One of Orkney’s most established and much-loved food and drink businesses is setting out on the path towards a greener future.
Stromness-based Stockan’s Oatcakes is looking for a Graduate Trainee to help achieve its target of net zero emissions and enhance its environmental credentials.
“We’ve been looking at how we can improve our energy efficiency and reduce waste for some time now,” says the company’s General Manager, Stewart Crichton. “We decided to be ambitious and strive to reduce our emissions by 50% before the end of the decade, and bring them down to zero by 2050. We hope this new role will really help us work towards these targets.”
Stewart Crichton from Stockan's Oatcakes
The 12-month full-time post, part-funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, will see the successful applicant get involved in all aspects of the business – from experiencing life on the busy shop floor, to promoting the Stockan’s Oatcakes sustainability message on social media.
Customers – including supermarkets, wholesalers and consumers – are beginning to put extra emphasis on where the products they buy come from and how they’re made, so highlighting the eco-friendly efforts will be an important part of the new role.
But the main focus will be on helping the small team head towards a cleaner and greener way of working. That will include liaising with the management team and local government on eco-friendly policies, reviewing how products are created and delivered, and identifying ways to reduce and offset emissions at every stage.
“We want to measure our existing carbon footprint and find out what we can do in the short term to improve how we do things,” says Stewart. “Eventually, the focus will be on production and transportation, and our pathway to net zero.”
The role would be ideal for a graduate with experience of environmental science, sustainability or renewable energy, but also someone with a strong business sense. It’s an exciting opportunity at a time when Orkney’s reputation as a centre of energy excellence continues to grow.
“We’re looking for someone who is passionate, willing to get stuck in and make a real difference,” says Stewart. “We want to keep creating top quality oatcakes, but we want to do it in a more eco-friendly way.”
Find out more about the Graduate Trainee post via the Orkney.com Jobs page. The closing date for applications is Sunday, 31 October 2021.
Visit the Stockan’s Oatcakes website for more information about the business.