Essay Writing Competition - 2nd Prize

Name: Sng Siang Mui Irene
Company: Singapore Epson Industrial Pte Ltd

NEEDS or WANTS?

I would like to propose a simple, yet effective methodology which will help in reducing the carbon footprint in domestic household. Most of us would have already used this method to help manage our finance, by determining our needs and wants.

We need a refrigerator to store food and electric kettle to boil water. These are examples that we had to have these electrical appliances for our daily necessity. We want to have an air-con to cool ourselves. We want to have a hi-fi system to enjoy great music. These can be classified as wants to feed our desire. Therefore when we prioritized our needs and wants, we can then focus on which electrical appliances we can forsake or to substitute with.

Since electrical appliances categorize under the “needs section” are something we are going to have for long term, we have to find energy efficient appliances to reduce usage of electricity. For example, look at the Energy Label of the refrigerator before making your purchase. Procure the one with the most ticks which represent highest energy efficiency thus saving electricity.

All in all, we have to be responsible in making Earth a habitable place while maintaining our own lifestyle.