Our Green Story:JP Orkney

At JP Orkney, sustainability underpins everything we do, both in our home life and in business.  Based in Birsay on Orkney,  we create fabulous treats including tablet, chocolate brownies, jams and preserves, all with a focus on locally-sourced and in-season ingredients.

As well as these delicious treats, we provide tours of Orkney in our electric vehicle, with food and drink tours being our house speciality.  But, we also offer what’s believed to be Scotland’s first electric camper van rental service. ‘Spoot’ (the Orkney word for the razor clam,) which is a familiar sight on local roads.

We had the idea of maybe renting out a vehicle. But we weren’t convinced that a large diesel RV would be the right way to go. Luckily we found a company that was running prototypes of converted Nissan e-NV200s. The vehicle is the same model used for our tour bus. Fitted out by Derby-based company Hillside Leisure, it’s a fabulous example of how to make the most out of limited space through ingenious design. People have been overwhelmed at how compact and efficient Spoot’s been. We’ve had people wanting to experience Spoot as a camper van and we’ve had folk just wanting to experience electric vehicles. A lot of people have no idea these even existed. He’s very affectionately-known – people wave at him as you drive around the island!

As ‘Spoot’ passes by it’s striking how unobtrusive he is, partly due to his compact size, and partly due to the quiet nature of electric vehicles.  And that sensitivity to the surroundings, to finding less impactful ways to exist, is central to our ethos.

Our commitment to maximising resources and minimising waste runs through into the food side of the business. The boxes of jam for online customers, are packed with shredded copies of last week’s local paper, The Orcadian, providing the protective padding. It’s just part of our strict policy of recycling and reusing, which includes a returns scheme for jam jars.

"The whole concept of green tourism is something we were very much pursuing, and we became part of promoting Green Tourism and gained a Silver Award," We love what we do and whichever JP Orkney experience you choose, we'll be delighted to help you make your own special Orkney memories.