DUBAI // Gundeep Singh leads the way through his spacious showroom on Sheikh Zayed Road, past aisles of organic food, sustainable clothes, non-toxic cleaning products and solar-cell lamps.
His demonstrations of a collapsible bicycle that is allowed on the Dubai Metro and a stylish sink that captures used water for flushing toilets are interrupted by greetings from suppliers, staff queries and phone calls.
But the former banking executive keeps his cool.
"We are focusing on what is real, what is practical and what has real impact," says Mr Singh, founder and chief executive of The Change Initiative, the country's first shop dedicated to environmentally friendly products.
The store is expected to be open for business in Al Barsha by next Thursday.
While UAE consumers have been offered the choice to buy organic food and cosmetics for a good few years, this is the first time a wide array of "green" products has been available under one roof.
Environmental issues can be too complex for people to understand and some key challenges do not have easy solutions, Mr Singh says. This is why people are too often deterred from making the change.
"Instead of trying to debate something that is bigger than us, let us focus on the things we can do," he says.
In many cases, sustainable products are superior. They last longer and are healthier.
Their successful marketing lies in "demonstrating to people and giving them the right choice". It is also about making sustainability fun.
"You can live your life but you can still do things right," Mr Singh says.
He walks around the showroom where about 100 employees are hard at work. It is 10am but they look as if they have already been busy for more than a few hours.
There is a frenzy of cleaning, wiping, arranging, supervising, making phone calls and last-minute repairs. At the entry, a few staff are placing a ceremonial white-and-green ribbon with a bow across the sliding glass doors, preparing for the shop's launch.
The 5,109-square-metre space features products from about 60 companies. Goods are evaluated on several criteria measuring their environmental and health impacts, and the overall record of their makers.
A first step is knowing the company behind a product, says Valerie Hawley, the organisation's chief sustainability officer.
There are also various green labels, such as Ecocert, which evaluate a company's claims.
The company says customers should look for products that rely on renewable materials and safe, non-toxic ingredients.
The energy and water used in making the products is also important, as is the ease with which it can be recycled after use.
"Sustainability is so complex," Ms Hawley says. "We need to educate people in a more general sense. "For example, on the need to save energy and water, people need to understand principally why these are good for the environment."
All of the technologies and products on offer are demonstrated within the showroom, says Mr Singh.
A total of 30 per cent of the building's electricity comes from solar panels on the roof.
There is solar-heated water and solar lighting, non-toxic paints, recycled materials and air-quality monitors.
A sophisticated building-management system monitors the building's energy demands and makes adjustments, such as reducing the energy output of the air-conditioning system when the store is closed.
For Mr Singh, these are all a part of walking the talk: if the business offers sustainable solutions, it should be the first to use them.
The former yacht and sportscar owner has also had to adopt this thinking into his personal lifestyle. Out went the Porsches and in came the hybrid cars and solar-powered home.
"I worked very hard to change myself," Mr Singh says. "I am 20 per cent there."
He explains that while he enjoyed luxury earlier in his life, he eventually realised acquisition in itself is not happiness.
"I suddenly realised none of this made any sense," Mr Singh says. "What really matters is relationships and what you do every day."
But he is first and foremost a businessman, and at the heart of this venture is a willingness "to make sustainability commercially viable".
Mr Singh is eager to see the response upon the store's opening.
"Fingers crossed, I think people will be curious about us," he says. "We will find out very soon."
vtodorova@thenational.ae
TO ALL THE BOYS: ALWAYS AND FOREVER
Directed by: Michael Fimognari
Starring: Lana Condor and Noah Centineo
Two stars
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
'Lost in Space'
Creators: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Irwin Allen
Stars: Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins
Rating: 4/5
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
THE%20SWIMMERS
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Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FOLD5
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
Andor
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Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
