Veolia North America Issues Annual Sustainability Report Detailing Regional Performance
- Company reduces customer GHG emissions by 430,000 tonnes, sets regional GHG baseline and implements digital emissions monitoring at 28 sites.
- Report highlights treatment of a cumulative 2.1 billion gallons of drinking water for regulated PFAS, and reaching no detectable levels of regulated PFAS chemicals at 30 U.S. sites.
- Company meets its target for implementing comprehensive biodiversity programs at 10 priority sites in the U.S.
September 10, 2024 /3BL/ - Veolia North America (VNA) released its annual Sustainability Report, featuring the company’s regional performance on a wide range of environmental, social and governance goals, as well as work to help its customers meet their environmental goals. The report, which is a supplement to Veolia’s global sustainability performance report, is available for download.
During the reporting year, VNA made significant progress toward its environmental and social targets, and announced a new GreenUp strategy which will guide the company’s progress in the years ahead. Globally, Veolia’s climate ambitions were recently validated by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) and Moodys. The company’s sustainability programs have been recognized by external rating agencies including CDP, S&P Global, ISS and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes.
Some of the highlights shared in the 2024 VNA Sustainability Report include:
Helping Cities and Industry Reach their Environmental Goals
VNA helped customers avoid 430,000 tonnes of Scope 4 greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of planting more than 7.1 million trees. The company processed 237 billion gallons of drinking water, treated 368 billion gallons of wastewater and processed 1.8 million tons of hazardous waste.
Building Rigor in Climate Reporting
In this report, VNA sets its Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions baseline for the region, and outlines its decarbonization roadmap. The company also employs digital energy management tools at 28 of its largest sites to track and manage GHG emissions in real time.
Promoting Biodiversity and Water Conservation
The company met its target of achieving 80 percent implementation of biodiversity programs at 10 priority sites in the U.S. The report also describes how Veolia is improving the resilience of drought-prone communities through water reuse and conservation.
Addressing the PFAS Challenge
As public and regulatory awareness of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) continues to increase, VNA advanced its leadership, treating a cumulative 2.1 billion gallons of drinking water for regulated PFAS, and reaching no detectable levels of regulated PFAS chemicals at 30 U.S. sites.
Developing the Environmental Leaders of the Future
Environmental and sustainability leadership has become one of the most important skill sets of the 21st century, and studies have identified a “green skills gap” in the U.S. workforce. The report details efforts to enhance career training for VNA employees, invest in community workforce development, and build capacity for diverse suppliers to ensure that careers in environmental services are equitable and available to everyone.
Fred Van Heems, Chief Executive Officer of Veolia North America said: “This is an exciting time to work at Veolia North America, as we report our progress on achieving our 2023 sustainability goals, and embark on an even more ambitious journey toward the company’s 2024–2027 GreenUp strategy. We are energized by our mission to help our customers and society progress toward a more sustainable future.”
Dave Ross, Chief Sustainability Officer of Veolia North America said: “As part of the world’s leading environmental services company, we support sustainable development for cities and industries, while addressing the greatest environmental and social challenges of our time. In this year’s report we took a material leap forward in reporting our performance across five multifaceted performance categories. We made this conscious choice to give our stakeholders a more holistic view of our progress in the areas of people, planet and principles and to align with the Veolia Group’s global reporting.”
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ABOUT VEOLIA NORTH AMERICA
A subsidiary of Veolia Group, Veolia North America (VNA) offers a full spectrum of water, waste and energy management services, including water and wastewater treatment, commercial and hazardous waste collection and disposal, energy consulting and resource recovery. VNA helps commercial, industrial, healthcare, higher education and municipality customers throughout North America. Headquartered in Boston, Mass., Veolia North America has more than 10,000 employees working at more than 350 locations across the continent.
ABOUT VEOLIA GROUP
Veolia's ambition is to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. With nearly 218,000 employees on five continents, the Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for managing water, waste and energy that help to radically change the world. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia contributes to developing access to resources, preserving available resources and renewing them. In 2023, the Veolia group served 113 million people with drinking water and 103 million with wastewater services, produced 42 terawatt-hours of energy and recovered 63 million metric tons of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) generated consolidated sales of €45.3 billion in 2023.
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CONTACTS
VEOLIA NORTH AMERICA
Nate Pepper
Vice President, Communications
346-351-0024
nathan.pepper@veolia.com
