Another way of saving money and the environment is to replace the light bulbs in our homes and offices with more energy-efficient ones. If everyone on the planet did this tomorrow, we'd stop the equivalent of 138 coal-fired power stations from spewing out harmful carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.

With China's electric car market set to more than double in 2016, we can also think about buying an electric car when it's time to trade our old one. Or we can choose to ride to work on a bicycle, use public transport or share a ride to work.

Each day here in China we face the consequences of failing to make these simple, educated choices: we are reminded of this failure every time the government issues a smog alert and every time our children can't go to school because of the harmful air pollution. For our health and well-being, the cost of failing to act is as damaging as the smog that shrouds our cities.

Confucius taught us frugality and thriftiness, and these two principles need to be in our minds whenever we go out shopping — we need to use our financial and natural resources wisely as "Green Consumers". When we need to buy new appliances and goods — be it a washing machine, refrigerator, car, cosmetics or electronics — we need to buy ones that carry the government's eco-label.

By making these small, smart and simple changes to the way we live, we can start to enjoy better health, a better environment and a better bank balance.

Today, as the world marks Earth Hour, we must realize that making the world a better place isn't just about switching off our lights for a short time. It's about changing the way we live; it's about changing the way we consume so that the billions of decisions we make collectively don't destroy the planet but help to protect it instead.

By setting our hearts right and by cultivating our personal life, we can put the world in order. This is not only about being kind to future generations; it's about being kind to ourselves and our communities today.

The author is a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Environment Programme.