business overview 2010 - environmental services

Veolia Environmental Services

36-38, avenue Kléber

75116 Paris, France

Tel.: 33 (0)1 71 75 00 00

www.veolia-environmentalservices.com

BUSINESS OVERVIEW 2010

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CONTENTS

04 EDITORIAL BY DENIS GASQUET,

Senior Executive Vice-President of Veolia Environnement Chief Executive Offi cer of Veolia Environmental Services 06 GOVERNANCE

08 2010 REPORT

10 An expert’s viewpoint12 World Waste Survey14 Profile16 2010 highlights

18 PERFORMANCE

20 Economic performance24 Social performance32 Environmental performance

36 SERVICES

38 Services for businesses42 Hazardous waste44 Services for local public authorities

50 RESOURCE RECOVERY

58 OUTLOOK

This document was produced by the Veolia Environnement Communications Department.

Editorial oversight and coordination: Zahra Azmoudeh, Sybille Derbès.

Veolia Environmental Services project manager: Sandra Vedel.

In charge of images: Laure Duquesne.

Author: Roland Pilloni.

Designed and produced by:

Photo credits: ASDA; Claude Vasconi Architecte; Westfi eld; photothèque Veolia Environnement (Frédéric Beraud,

Samuel Bigot/Andia; Craig Connor/NNP; Alexis Duclos; Rodolphe Escher; Olivier Guerrin; Justin Grainge;

Doug Hill/Veolia Environmental Services; Matthew Jones/Veolia Environmental Services; Stéphane Lavoué;

Christophe Majani d’Inguimbert; Marine Services; Jean-Marie Ramès; Nicolas Vercellino; Stéphanie Zinzula).

English texts: Alto international.

Production manager: Jean-Claude Le Dunc.

Printed by Stipa.

This document has been printed with 100% vegetable-based inks and glazes, on FSC chlorine and acid-free paper, containing no heavy metals and using virgin fi bers from sustainably managed forests.

Recycling processes and alternative energy production…

1

The Veolia Environmental Services waste-to-energy plant in Sheffield,

United Kingdom: with a 225,000 metric tons treatment capacity it generates heating

for homes and business connected to the city’s district energy network.

… are the major challenges of

2 Veolia Environmental Services

Veolia Environmental Services works with its clients

in the building and civil engineering sector to improve

their economic and environmental performance.

The Woodlawn Bioreactor in Australia: in 2010,

Veolia Environmental Services’ 152 landfill facilities

worldwide produced 1.3 million MWh of electrical power

and 439,000 MWh of thermal energy.

3

the coming decades.

The high-performance Arc-en-Ciel materials recovery facilities in Couëron,

near Nantes, France make use of 12 optical sorting processes. These automated

systems identify the visible spectrum of each object and eject it using compressed

air jets. The process can extract up to 4,700 objects a minute.


In 2010, Veolia Environmental Services returned

to growth, surpassing its targets. This success

was a result of the work carried out adapting to

change during the two preceding years. Given

the uncertainty and hesitation in the still fragile

global economy, our company’s position in the most

sophisticated processes for converting waste into

secondary materials or energy, is a major advantage for

us today. We have been far in advance of the market for

the past 10 years. The key to this advance has been our

research and development policy. In our organization, it

is coordinated with the other functions – regulations,

environmental performance, and health and safety –

that guide our technology development programs and

enhance our offer of services that is finely tuned to

clients’ needs.

There is an on-going convergence between waste

treatment and resource management, between quality

of service and environmental footprint reduction. Our

strategic choice has been to save resources, which is a

greater necessity now than ever before.

And when it comes to resource saving, 2010 was a year

of achievements for us: major pilot projects moved

into industrial-scale production or were deployed in

new solutions for sorting, recycling and generating

alternative energy.

EDITORIAL

An essential strategic choice

Denis GASQUET, Senior Executive Vice-President of Veolia Environnement, Chief Executive Offi cer of Veolia Environmental Services

5

Several factors have strengthened our company’s position

at the forefront of waste resource recovery technologies

and our unparalleled presence in all aspects of resource

recovery from solid, liquid, non-hazardous and hazardous

wastes. Such factors include the operating success of our

new high-performance materials recovery facilities, whose

level of performance is unrivalled, as well as our rollout

of new biological processes, involving composting and

anaerobic digestion, and our production of biodiesel from

spent cooking oil and our motor-oil regeneration project.

