Responsible lobbying
Veolia Environnement is at the heart of major public challenges : access to essential services, the environment, public health, climate change. The Group makes submissions to the different institutions concerned so as to perform its activity under optimum conditions, contribute to improving the quality of life and anticipate changes in the management of services for the environment.
The Group uses consultation and communication, mainly in the European Union and with international institutions, to provide material for reflection on environmental policy.
Participation in consultations for EU green papers
Due to the importance of the EU market for Veolia Environnement, a permanent representation with European institutions has been set up in Brussels. The Group monitors changes to the legislation and European regulation related to its activities and participates in preliminary research on the environment.
Thus, Veolia Environmental Services has made its detailed contribution to European institutions working on production of a framework directive on waste, inspired by field experience.
Veolia Transport participated in the ongoing call for information about "sustainable urban mobility", for which an action plan must be produced before the end of 2008.
Veolia Energy-Dalkia and Veolia Environmental Services are working on proposals related to policies on climate change and energy of the EU.
The Group is also participating in research on problems related to sustainable development in the urban context :
for example adaptation to climate change, market instruments.
It is directly involved with strategic questions on which its legitimacy is related to its expertise. It is also involved with professional federations, think-tanks and some NGOs.
Combating climate change
Climate 2050 : technological and political solutions
Climate 2050, the 4th conference of the Veolia Environnement Institute on the Economy and the Environment, met in Montreal in October 2007 with almost 400 participants from twelve countries.
The Group actively monitors changes to regulations and international negotiations (the Kyoto protocol, CDM, JI) to anticipate how its activity sectors might be involved in matters related to climate change and reduction of GHG emissions.
Concerning the European Union's Emission Trading Scheme,
the sites concerned are mostly Veolia Energy-Dalkia's combustion facilities with a capacity of more than 20 megawatts. Quotas assigned to it represent 1% of European quotas.
These are managed in the framework of a special purpose structure, VEETRA (Veolia Environnement Emission Trading) that uses a precise measurement of real emissions resulting from the operation of sites,
to optimise cost effectiveness and identify new financing capacities for GHG emission reduction projects.
VEETRA also works for other Group divisions.
Veolia Transport favors extending the CO2 permit trading system to emissions related to companies' activities (mainly freight and potentially employees home-office commuting). This requirement should first be applied to companies already subject to the EU Emission Trading Scheme.
Furthermore, Veolia Environnement teams are monitoring Commission proposals on mechanisms for reducing GHG emissions in sectors not subject to the ETS to integrate them into their projects, including targeted incentives (climate plans) and domestic projects (in France) that can give the rights to emission credits.
Energy performance and renewable energy
In 2007, the Group continued its cooperation with international organizations to provide its expertise to help achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Energy saving certificates
In France,Veolia Energy-Dalkia participated in the development of the energy saving certificates (CEE) system,with the objective of including the energy performance contract into the CEE system and earn certificates.
Electricity produced by cogeneration
Cogeneration is expanding in all European countries.
The general economic balance of cogeneration contracts in France has been modified due to new less favourable tax arrangements.
Veolia Energy-Dalkia is working with the industry to correct this situation, after the economic and environmental advantage of cogeneration was recognized by the European Parliament Directive 2004/8/CE.
Energy recovery from waste
Veolia Environmental Services is defending different forms of energy recovery from waste (capture and recovery of biogas from landfill, incineration with energy recovery, methanisation, production of biofuels and alternative fuels) with European authorities.
Access to essential services
Price of services
Veolia Water is actively involved in monitoring the implementatio of measures recommended by the Water Framework Directive, and particularly their consequences, if any, on the cost for the consumer of public drinking water and wastewater services.
Veolia Environnement's contribution to the "Environnement Grenelle" round table process, in France
The road map towards sustainable development.
Access to sanitation
Lack of sanitation is considered to be a genuine "sanitary timebomb", and this is why the international community has declared the year 2008 to be the international sanitation year.
Access to sanitation has been recognised as a human right since 2002, and has become a subject of concern for nations in the same way as access to drinking water. Veolia Water has made a priority of it in its lobbying action.
It works within the AquaFed federation and participates on homogenisation of definitions, to create an international basis for discussion, so that challenges related to sanitation can be better understood and taken into account.
Service continuity
Veolia Water is also lobbying European institutions to get them to recognise that the breakdown of drinking water and sanitation are priority challenges, regardless of climatic conditions.
Resource conservation
Water shortage and drought
Veolia Water is participating in European research on adaptation to climate change, and is emphasizing that strain on water resources is a local phenomenon.
The company is favorable to the development of alternative resources (recycling of treated wastewater, groundwater recharge, control and recycling of stormwater, seawater desalination), while promoting judicious demand management measures.
Responsible management of services for the environment
Veolia Environnement, extending Group research initiated at the Environment Grenelle, has published a document entitled Proposals for responsible management of environmental services.
Preservation of soil
The Group supports the European Framework Directive for the protection of soil, in the same way as the Directives on water and air and for which Framework Directives have already been produced.
Veolia Environmental Services is also organizing communication with public authorities on the protection and remediation of soils.
A conference on this subject was organized in the French Senate in November 2007.