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Hello! We are Project Smallfoot, a Y2 Community Problem Solving group from RGS advocating for the reduction of carbon footprint through the reduction of air-conditioning usage. Our members consist of Josline, Sheer and Keira from 203, along with Harper, Vidhi and Jolene from 201.

We aim to educate and advocate for the reduction of the usage of air conditioning to reduce Singapore's carbon footprint. We believe that even the smallest reduction of carbon footprint in our daily lives will contribute to an overall decrease in our carbon footprint. According to CNA Why It Matters, if every Singaporean were to increase the temperature of their air-conditioning by 1 degree, for example, it would result in a 5% decrease in Singapore’s total energy consumption and cost.

Our vision is to reduce Singapore’s carbon footprint.

To produce electricity, fossil fuels are burned, emitting greenhouse gases. The power sector in Singapore contributes to about 40% of Singapore’s total carbon footprint while the household sector consumes about 15% percent of Singapore’s total electricity consumption. Therefore, reducing the amount of electricity used will reduce the population’s demand for electricity and reduce our national carbon footprint. Air conditioning uses the most electricity, accounting for 36% of household electricity consumption. Hence, we are advocating for the reduction of the electricity consumption of air conditioning in homes.

The large amount of electricity that air conditioning consumes is a serious problem as it contributes to global warming. Global warming leads to flooding at coastal areas which Singapore is especially vulnerable to as we are a low-lying island. It also causes more extreme weather patterns. According to CNA Why it matters, the increased heat brought by global warming also poses a threat to our health as being a not just hot, but also humid country, our body struggles to cope in the heat, possibly leading to heat stroke.

As part of our school-wide initiatives, we have sent out an email with our introduction, as well as included a quiz to find out more about RGS’ students’ air conditioning usage. We asked questions about their habits at home, for example, how much air-conditioning students use every day, why do they choose the air-conditioner over the fan and if they know any initiatives by the Singapore government to reduce the population's reliance on air-conditioning. This allows us to better understand the habits of RGS students to take this into consideration when planning out our future initiatives.

We plan to send out Kahoot quizzes to RGS students via email. The top 3 participants stand a chance to win mini fans which would be a better alternative to air conditioners in households. We also plan to roll out a gradual reduction of air conditioning usage 1 week challenge where participants will be challenged to reduce their air conditioning usage at home. This challenge will allow students to acknowledge their reliance on air conditioning and compel them to act on reducing it. Look forward to more newsletters and Instagram posts from us!

Educational resources about our cause:

Click here to find out the exact impact your air-conditioning usage has on the environment!

Click here for a short video that will explain, in better detail, the vicious cycle of using air-conditioning!