Thanks to our expertise in industrial processes

for hazardous waste management, we can make

technological changes that dramatically reduce our

energy consumption and take us down new avenues in

resource recovery.

Across our businesses, convergence and synergies

unimaginable just a few years ago are appearing. They

respond to new environmental priorities.

At our Limay facility, near Paris, we employ a model of

industrial ecology in which several industrial units are

interconnected and the co-products of the treatment

processes are recovered. This is the blueprint for a service

offer on an industrial platform or regional scale in

which the interfaces are organized, flows are managed,

assets pooled and overall sustainable development is

served. This will involve all of Veolia Environnement’s

businesses.

This picture of the near future corresponds to our

mission of understanding the needs of our clients,

coming up with ideas and solutions, and deploying new

technology. In short, working closely with our clients

and adapting our services to incorporate their new

requirements that optimize performance are the basis

for our vision of the future.

There is an on-going convergence between waste treatment and resource management, between quality of service and environmental footprint reduction.

“

”


GOVERNANCE

The Executive Committee as of March 31, 2011 From left to right:

Jean-Dominique Mallet,

CEO Veolia Environmental Services UK,

Northern Europe & Australia, in charge

of the Technical, Scientific and Sustainable

Development Department

Bruno Masson,

Group General Counsel

Pascal Gauthier,

CEO Veolia Propreté France

Pascal Decary,

Group Human Resources Manager

Jorge Mora,

CEO Veolia Environmental Services Asia,

Africa, Middle-East & South of Europe,

Group Security Director

Denis Gasquet,

Senior Executive Vice-President

of Veolia Environnement

Chief Executive Officer

of Veolia Environmental Services

Jérôme Le Conte,

Group Chief Operating Officer

Richard Burke,

CEO Veolia Environmental Services

North America

Xavier Girre,

Group Chief Financial Officer

Thorsten Grenz,

CEO Veolia Umweltservice

Germany

2010 REPOR > In 2010, Veolia Environmental Services achieved

new technical advances as well as significant

commercial successes. The company reasserted its

growth strategy as the global benchmark in its fi eld.


In 2010, Veolia Environmental Services produced and recovered 2.5 million MWh

of thermal energy and 3.3 million MWh of electricity by using incineration

to treat waste (pictured, the waste-to-energy plant in Rouen, France).

9

T


After two years of economic crisis and recession, what trends do you see developing in global

markets for natural resources?

Philippe Chalmin: The financial and economic crisis that started in the second half of 2008 had

an impact that the markets have already forgotten. In 2010, in a trend that has persisted into

the first half of 2011, world commodity prices have regained, and even surpassed, pre-crisis

levels. Take the example of copper: compared with the average price from 2006 to 2008, the

price of copper had fallen by more than 50% by early 2009 and then, compared with this low

point, it had more than tripled by February 2011. This example is fairly representative of a tense

context virtually across the board, set against a backdrop of growing demand that is essentially

being driven by the emerging markets. The recovering Western economies are also contributing

to this demand, albeit to a lesser extent as industrial production in Europe has not returned to

pre-2008 levels.

We no doubt need to factor in a catch-up effect after the unprecedented impact of the

contraction in 2009, even though growth was 5% in 2010 and most predictions are banking on

4.5% for 2011. With regard to the commodities markets, everything points to a complete recovery

from the effect of the crisis, although this should not be interpreted as a sign of stabilizing

prices, which will in all likelihood be increasingly volatile. This interpretation is borne out by

the appearance of raw materials derivatives on the financial markets.

The market’s

message…By Philippe Chalmin,

Economics Professor at the

University of Paris-Dauphine,

and Founding Chairman

of CyclOpe

AN EXPERT’S VIEWPOINT

“We are nearing capacity for raw

material extraction. In other words,

the issue of waste and its recovery

is more than ever of critical concern.”

11

In the new context of the global economy, should we

redefine or reassert the issue of waste recovery in the form

of materials or energy?

P.C.: On markets that reason in the short term, any

long-term message may seem contradictory. Even so,

the message is clear: we are nearing capacity for raw

material extraction. And of course, we should not

overlook the energy aspects, given the climate issues at

stake that were heightened in early 2011 with the

Fukushima catastrophe. As a result, nuclear energy will

have lost some of its attraction.

How would you define the globalized market for secondary

resources?

