials (83%) and Generation X (79%) to Baby Boomers (86%). Markedly, 81% of Singaporeans voiced the need to preserve forested areas from urban development, despite the city state’s limited land space.

Hari V. Krishnan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, PropertyGuru Group, said, “As the region’s proptech leader, we felt it was our responsibility to enable and drive this change in sustainable urban living. Since last year, we have ramped up our programs, tech capabilities, talent, and partnerships to promote sustainable urban living and influence positive changes in our community. Green Score practically enables Singaporeans to prioritise ‘sustainability’ as a consideration in their property decisions. Since its soft launch in February 2021, nearly 2 million property seekers have viewed the Green Score.

We commit to making changes in our own business to meet the goals stated in the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and to building a better home for our future generations. In time, we hope that sustainable living will be a natural way of life, and each of us will place environmental considerations top-of-mind.”

Green Initiatives At PropertyGuru Group

As part of its commitment towards sustainability and to fight climate change, PropertyGuru has undertaken several initiatives:

– Published over 100 green living guides to help increase the awareness of sustainable living practices among over 37 million property seekers that visit PropertyGuru’s leading marketplaces in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

– Introduced awards categories to recognise sustainable projects at its ‘PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards’ for property developers in Southeast Asia and key markets in South Asia, East Asia, and Australia. Since the launch of the Green and Sustainable Development categories in 2014 and 2016, respectively, PropertyGuru has seen an increase of 50% in entries of green or sustainable projects. In addition, the Asia Property Awards programme’s annual proptech and thought leadership platform ‘PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit’ established the Tech Innovation Award in 2018 to recognise green tech or sustainable initiatives of startups in the region.

– Launched ‘GreenGuru’ internal program for its over 1,700 employees in Southeast Asia. GreenGuru initiatives include – educational programs (Green Hour) for sustainable living, the addition of e-waste, recycling bins and replacing single-use plastics with reusable food containers in offices, and a Green Travel Policy for the Group. PropertyGuru also hosts regular fun green challenges to encourage employees to switch to a vegetarian lunch, use public transport, and avoid plastic bottles for a month to reduce individual carbon emissions.

– This year, PropertyGuru is working on a Greenhouse Gas Emission Audit & Reduction Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To check a project’s PropertyGuru Green Score, property seekers can visit the project page for condos and HDBs on PropertyGuru.com.sg. More information on Green Score is available here.