Sustainability
Words From the Founders
"Candacraig aims to be recognised within Scottish hospitality as a leader in sustainable practices, whilst promoting the wild majestic landscapes that surround us. We are inspired by guests who understand the importance of a gentle footprint without this being at the expense of a luxury experience. We meticulously create events with our carbon footprint front of mind, and continue to implement new ways to successfully achieve this.
Our team are local, engaged and fairly compensated and we pride ourselves as being a Real Living Wage Employer. Supporting the community is key to our values and we regularly invest in local projects. We are proud to be a corporate partner of Scotland The Big Picture, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to drive the recovery of nature across Scotland through rewilding."
Lynne & Marc Lino
Our Environmental and Social Promise
Surrounded by 18 acres of private woodland within the Cairngorms National Park we understand the critical need to protect the environment and champion sustainable procedures to reduce our environmental impact.
We care about our community, our guests and our planet and we understand the need to limit the day-to-day impact of our actions. Sustainable practices are key to our ethos, achieved through evolving behaviours of our team and guests.
We are committed to the following sustainable initiatives. These continue to evolve in alignment with the needs of our business and guests:
Energy Management
Our team are trained on energy efficient procedures and practices to reduce our energy consumption wherever possible, examples are switching off lights and machinery when not in use, and monitoring heating levels.
Reducing Carbon Emissions
Our wood fired biomass system supplies heat and hot water to 8 properties on our estate. In each property we use 100% renewable electricity and have installed LED light bulbs where possible.
Cleaning
Our team use the Enjo cleaning system. Sophisticated microfibre cloths absorb dirt and release when washed in hot water, avoiding the use of any chemical products indoors.
Personal Care Products
We provide Aesop skin, hair & body products, a B-Corp certified vegan and cruelty free manufacturer. To reduce waste we purchase large bottles (500ml) and refill after every event. Empty bottles are recycled.
Sustainable Sourcing
We consider and continually review our key suppliers environmental and social objectives to ensure we are aligned. We encourage and embrace joint initiatives with suppliers to improve sustainability issues and achieve best practices
Private Water Supply
Our water is supplied from a private well on the Candacraig estate, naturally filtered by the earth removing harmful contaminants organically. The water is clean, treated, pure and delicious, double filtered for drinking purposes.
Private Wastewater
All sanitary wastewater is processed onsite in our septic tank via anaerobic digestion. This ensures the wastewater is naturally cleansed before being released back into the environment. Our soakaway systems help to reduce the waste burden on the local council.
Our Eco-System
We manage and protect 18 acres of private woodland that absorb atmospheric carbon and we’re exceptionally proud to be situated within the largest National Park in Britain, The Cairngorms. The woodland is home to an abundance of flora and fauna across the Candacraig estate.
Walled Garden
Our 2 acre historic walled garden is home to a natural wildflower meadow, rose garden and kitchen garden including vegetables, fruit and herbs. Our gardening team champion a gentle footprint, physically weeding the grounds to avoid the use of any hazardous toxic chemicals.
Lochan
Our lochan serves as a carbon sink and is home to an abundance of fish, birds and wild plants. A natural water reserve that feeds in from the River Don, there is no boating, machinery or fishing permitted on the lochan to sustain its natural purpose.
Rewilding
We are a corporate partner of Scotland The Big Picture, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to drive the recovery of nature across Scotland through rewilding.
Zero Food Waste
We host private stays and events and control our food waste by pre-ordering the required amount of fresh produce per guest, per day. We measure food waste and compost it. Unused fresh produce is distributed by our chef to staff and our local food bank.
Recycling
We separate paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal and compostable items onsite and dispose of them appropriately. We use compostable single use products.
We are committed to legacy initiatives in the local community and invest our time and finances into local projects. Our leadership team are involved with tourism initiatives in the area. We offer employment to local residents both at Candacraig and The Steading Bar, our sister company.
Our sustainable mission is to secure the future of the Candacraig and our natural surroundings, as well as the local community for many years to come.
Positive Luxury
We are thrilled to share with you that Candacraig has been awarded the Butterfly Mark by Positive Luxury. The Butterfly Mark is a globally respected trust mark and is the only systemic certification programme designed specifically for the luxury industry, awarded to businesses as independent evidence of their positive impact on nature and society. It is a globally respected trust mark, awarded only to businesses who meet the highest standard of sustainability best practices in the following areas: Environmental and Social impact, Governance and Innovation.
This achievement was possible only after completing a very rigorous assessment process by Positive Luxury, a company who enables brands, suppliers and retailers to measure, manage and report their net positive impact across a challenging set of indicators. Candacraig is the only hospitality business in the list of Scottish Positive Luxury members, and we could not be prouder to be leading the way in our sector by placing our sustainability journey at the top of our priorities. View our Positive Luxury Passport here.
If you have any questions about our current sustainability practices, please contact us for more information.
Green Tourism Grading
As part of our ongoing commitment to promote sustainable tourism at Candacraig we are currently undertaking the Green Tourism assessment.
Green Tourism champions a greener, cleaner environment, for people, places and our planet. The assessment is designed to recognise and support sustainable achievements of tourism
businesses and rewards them respectively with an internationally recognised accreditation.
Sustainable practices are second nature at Candacraig. We strive to reduce our carbon footprint through our processes, our day-to-day operations and through our behaviour.
We also encourage our guests to get involved in our sustainability journey. We arrange a variety of gentle activities that embrace the surrounding landscapes, we provide insightful
literature about local habitats, flora and fauna, and encourage the use of our recycling facilities in-house.
In exploring green tourism we are progressing our sustainability journey, and acting as a hallmark of ‘green quality’ to attract an increasing number of eco-minded guests, who we are confident choose Candacraig for our unwavering commitment to the cause.
