Veolia

News

Company History

Veolia is one of the world’s leading companies for waste, water and energy management solutions. The company began in 1853 under the name Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE) and for almost 100 years, they had a sole focus on the water industry.

In 1976 CGE began to venture into other sectors and by 1980, their operations included water and waste management, transport services, energy and construction. A few years later, CGE was renamed Vivendi, along with selling off their construction sector.

The early 2000s saw Vivendi renamed to what we now know as, Veolia. 2006 was a big year for Veolia in the UK, as they become the market leader in recycling and waste management.

In more recent times, 2011 saw Veolia restructure its plans and become only invested in water, energy and environmental services. This included selling off the majority of their transport sector, split between numerous companies worldwide.

By 2018, Veolia supplied drinking water to over 94m million and a further 63 million with wastewater services. Veolia also converted just under 50 million metric tonnes of waste into new materials and produced more than 55 million megawatt-hours of energy.

Veolia Today

Veolia Environment is currently the world leader in environmental management services and Veolia have more than 163,000 employees worldwide.

The Veolia Water division is the world’s largest private operator of water services, with over 77,000 tonnes of sludge being treated each year with 888 million m3 of wastewater being treated daily.

Veolia In The UK

In the UK, Veolia has invested in a nationwide infrastructure, which aims to support its collection, recycling, recovery, treatment and disposal activities. Their UK facilities currently operate in these areas:

Creating energy from waste.
Dealing with landfill waste that is not recyclable or reusable.
Increasing recovery and recycling rates for UK commercial and household waste.
Safe destruction of sensitive, clinical, pharmaceutical waste.
Treating, reusing and recovering hazardous waste.
Composting organic waste which is then reused.

Veolia Map of Business

Veolia currently has operations in 48 countries. The share for their global employees in 2012 is as follows:

Country	Share Percentage
France	28%
Europe (excluding Eastern and Central counties and France)	23%
Easter and Central European Counties	13%
China and Asia-Pacific	12%
South America	10%
Africa and Middle-East	6%
North America	5%

Who Is The CEO Of Veolia?

Since 2009, Frenchman Antoine Frérot has been the chief executive officer of Veolia.

Where Veolia Based In The UK?

Veolia UK is based in London, England. Their head office address is:

8th Floor
210 Pentonville Road
London
N1 9JY
United Kingdom

Where Are Veolia’s Headquarters?

Aubervilliers is the location of Veolia’s global headquarters, in Paris, France.

What Does Veolia Water Do?

Veolia is one of the world’s largest companies for water services. They provide maintenance programs for water and wastewater networks. Some of their services include:

Monitoring water network performance.
Supplying drinking water.
Repairs for water networks.
Installing and designing water networks.
Treating wastewater.
Cleaning sewer mains.
Detecting potential leaks and preventing future issues.
Maintaining mechanical and electrical assets.

Are Veolia A Green Company?

Veolia has invested over £1 billion into new green infrastructures since 2012, aiming to reduce their carbon impact. The company are aiming to reduce pollution levels, helping to protect natural resources and biodiversity, while fighting climate change.

Veolia prides itself on innovation and creating new ideas and products that can produce green energy. Some of their green products include:

Cyclone Traffic Film Remover (TFR) – Takes excess washing up liquid into other supplies, helping to break down road traffic film.

Pro-Grow – With Veolia being the UK’s biggest compost company, they have created peat-free composting products, with more than 10 production sites across the UK.

Paint Solution – With the average UK household having up to 17 tins of used paint being stored without use, Veolia has created a technology of making high-end paint all from waste and leftover paint. Each litre of waste paint can be used or transformed into another secondary product.

Veolia Products And Services

Veolia Water – Veolia Water is the global leader in water services, working in both the public sector and private industries.

Veolia Waste Management – Veolia Environmental Services work worldwide, in areas such as recycling, treatment of hazardous waste and waste collection.

Veolia Energy – Veolia Energy supply businesses with a range of quality utilities. This includes; off-grid energy solutions, green energy consulting, energy-efficient buildings and energy management.

Veolia Board of Directors and Key Staff

Antoine Frérot – Chief Executive Officer

In November 2009, Antoine Frérot was appointed chief executive officer, and a year later, in December 2010 he was named chairman and chief executive officer of Veolia Environnement. His career began as a research engineer for the French Overseas Departments and Territories and in 2000, was appointed the chief executive officer of CONNEX, which was the transport division of Vivendi Environnement.