P.C.: The bulk of the secondary raw materials markets,

at least those that are the most structured at the global

level, is based on the traditional segments of paper,

scrap metal and, to a lesser extent, non-ferrous metals.

Turkey, with its electric steel mills, is the leading

importer of scrap metal. China is the key to the other segments for which the West has excess

supply compared with the capacity of its own economies to absorb production. The collapse of

the paper market in 2008, for which the prices became negative following China’s withdrawal

from the purchasing streams, is clear evidence of this dependency. In these markets, as we have

already pointed out, the main issue is price volatility, which needs to be factored in as a risk to

be managed.

The issue of critical materials with a high strategic content became particularly evident in 2010. Is it

appropriate to talk of a “geopolitics” of recycling and the new technological challenges that will be

decisive for securing supply?

P.C.: Another market for secondary resources is emerging with critical materials. For these

minerals and metals, the issue is less related to their availability than to dependency on several

countries, including China again, which for some materials now accounts for the bulk of

supply.

These materials are needed by the defense, aeronautical and electronics industries. And in

these instances, there are some very real technical, environmental and social challenges

surrounding the recovery of infinitesimally small amounts of metal from complex products at

their end of life, such as mobile phones, computers and flat screens.

This recycling is strategically important, and the G20 has taken note of this fact. Insofar as

recycling forms part of an industrial process, it is also virtuous, especially compared with the

dismantling methods that are at times practiced in Africa and Asia. If recycling takes place in

an informal economy, it can result in serious health and environmental impacts, all for what is

in the final analysis an inefficient outcome.

For a company like Veolia Environmental Services, these secondary materials are extremely

strong growth areas so long as you are able to arrive at a competitive extraction cost compared

with the market price for primary materials.

The other strategic area where, in my opinion, we need to turn our attention is energy recovery,

for which the market is wide open.

BIOGRAPHY

PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS at the University of Paris-Dauphine.

FOUNDING CHAIRMAN of CyclOpe, a raw materials and commodities research institute.

CO-AUTHOR of From Waste

to Resource: World Waste

Survey.

MEMBER of the French Council of Economic Analysis.

CONSULTANT to the World Bank and the European Union.


WORLD WASTE SURVEY

From Waste to Resource, the 2009

World Waste Survey, is the result

of joint research by Veolia

Environmental Services and

CyclOpe, the main raw

materials and commodities

research institute in Europe.

Philippe Chalmin, Professor

of Economics at the University

of Paris-Dauphine, and

Catherine Gaillochet, a lawyer

specializing in environmental

law, have compiled an overview

of the global waste market.

The following are some

of the key data.

of waste per day and

per capita in high-income

developed countries


per capita in mid-income

developing countries


per capita in low-income

developing countries

It is difficult to measure the amount of industrial waste.

The authors’ estimate of a total of 1.2 billion metric tons

collected must be taken as an indication only.

The figures for the United States and China are manifestly

under-estimated.

Quantity of waste (in billions of metric tons)

MUNICIPAL

WASTE

INDUSTRIAL

WASTE

HAZARDOUS

INDUSTRIAL

WASTE

12.5% 42.5%

45%

An annual 4 billion metric tons of municipal and industrial

waste is generated worldwide. The quantity of non-hazardous

and hazardous construction and demolition waste produced

in a selection of countries is 1 billion metric tons. The waste

generated by the mining industry, electricity generation and

water production (non-hazardous) in a selection of countries

comes to 6.4 billion metric tons.

Industrial waste

Breakdown by type of waste

United States

305

229

India

214

China

135

Japan

123

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Quantity of waste (kg per capita per year)

Production and treatment method for municipal waste

Energy recovery rate

Landfi ll rate

Resource recovery rate

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India

(rural)

India

(urban)

BangladeshChinaBrazilRussiaSingaporeJapanUSA

760

577

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EU-15 SwitzerlandJapanGermanyFranceSpainUSAItalyUKAustraliaNew

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Turkey

97.8%

84.7%

69.7%64.3%

54.4% 54.3% 51.7%

36%

17.7%

3.4% 0.5%

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UKUSAGermanySwitzerlandSouth Korea

49.2%

33.9% 33.1%

23.8%

17.4%

FranceJapan

16.8% 15.8%

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SpainUKItalyUSAGermanyFranceSwitzerlandSwedenDenmarkJapan

74%

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33.8%

24.6%

13.6% 12.1% 8.4% 6.7%

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PROFILE

With 77,466 employees working in 31 countries,

Veolia Environmental Services is the global benchmark

for waste management and resource recovery. The only

operator with a presence in solid, liquid, non-hazardous

and hazardous waste, Veolia Environmental Services helps

to improve the environment by providing its clients – industrial

companies and public authorities – with innovative, efficient

waste management solutions covering collection, pipe systems

maintenance, industrial services, treatment and resource

recovery.

