Our Green Story: JP Orkney

JP Orkney is a hospitality business specialising in delivering memorable days out on our Orkney tours and selling delicious produce made in our Birsay kitchen by the sea.

We have always delivered our tours in electric vehicles and even hired out one of the world's first all-electric campervans. Our current electric vehicle is one of the largest electric minibus-style vehicles available and allows us to carry up to eight passengers. As it’s a Mercedes it also offers a high level of comfort which we have branded 'Green Luxury'! All the electricity used to charge our vehicles and power our HQ comes from renewables and a large portion of this comes from our own on-site generation.

Tasty treats

As well as providing guided tours we also make tasty treats using locally sourced and seasonal ingredients.

Our produce business started out as an addition to our tours. We would provide guests with gift hampers showcasing some of the excellent producers found here in Orkney. This developed into us making items ourselves to include in the hampers. We now also sell our items online and through most of the delis and tourist attractions in Orkney.

We have continued to link both our businesses and give guests wonderful packed lunches with goodies from local producers alongside our own produce. We also deliver catering events to other tour companies and local businesses.

_{Local heroes: JP Orkney products proudly on display}

We have worked hard to ensure that our produce is made as sustainably as possible. We use predominantly local suppliers. All our packaging is either recycled, recyclable, or compostable. We grow a lot of our own ingredients using a polytunnel that should (two years and counting) withstand some of the strong winds we experience in Orkney. As we grow we are mindful of doing this the right way and although it can require some more thought we are thankfully finding it easier to work in a sustainable way.

Find out more about Jane and Paul's Orcadian tours and treats at JP Orkney

And, you can read an earlier chapter of the JP Orkney story on our blog here