Water
Drinking water is supplied through piped water, hand tube wells and wells. Where needed, water is purified or disinfected before use, and rain water and groundwater are primarily used for cultivation.
ESG
Growing responsibly
We are a commercial business, but our long-term success depends on our people, our communities and the land we farm. Guided by strong governance and our commitment to the communities we serve, we aim to grow responsibly for generations to come.
Environmental
Duncan Brothers practises green conservation and promotes the protection and proper use of energy and water across all its operations. Our aim has always been to raise awareness and establish best practice for an eco-friendly, energy-efficient production and manufacturing business, with optimum advantage and minimum effect on the environment.
On our estates, modern factories are connected to the national gas grid and run under hygienic conditions with little or no emission or effluents. Fertiliser is applied in carefully calibrated doses, and agricultural practices keep bushes healthy and control weeds, pests, diseases and waterlogging.
Conservation
Afforestation, rain-water storage in lakes and ponds, and awareness programmes among garden residents about avoiding waste.
Energy
Energy-efficient technology in tea production, energy-saving bulbs in all factories and accommodation, and efficient cooking stoves that cut firewood use.
Geo-diversity
Care for the soil so that fertiliser and pesticide use does not upset the natural ecology; certain lands are used for rubber, afforestation and soil-enrichment programmes.
Social
The welfare of our own employees is very important to the Group, as is the welfare of society in general and of the local communities where we do business. The Group has established the Camellia Duncan Foundation, setting aside funds from its operational income to manage its welfare initiatives: health care, education and community programmes for the people of our estates.
17,500workers covered by Primary Health Care (with 65,000 dependents)
50beds at the Camellia Duncan Foundation Hospital
3,250students in garden-run and aided primary schools
742lives saved by Yasser Life Guard at Cox's Bazar
Primary Health Care
Launched in 1989, the first programme of its kind in the private sector, now covering all 16 tea estates.
Camellia Duncan Foundation Hospital
A 50-bed referral hospital inaugurated in 1994, with specialist cancer treatment.
Camellia Duncan Foundation School
A residential secondary school for workers' children, inaugurated in 2004.
Orchid Project
Orchids grown at Shahbazpur to help finance the Foundation's charitable work.
Yasser Life Guard
A life-saving service on the Cox's Bazar beach, the first of its kind in the country.
Other social commitments
Support for art and for sport, including chess and the Paralympics.
Governance
Strong governance shapes how we run the business, from the field to the factory to the auction. All our estates and factories are ISO 22000 certified, and Duncan Products Ltd is ISO 22000 certified and a member of the International Bottled Water Association.
Certifications, standards and awards
As stated on our existing website. Certificate details are kept up to date by the Company Secretary.
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ISO 22000:2005
All the Group's gardens and factories are certified for plantation and cultivation, processing and manufacturing, blending and packing, office management, quality assurance, and the sale and marketing of tea.
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ISO 22000
Natural mineral water produced and bottled at the Dhaka and Chittagong plants.
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IBWA membership
Duncan Products is the only company in Bangladesh that is a member of the IBWA.
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Water quality standards
Bottled water meets the requirements of the World Health Organisation, the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution and the IBWA, and is tested regularly in the company's own laboratory and every week at ICDDR,B, with further tests in London.
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RTZ World Development Award 1991
Awarded to Duncan Brothers for its long-term commitment to the Primary Health Care programme.