EUROPE

(OUTSIDE FRANCE)

FRANCE

NORTH AMERICA

ASIA AND PACIFIC

AFRICA, MIDDLE

EAST AND SOUTH

AMERICA

39%

38%

14%

7%

2%

Revenue by

geographic area

treatment units

client companies

billion in revenue

EUROPE

(OUTSIDE FRANCE)

FRANCE

NORTH AMERICA

AFRICA, MIDDLE

EAST AND SOUTH

AMERICA

ASIA AND PACIFIC

30%

7%

39%

Workforce by

geographic area

12%

12%

Collection services for

million people

15

8,130 kt* CO2 equivalent avoided greenhouse gas emissions

2.9 million MWh thermal energy sold

4.6 million MWh electricity sold

42,110 kt* of collected waste

63,170 kt* of treated waste

12,800 kt* of recycled waste

Canada

China

Taiwan

South KoreaGuadeloupe

Egypt

Qatar

Morocco United Arab Emirates

Israel

USA

Mexico

Senegal

Reunion Island

Australia

Singapore

Tunisia

UK

Denmark

Latvia

Estonia

Ireland

Belgium

France

LithuaniaPoland

Ukraine

Spain

Germany

Czech Republic

Slovakia

HungarySwitzerland

Italy

Brazil

Presence around the world

* kt: thousands of metric tons.


FEBRUARY

In the United Kingdom, Veolia Environmental Services renews the waste recycling, collection and street cleaning contract with the City of Westminster, London, for seven years.

JULY

In the United Kingdom, Veolia Environmental Services signs a 25-year PFI contract for the treatment and disposal of residual waste with Staffordshire County Council.The contract is for the construction of a modern

waste-to-energy plant that will treat the County’s residual

waste. The energy recovery plant, designed to treat an

annual 300,000 metric tons of residual waste, will generate

more than 23 MWh of electricity a year for the national

electricity network, enough to power 32,000 households.

MARCH

In France, the Oise Verte Environnement district authority awards Veolia Environmental Servicesa public service management contract to design, build and

operate its multi-process municipal and assimilated waste

treatment center near Beauvais. This project combines organic

waste recovery and energy recovery.

2010 HIGHLIGHTS

JANUARY

In Australia, Hanson, one of the country’s leading building materials supplies and

Boral, Australia’s largest building and construction materials

supplier, contract Veolia Environmental Services to manage

their commercial and industrial waste nationwide. These

contracts involve 470 sites.

APRIL

In the United States, the US Army contracts Veolia Environmental Services to treat 4,000 steel ton containers used to store chemical

products containing solidifi ed hazardous waste with

a high mercury content. In addition to disposing of

the toxic products and recycling the steel from the drums,

Veolia Environmental Services also succeeds in recovering

and treating the mercury.

MAY

In France, Angers Loire contractsVeolia Environmental Services to manage its new Biopôle

waste recovery center, which includes mechanical biological

treatment, composting and methane production systems

with a combined maximum annual capacity of 90,000 metric

tons. The contract covers operation, management and

recovery of energy, compost and recyclable materials.

17

SEPTEMBER

In the United Kingdom, Asda names Veolia Environmental Services best overall supplier and biggest contributor to the Asda

sustainability agenda in recognition of its continued work

and support in delivering Asda’s CSR aspiration of zero

waste to landfill.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

In Germany, Veolia Environmental Services wins the waste collectioncontract for the city of Erkrath with a population of 40,000.

In Hamburg, the company forms a semi-public company

in partnership with the city for paper-and-board recovery,

and in so doing strengthens its lead position in this segment.

OCTOBER

Hong Kong contracts Veolia Environnement (Veolia Water and Veolia Environmental Services)to design, build and operate a sludge recovery facility.

The plant will treat all the sludge produced by Hong Kong’s

11 wastewater treatment plants.

