Civil society : listening to residents and associations
All Veolia Environnement divisions have initiated a communication with civil society at the local level, so that the Group's activities and services can be adapted to match the expectations of local residents and to reduce perceived nuisance due to its activities.
This is particularly true for the construction or renovation of networks that create nuisance, but that are designed to eventually improve the efficiency of the service.
For example, Veolia Transport uses its "proxi quality" approach, with the objective of initiating a communication on a local transportation project by organizing a public meeting between public transportation users and local residents.
Discussion groups can continuously improve the operation of a public transportation line or network, as is the case in Nancy, France.
Since 2006, Veolia Water has been setting up panels of water tasters. Agents working at the Greater Toulouse Agency in Toulouse, France, participate in these panels and fill in a questionnaire about their perception of the taste and the odor of the water. In 2007, the company broadened this approach and involved consumers directly.
A sample group of fifty residents was set up, distributed uniformly throughout the breakdown network.
Veolia Water AMI organized a debate in Niamey (Niger) in October 2007, attended by about forty NGOs and cooperative organizations with the aim of presenting its activities in Africa to them, particularly its programs dealing with the Millennium Development Goals.The communication clarified the roles and responsibilities of the different people involved in water, explained the plans and missions of the company and SEEN (its Nigerian subsidiary), and identified common work areas. The discussion was strengthened by site visits. Participants congratulated the Group on this initiative and confirmed their intention to continue the communication and cooperation.