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The Green Blue Teams up with IWA's Lionel Munk Award

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is to support ‘The Green Blue’ by including environmental considerations in its prestigious ‘Lionel Munk Award’. The IWA which is a registered charity was founded in 1946 and advocates the conservation, use, maintenence and development of the inland waterways for public use.

The Lionel Monk Award is made to the boat builder who in addition to meeting the normal criteria for standards of comfort and construction, can also demonstrate what they have done to minimise environmental impact in their build.

Boat builders entering for the award at the IWA National Festival this year, which is to be held over August bank holiday weekend at Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Nottinghamshire, will each be asked to submit a list of environmental measures that have been included in the build. Judges will then nominate five boats based on construction, design, value for money fit out, innovation, and these environmental considerations. The five nominees will each be handed a framed certificate for each boat to display during the show indicating that they are a ‘nominated boat’.

Clive Henderson, IWA’s National Chairman, said, “We are delighted to be able to support The Green Blue in this way. IWA believes that being more environmentally friendly starts with the boat builder introducing measures such as the use of timber from sustainable sources, eliminating water pollution from fuel and oil spills and using a hull design which reduces wash and propulsion energy. A number of boat builders are already introducing eco-measures into the build in response to growing demand from the boating public. By highlighting environmental measures through the award, IWA will demonstrate that improving boating sustainability is key to a sustainable future for the waterways”.

Sarah Black, Project Manager for The Green Blue said, “We are delighted to be working with IWA to recognise the importance of environmental improvements in boat design and construction. There is so much that companies can do to minimise their environmental impact, from lean manufacturing to energy efficient hulls. I am really excited to see what entrants we get!

Many environmental improvements are not expensive to incorporate at the design stage and others are really a matter of good house-keeping. See our Tade Talk sections for ideas on how businesses can green up their acts.

For more information on the Lionel Monk Award please contact Peter Bolt (IWA National Festival Awards Officer) peter.bolt@waterways.org.uk Tel: 0151 678 9300