SEPTEMBER

In France, Greater Dijon contracts Veolia Environmental Services for waste collection for its 263,000 residents and the

management of collection containers. The contract also

includes boosting awareness of the importance of sorting,

and preparation for the introduction of a special levy.

The five-year contract started on January 1, 2011.

AUGUST

In France, Renault renews its trustin Veolia Environmental Services’ industrial services

subsidiary for the comprehensive management of

non-hazardous and hazardous waste at its 14 sites in France.

The partnership between the two companies began in 1997

and will continue at least until the end of 2013.

SEPTEMBER

In France, Veolia Environmental Services opens the Arc-en-Ciel plant, near NantesThe facility includes high-performance sorting of

non-hazardous industrial waste, source-separated waste

collection and a waste-to-energy unit: by progressing

further toward automation, it has paved the way for the

recovery of plastic film. The facility is a demonstration of

Veolia Environmental Services’ industrial expertise, the

source of the company’s added value.


PERFORMANC> The return to growth endorsed Veolia

Environmental Services’ decisions on strategy

and organization. This new dynamic translated

into commitments and results in all areas relating

to the company’s corporate social responsibility.

19

The Arc-en-Ciel materials recovery facility for source-separated waste in Couëron, near Nantes, France,

has 84 conveyor belts with a combined length of 1 kilometer. An annual 130,000 metric tons of

materials are prepared here ready for recycling.

E


The rise in commodity prices was certainly a major contributor to

the improved results in the main countries where Veolia Environ-

mental Services operates, especially Germany and France, but the

company also reasserted the principle of its non-speculative ap-

proach and its position as a partner in managing its clients’ envi-

ronmental footprint. Materials recycling and the production of al-

ternative energy resources are responses to the challenges of

conserving resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. So

aside the positive economic environment, and on the basis of a

business model that limits its exposure to market fluctuations,

Veolia Environmental Services is focusing on developing its materials

recovery strategy.

The company is consolidating its positions in the main segments,

such as paper and board, for which it coordinates its trading busi-

ness at the European level. Significant progress was also made in

2010 on several major projects in the areas of sorting, recycling and

the production of alternative sources of energy, both in the devel-

opment and industrial deployment stages.

Examples that illustrate our company’s innovation policy include

the operational success of the SALTO process for sorting source-

separated waste, the development of remote-operated sorting that

heralds a radical shift in the operator’s job in materials recovery

facilities, the ramp-up of the plant producing biodiesel from spent

cooking oil, the Osilub project for the regeneration of spent motor

oil, the injection of biomethane from biogenic waste into the natu-

ral gas network in Germany, and our positioning with premium

partners for lithium automobile batteries.

ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE

Responsibly positioned

in resource recovery

segments

Against a backdrop of stabilization and gradual economic recovery, Veolia Environmental Services’ 2010 results reflect a return to growth for its activities, with a level of operating performance that more than justified the restructuring implemented by the company in almost all countries where it operates. In each of its business areas, Veolia Environmental Services strengthened its positions and incorporated a number of major innovations.

€9.3billion in revenue (+6.7% over 2009)

66%of revenue generated outside France

(+4% over 2009)

27%of Veolia Environnement’s revenue

(+1 point over 2009)

21

PARTNERSHIP COMMITMENTS AND SELECTIVE POLICY

In the area of services, the partnership approach, and the level of

technicality and safety of our services are the mainstays of the add-

ed value provided by our company. They justify our commercial

policy of careful selection of contracts, whether with leading indus-

trial corporations or municipalities. In Europe, where the market

remains marked by a drop in volumes that have not recovered their

pre-2008 levels, the strong German economy has acted as a major

driver for our business. In that country, services to companies ac-

count for more than 70% of our revenue; the same applies to France

– still Germany’s leading trading partner – which benefited in par-

ticular from the automobile, mechanical and chemical industries.

In the United Kingdom, despite the ongoing weakness of several

sectors of the economy, our company maintained solid positions

across the full scope of its services to companies. Advantage was

taken of the real growth potential in the petrochemicals sector

with two new major contracts signed by capitalizing on the experi-

ence acquired in oil and gas platform decommissioning and sub-

sea infrastructure. Industrial services to the resources, oil and mining

industries also contributed to Veolia Environmental Services’ growth

in the United States and Australia.

