Sustainability work at Hammarbybacken

At SkiStar we work for an active lifestyle and promote the joy of movement. Through our various collaborations and initiatives, we aim to inspire and enable a healthy lifestyle.

Hammarbybacken and the joy of movement

Together with the City of Stockholm, we want to create the conditions for movement and physical activity, especially at a time when stress and sedentary occupations are part of many people's everyday life.

We also want Hammarbybacken to become a natural place for the schools of Stockholm and Nacka to get active and socialising, summer and winter.

Hammarbybacken and beach protection

The area around Hammarbybacken is a real natural oasis and when designing and building it, we wanted to take into account all aspects and the legislation in place to protect our nature and the environment. The project has been examined and we have received the approval of the responsible bodies for construction. We are also implementing extra measures such as water treatment to be installed (filtering and circular solutions).

Summer skiing and Sustainability

We want to make skiing accessible to more people and all year round, and we see summer skiing as an opportunity for more Stockholmers to try out skiing. We are also working hard on the climate issue and have set ambitious goals to reduce the climate impact we have and that of our visitors.

The ski slope will be built using HDPD material that will be watered initially to improve its slipperiness. The plastic slope consists of a geo-textile at the bottom with a mesh large enough to allow movement. Above that is a plastic mat consisting of plastic studs whose function is to carry the weight from the skier and thus significantly reduce friction between the surface layers and the ski compared to grass mats. Letting the vegetation grow through the geotextile has several functions. To bind the ground layer, geotextile and plastic mat. And to let the grass contribute to moisture, thus further reducing the friction between the carrying studs and the ski. 60% of the plastic used for summer skiing comes from recycled plastic.

To prevent the spread of microplastic, protective measures in the form of geotextile materials are implemented in both the soil and, if technically possible, as protection at the local water filtration plant. If discharge from the drainage system is needed, a filter cassette for storm water will be fitted. A large number of other protective measures are also being implemented to prevent the spread of microplastics.

The plastic mat consists of High Density Polyethylene (HPDE) material and has an estimated lifetime of around 15-20 years. There are already examples of HPDE materials that can be recycled up to 10 times.

Lighting at Hammarbybacken

Lighting at Hammarbybacken will be on until 11 pm at certain times of the year, including after the winter season, at the initiative of the City of Stockholm in order to fulfil a promise to the public and increase safety in the area. The lighting requirement during the summer and autumn is not as extensive as in the winter, when it gets dark earlier. However, we expect that lighting will be required on Hammarbybacken during parts of the summer and autumn season. Planned lighting hours are spring/winter/autumn until 9 pm, while the summer is unlikely to require lighting. Lighting will illuminate the attractions and the ski area inwards as far as possible.