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News | 2021-03-19
Melissa Feldtmann får Sweboats miljöpris

Hanse Thorslund, Allt för sjön, Mats Eriksson, Sweboat, Göran Gross, Dyvik Marina/Sweboat, and Melissa Feldtmann.

Sweboat's environmental award to Melissa Feldtmann

The Swedish Boating Industry Association Sweboat awards its environmental award for 2021 to IVL's employee Melissa Feldtmann, for her significant efforts to reduce the footprint of boating in the environment. It was during the years as an environmental inspector in Österåker municipality that Melissa Feldtmann together with the ports and Sweboat worked out an environmental program that today is a guide for the boat industry.

– It feels great to receive this award. The state of knowledge is advancing fast now. Here in the Stockholm region, most marinas and boat clubs have been risk-inventoried and work is underway to remove old dangerous boat bottom paint in a way that does not harm the environment. Many ports and boat owners change and stop using boat bottom paints to avoid further contaminating the ground and water, says Melissa Feldtmann.

As environmental inspector in Österåker municipality, Melissa Feldtmann was responsible for the supervision of polluted areas, including about 20 marinas. It was during these years that she, through supervision and information efforts, worked together with the ports and Sweboat to develop the marinas' own control so that they could take control of the environmental risks for their operations.

– Through its environmental program, Sweboat has produced checklists, self-inspection templates and holds training courses for its members. The Swedish Boating Union is also doing a great deal of work to reduce the footprint of boating through information initiatives and the barnacle warning. The Stockholm Fair is developing sustainability goals that will permeate the boat fair next year, so I would like to say that the ball is rolling and it is rolling faster and faster. In five to ten years, I believe that the industry will be completely changed and much more environmentally neutral, says Melissa Feldtmann.

Since August 2020, Melissa Feldtmann has been employed at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, where she works as a project manager and environmental specialist in polluted areas and environmentally hazardous activities. In the spring, she will, together with other environmental experts at IVL, hold a workshop on boat bottom paints and polluted ports.

– IVL would like to put this pollution issue on the agenda because it can make a big difference to our environment. The workshop will, among other things, be about handling and collecting boat bottom paints and contaminated soil that contains high levels of biocides, and how this can be done in a responsible way, says Melissa Feldtmann.

A major challenge is to achieve sustainable waste management so that the metals in the old boat bottom paints and the contaminated soil can be recycled and the remediation costs can be kept to a reasonable level.

Ewa Lind is head of the Urban Land Use group at IVL:

– We are very happy to have recruited Melissa. Her expertise and experience in polluted areas means that we can shift up environmental work to achieve the goals of a sustainable society more quickly. IVL has worked with development issues and research in the boating industry before, but now we have an increased opportunity to broaden our business, she says.

For more information, please contact:
Melissa Feldtmann, melissa.feldtmann@ivl.se, +46 (0)10-788 65 37
Ewa Lind, ewa.lind@ivl.se, +46 (0) 10-788 67 05

Sweboat's environmental award

Sweboat's environmental prize is awarded each year to a person, organization or company that has made a good and significant contribution to the environmental side linked to boating. The motivation for Melissa Feldtmann receiving this year's award is:

“The environmental inspector from Österåker municipality who aroused a dormant boat industry to a pronounced environmental commitment and the construction of a comprehensive environmental program. Through support, advice and at seminars, Melissa has in an initiated and expert way accompanied the industry to a clear proactive environmental commitment with the aim of reducing the footprint of boating life ”.

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