Business for Good - Duffus Estate

Direct from Duffus Estate

Association of Scottish Businesswomen (ASB) held their annual conference this month. I am delighted to share that Duffus Estate won the award for Business for Good. I was thrilled by the comments "A great example of a Business and Business Owner who truly drive and understand what a Business for Good is, in all areas of corporate responsibility"

Being ethically and socially responsible is key to our business. As a custodian of Duffus Estate we are keen to share what we've inherited with our community for the benefit of all.

With the current focus on climate change globally it is an important factor for our guests. We hope our guests feel part of our tribe when we share how important this is to us.

We have a fabulous image on our website which shows all the steps we have taken on our sustainable journey. I am really proud of the bike maintenance station at Kula and of our investment into adding electric car charging points at our cottages.
We had a brilliant time at the Agri Tourism Conference in Perth. Agri Tourism is tourism or leisure on a working farm, croft or estate which produces food. The conference was held in the Perth Concert Hall, a great venue and very central. We heard from a great range of speakers, shared knowledge with friends old and new. We were treated to a fantastic meal, some ceilidh dancing and finally, a good boogie!

We have came home with ideas buzzing about new things we can do and some tweaks to what we already offer our lovely guests. Watch this space!

The Association of Scottish Business Women awards and annual conference was held in November. We were delighted to receive the Business for Good award in recognition of our understanding and illustration of all pillars of Environmental, Social and Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethical Business Practices.

Jen and I headed down to Perth for the day to attend the conference. Networking with a fantastic group of business women from all across Scotland was such a privilege. Equally, Perth Theatre was a fantastic venue and the staff were warm and welcoming.

The 3 excellent speakers wowed us; Lynne Erasmus (Pathfinder), Rebecca Brown (Simplify Performance) and Kim Moran-Hogg (Salesforce). Lynne Erasmus shared her journey to success with us and even had us doing a little bit of dancing! Rebecca Brown shared her business aspirations with us next giving us a little insight into how we may achieve our own objectives. Talking about money is crucial when you are running your own business and we certainly did talk!

Business for Good Award – Ethical and Social Responsibility
As a current custodian of Duffus Estate, we feel strongly that it is our responsibility to be as ethical and socially responsible as we can whilst having sustainability firmly on our radar. In addition, guests and customers have an increasing expectation of how ethical and socially conscious businesses are. Furthermore we listen to our market and to feedback from our guests. We can show the sustainable journey we have been on by gaining gaining accreditations such as our Green Tourism Bronze award. We are always planning more improvements and are proud of where we have came from – have a look at our journey we are on. Winning the Association of Scottish Business Women awards for Business for Good was a great recognition for what we are working towards.

Outdoors
The benefits of being outdoors are massive. We have always encouraged responsible access to our land. To alleviate the effects of climate change we manage the land we have in an environmentally friendly way. Earthtime for All, is an outdoor nursery (amongst other things) which we host on Duffus Estate and encourage Outfit Moray to use our grounds for crate building, archery and other activities. We believe in sustainability.

Duffus Family
We have a small but mighty team here at Duffus and when we take on a new team member, they join our Duffus ‘family’. What’s more team members are valued and listened to, we strive to ensure this happens. If our team feel valued then they will work hard for the greater good.

Judges Comments
“This is undoubtedly the stand out application with significant evidence covering all pillars of ESG, CSR and Ethical Business Practices. A great example of a Business and Business Owner who truly drives and understands what a Business for Good is, in all areas of Corporate responsibility.” Kirste Johnston