A Danish restaurant owner in Dubai is aiming for his businesses to become carbon neutral by planting thousands of trees, and attempting to adopt a zero-waste policy, all in the name of the Siberian tiger.
Businessman Henrik Winther, who for years operated about 385 restaurants across Russia, decided to branch out on his own in 2005 and launched Tigrus Holding.
The name was inspired by the plight of the endangered Siberian Amur tiger after he witnessed the rapid decline of the species across the Russian far east and felt more action needed to be taken.
"In my previous role I was already disconcerted about the global trends over threats to wildlife, rare species and pollution,” said Mr Winther.
“It was something that was bothering me personally. I knew I couldn’t change the world but I wanted to run a business that could be as socially responsible as possible."
Mr Winther himself is a supporter of tackling illegal poaching of tigers in Russia, and his chain of venues promotes sustainability and the protection of nature by adopting strict, environmentally sound practices.
He said that although it is impossible to become zero-waste he will attempt to minimise waste as much as he can, including in his two Dubai-based restaurants.
In 15 years, the the company has grown to include 53 restaurants worldwide with the first two opening in Dubai Hills Mall — the Georgian-inspired Shvili and Italian venue Osteria Mario.
Tigrus Holdings was an early adopter of green business policies in Russia, by planting thousands of trees across Eastern Europe, compensating for its carbon emissions under a UN programme.
Eight years on, kitchens across chain restaurants aim to use products that can be cooked in their entirety, reducing waste, while plastic products are kept to a minimum.
Green technology
Since 2015, all of Mr Winther's restaurants implemented “mindful consumption technology” to significantly reduce environmental impact.
Heat stoves were replaced by more energy-efficient induction cookers, while 90 per cent of plastic was ditched for sustainable alternatives.
Water and electricity consumption was constantly monitored across venues, as were the emissions of staff as they travelled for work, while a “doggy bag” service helped to slash food disposal.
Since its inception, the changes cut CO2 emissions across all of his restaurants by 43 per cent.
“This started out as a desire to compensate for our CO2 [emissions] but we realised we could do more than that,” said Mr Winther, who plans to open several more restaurants across the region.
“It gave me a road map of what was possible.
“This is not a project for marketing purposes, but it has had a positive effect with more people becoming educated about their environment."
People respect a brand that has strong values, he said, “that fits in with what we are trying to achieve”.
“We can never go to completely zero-waste but it is an idea to minimise waste as much as possible,” said Mr Winther.
“My mission in life is to become an example of how businesses can be more sustainable. The biggest misconception is that being ecologically sound comes at a cost."
Threat of extinction
The Siberian Amur tiger is found in the windswept, snow-covered lands of the Khabarovsk region in the Russian far east and into China.
The species is considered endangered, with fewer than 3,900 animals thought to survive in the wild, mainly due to habitat loss.
“At the time the tiger population in Russia had dropped to around 320 from numbers of 50,000 in just a few decades, so it was on an extinction decline.
“Protecting these tigers became a personal mission, so I named the company Tigrus — from Russian for tiger.
“There is a saying in Russia that you name your boat as you intend it to sail.”
Mr Winther started supporting protection efforts by the World Wildlife Fund and the tackling of illegal poaching of tigers in Russia.
“These tigers were coming into remote villages and eating dogs as they were usually injured or sick, so local people were shooting them,” he said.
“We supported a programme that emergency services in these areas could be contacted if a tiger was seen, and a response team would visit to deal with the animal properly by tranquillising it, treating it and then later releasing it back into remote areas.
“I made a personal commitment that if my restaurants could flourish then so could Russian tigers.”
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
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Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
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Abu Dhabi World Pro 2019 remaining schedule:
Wednesday April 24: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-6pm
Thursday April 25: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-5pm
Friday April 26: Finals, 3-6pm
Saturday April 27: Awards ceremony, 4pm and 8pm
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
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Finals draw: December 2
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Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