Louis Schweitzer – Vice Chairman

Louis Schweitzer was appointed the role of vice-chairman of Veolia Environnement in November 2009. In 2012, he was appointed senior independent director and was reappointed as vice-chairman in May 2013. Louis Schweitzer has also held leadership roles at Renault, appointed as the chief executive officer in December 1990.

UK Board of Directors

Gavin Graveson – Executive Vice-President UK and Ireland

Gavin Graevson became Executive Vice-President in September 2018, leading 15,000 employees and a £2 billion business. Previously, he held the role of Chief Operating Officer, Public & Commercial at Veolia.

John Abraham – Chief Operating Officer – Water, Industrial and Energy

John Abraham has held numerous leadership roles at Veolia. Since March 2015, roles have included; chief operating officer of UK water, chief operating officer of UK Municipal Water and Ireland, Country Director for Ireland and his current role of Chief Operating Officer – UK & Ireland – Industrial, Water & Energy. Country Director for Ireland. He has been involved in the treatment industry since 1989, holding roles such as Operations Director and Managing Director for MWH Treatment.

Christophe Bellynck – Corporate Development Director

With over 30 years of experience with Veolia, Christophe Bellynck has held his role of corporate development director since 1990. Previous roles before his time at Veolia include a consultant at KPMG US and an Engineer at Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives.

David Gerrard – Chief Financial Officer

David Gerrard has held the role of the chief financial officer since 2004. Previously, David Gerrard held the role of finance director at Aramark, group accountant at McDonald’s and audit senior at EY. He studied at Northumbria University and Sheffield Hallam University.

Celia Gough – Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary

Celia Gough has worked at Veolia UK since July 2013 as chief legal officer and company secretary.

Pascal Hauret – Managing Director – Municipal

Richard Hulland – Chief Risk and Assurance Officer

Richard Hulland has worked at Veolia UK as chief risk and assurance officer since January 2016. Previous experience includes director QSSE of Atkins from 1999-2015. He studied at the University of East Anglia.

Kevin Hurst – Chief Commercial Officer

Kevin Hurst has extensive experience at Veolia, having been at the company since 1998. He has held a variety of roles at Veolia, including marketing and communications director, chief operating officer and his current role chief commercial officer. He has also previously held the role of commercial manager at Pirelli Tires and studied business at Staffordshire University.

Who Are Veolia’s Subsidiaries?

Globally, Veolia have more than 2,573 subsidiaries in a range of different sectors. Some of their main subsidiaries include:

Veolia North America, LLC
Veolia Environnement UK Ltd.
Veolia Middle East
Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Limited
Société d’Assainissement Rationnel et de Pompage (SARP)

Who Are Veolia’s Shareholders?

Below is a table showing the top four main shareholders for Veolia based on 2020 findings.

Shareholder Name	Equities	%
Caisse Des Dépôts & Consignations (Investment Management)	26,036,119	4.59%
Norges Bank Investment Management	21,105,701	3.72%
Veolia Environnement S.A.	12,887,173	2.27%
Templeton Global Advisors Ltd.	12,779,706	2.25%

Veolia Websites and Social Media

Veolia UK website: https://www.veolia.co.uk/

Veolia global website: https://www.veolia.com/en

Existing customer enquiries: https://www.veolia.co.uk/contact-us/existing-customer-enquiry

Residential enquiries: https://www.veolia.co.uk/about-us/veolia-uk/recycling-and-waste-services/residents

Media enquiries: https://www.veolia.co.uk/press/press-contacts

General enquiries: https://www.veolia.co.uk/contact-us/general-enquiry

Veolia In Recent News

Recently in 2020, Veolia Water Technologies used their proven mobile water services to clients in the Middle East. Companies in the Middle East can now benefit from a safe source of treated water, available all day, 365 days per year, which will supply business core operations. The mobile water treatment units can be used for maintenance and emergencies.

After recent take-over reports in March 2021 between Veolia and Suez, there have been escalating issues between the pair. Veolia purchased a 29.9% share of Suez, the French waste management company back in October 2020. Veolia intends to acquire the rest of Suez, however, they claim Veolia’s approach has been ‘hostile’ during negotiations.

Veolia could miss out, as Bloomberg has reported that Suez may end up selling their UK division to private equity firm, I Squared Captial, with talks being held also with Australian firm Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd.

Veolia Key Financial Data

Veolia reported a revenue of 42.89 billion euros for the year ended December 31, 2022. This was an increase of over 50 percent compared to the previous year, and the most revenue generated in the indicated period.

In the UK, Veolia’s operations scored a revenue of 3.76 billion euros for the year. This accounted for approximately nine percent of Veolia’s total revenue.