Sustainable Development

At Veolia Water North America, sustainability permeates our business. And putting the principles of sustainable development at the heart of our water management services is one of our top priorities.

Given water's critical role in maintaining the health and wellbeing of our communities, Veolia Water has a responsibility to provide water distribution and treatment services that take into account resource protection, energy consumption, and reducing our CO2 footprint. Our commitment to sustainable development reaches beyond environmental responsibility, however, and extends into the areas of social and economic responsibility.

We are committed to doing our part to tackle the sustainability challenges that face our communities - in North America and around the globe.

 

Veolia Water North America: Developing responses to sustainable development challenges:

Veolia Water North America is already actively engaged in many of the key components that make up our corporate commitment to sustainable development. We do thiseveryday in our core business by helping our clients clean and treat wastewater, conserve water by reducing consumption, reduce energy consumption and support environmental education in our communities. There are many examples of these best practices in North America:

  • In Indianapolis, we have developed and are implementing a public information campaign aimed at reducing peak water consumption during summer months. Now in its third year, the program's success has been documented in a survey in which 85% of responders indicate that they have "altered their behavior to conserve water".

    Our Indianapolis activities also include a research and development program to better understand watersheds in general and water resrouces in cental Indiana in particular.In order to provide the most costs-effective services to the central Indiana community, we enabled a freeze on water rates during the first five years of our partnership.

  • In Milwaukee, where natural energy costs have skyrocketed, sludge from the wastewater treatment process is digested to create methane used to fire electrical turbines in lieu of natural gas. The remaining sludge is then dewatered and dried to produce an "Exceptional Quality" (EPA) biosolids product called Milorganite.

    Our long-term plans include using biogas from an area landfill to provide enough energy to operate all our wastewater treatment operations. In addition, we are committed to a 10-year research and development effort to improve local and Great Lakes waterways.

  • In Honolulu, Veolia Water built and operates a water reclamation system at the back end of the city's wastewater treatment facility, which produces two grades of water - the first, an ultra pure water used as process water in a nearby refinery, and the second, reclaimed water used for irrigating city parks and area golf courses.

Our solutions to...

Climate change

Climate change increases pressure on water resources and wastewater treatment systems.

Veolia Water implements measures to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and develops sources for the production of alternative energy.

Energy optimization:

  • Energy production from renewable sources, such as methane from sludge.
  • Improvements in vehicle fuel consumption through clean vehicles & eco-driving training.

Biodiversity and water resource conservation

Threatened by - among other things - human activities, biodiversity plays a crucial role in preserving the quality of our water.

Veolia Water demonstrates - on a daily basis - a commitment to optimizing water cycle management, saving this sometimes scarce resource, guaranteeing its quality and addressing its renewal.

Biodiversity protection:

  • Preservation and restoration of natural habitats and ecosystems
  • Management of our sites with respect to existing ecosystems
  • Grass mowing is delayed at South Shore Water Reclamation Facility to allow migrating, ground-nesting birds to fledge their young before nests are disturbed. The tall grasses attract nesting Boblinks and meadowlarks in the late spring. Providing nesting habitat has become increasingly important for migrating bird species as open space along the Lake Michigan shoreline - a prime migration route for many bird species

Access to clean and healthy water

The urban population should double by 2025, resulting in increased pressure on water resources, a higher concentration of domestic and industrial pollution and higher levels of stormwater run-off.

Veolia Water funds research into emerging water issues on an ongoing basis as a way to advance water research whose impacts will be felt around the world.

Sustainable management of the water cycle:

  • Protection and monitoring of water supplies
  • Continuous improvement of the performance of wastewater treatment services

As new residuals, such as pharmaceuticals, are detected in the earth's waters, it is critical that we understand their presence and pursue cutting-edge processes to remove them. Research we are funding in Milwaukee aims for important improvements in alternative energy and green house gas reduction, as well as water quality improvements in watersheds that will enhance the quality of life for many people. Even in the current global economy, R&D investments must continue to be made.

Stakeholder involvement

The protection of the environment requires raising the awareness of everyone on the impact of their water consumption and conservation efforts.

Veolia Water works to raise the awareness of water quality and access issues in the communities where we operate through a variety of community education tools.

Community Education:

  • Facility tours of water and wastewater treatment plants
  • The Water Box environmental education

View our Sustainable Development Charter (PDF)

  • The Water Box is an educational tool unique to Veolia Water which contains 25 hands-on experiments and activities for students. The box is targeted for students in grades 5 and 6, and provides all necessary supplies for the experiments, a teacher's manual and a companion CD loaded with information on the water cycle, water treatment, and the environment at large.