Aluminium Dunkerque has structured its sponsorship policy around two key areas, directly linked to our strategic priorities:
- Support for initiatives promoting the integration and employment of young people
- Support for initiatives aimed at preserving the environment and, more specifically, accelerating decarbonisation.
For several years now, the first pillar has been the focus of a partnership centred on the Fondation du Dunkerquois Solidaire, of which the company is a founding member, and which works with a large number of local associations.
The second focus has just come to fruition through the establishment of a wonderful tripartite partnership between Aluminium Dunkerque, La Fondation de la Mer and the 1901 association Swimming Expedition, of which Stève STIEVENART (known as Stève le Phoque) is the President.
La Fondation de la Mer is a French organisation dedicated to the protection and promotion of the oceans. It supports scientific research, promotes marine environmental education and raises public awareness of issues relating to marine biodiversity, plastic pollution and climate change. It also works to preserve marine species and habitats by supporting innovative projects and collaborating with institutional and voluntary partners to enhance knowledge and the sustainable management of the oceans.
Originally from Wimereux, Stève le Phoque is a professional open-water swimmer who specialises in long-distance crossings and swimming in icy waters (between 0 and 4 degrees), often amidst icebergs. He made a name for himself by completing his first major crossing of the English Channel in 2018. His latest feat to date is being the first Frenchman to have completed 5 Ice Miles in 5 days in the frozen lakes around Mount Fuji, and he did so wearing a swimsuit featuring the colours of Aluminium Dunkerque!
As the founder of an association dedicated in particular to combating plastic pollution, Stève takes part in clean-up operations and awareness-raising campaigns, whilst contributing to scientific research through his dives and travels, which provide data on thermoregulation, lung capacity and the dynamics of sea ice.
This unique three-year partnership will result in joint initiatives focused on protecting seals in the Baie de Somme, restoring kelp forests along the Atlantic coast and combating marine plastic pollution.