THE VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

BIODIESEL PRODUCTION PLANT

Veolia Environmental Services’ hazardous waste management subsidiary, SARP Industries,

designed France’s first second-generation biodiesel production plant to use spent cooking

oil and greasy waste. Commissioned in 2010, the plant will eventually have the capacity

to transform 40,000 metric tons of spent oils of very diverse types into biofuel.

Veolia Environmental Services confirmed

its lead in France for the treatment

and recovery of hazardous waste,

with excellent results and a capacity

for innovation that has opened up new

avenues of growth in high value added

activities. In the United States, growth

was driven by the upturn in business

in this area and by several emblematic

contracts, including with the US Army.

The same applies in China, where Veolia

Environmental Services is continuing

to implement its policy of acquisitions

and to expand its range of products

and services to rise to the challenge of

meeting Chinese industry’s requirements

and the country’s environmental policy

through the implementation of

advanced technology.

…

New references in

hazardous waste

treatment


ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE

SERVICES IN PHASE WITH PUBLIC POLICY OBJECTIVES

The framework for the development of environmental services in

urban areas is set by several factors: the economic context that

weighs on the budgets of public authorities, the European regula-

tory framework that demands a growing reduction in the tonnage

of waste sent to landfill and an increase in recovery rates, and

energy issues that engage decentralized heat and electricity pro-

duction capacities. As it is attentive to regional and social develop-

ments, Veolia Environmental Services deploys the broadest possible

response in terms of the services it provides and its investment

capacity. The very high rate of contract renewals, especially in France,

and our success in winning new contracts are a recognition of our

service quality and of the extension of our services to new solutions,

such as vacuum waste collection and incentive pricing.

Successful projects in the design and operation of major infrastruc-

ture help create a positive effect in all regions of the world. In Europe,

Veolia Environmental Services has unrivaled strengths that it can

bring to each country in order to deliver the responses required un-

der European Community recycling objectives.

The three Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – and Poland have all been European Union Members since 2004. They are committed

to gaining the infrastructure needed to meet European Union waste management, recycling and reduced landfilling objectives. Ukraine is now

tackling the same objectives. In each of these countries, Veolia Environmental Services provides its expertise to assist in the organization and

modernization process as reflected in the number of certifications issued to the facilities it operates. In 2010, its business in Poland almost

doubled and rose sharply in Estonia. For the region as a whole, our positive results are helping consolidate our positions in this growing market.

…

Eastern Europe: waste management gets organized

23

Regulatory changes, technical solutions and the operational appli-

cations of sustainable development are three key aspects of Veolia

Environmental Services’ business.

This was the reason for our company’s decision to bring together in

a single department its teams working in technology and science,

public and European affairs, sustainable development, and the cross-

departmental functions of knowledge management and research

and development coordination. In addition to bringing these func-

tions closer together so as to generate greater coherence and stra-

tegic efficiency at the corporate level, the new department’s work in

knowledge management and sharing will make it possible to create

flexible networks set up in response to the type of projects being

handled. Serving the business units, this restructured department

will leverage the best experiences and practices in each country to

help strengthen the relevance and competitiveness of the solutions

we offer worldwide.

The new structure will also make it possible to coordinate even more

closely the research and development, industrialization and indus-

trial deployment phases of new technical solutions. In this respect,

it will also help achieve Veolia Environmental Services’ stated goals

for innovation.

Technical, Scientific and Sustainable Development Department: a combination to deliver operational efficiency and innovation

DEDICATED SORTING AND

RECYCLING CENTERS

In Central European countries,

Veolia Environmental Services provides

its expertise to help modernize the

facilities it operates.


Diversity is the backbone of Veolia Environmental Services’

human resources policy and a permanent feature of the

approach. Considerable efforts within the company are helping

assimilate this approach for the duration with a view toward

making continuous improvements. New progress goals have

been set for 2011: improve the gender balance in the company,

optimize the management of foreign nationality employees,

continue to roll out the disabled employee policy, improve the

retention of employees aged 55 and over, and train 60% of

employees in diversity management.

An e-learning module has been developed to support this

approach and deploy the diversity policy as widely as possible.

Designed to boost awareness of diversity issues in the company,

this course provides managers, human resources staff and

employee representatives – identified as key to the approach –

with a common language by addressing the reasons why Veolia

Environmental Services has committed to diversity, the ways to

neutralize stereotyping, the legal framework for combating

discrimination, and best managerial practices that ensure equal

treatment, for example, during the recruitment process, mobility

management and when leading a staff meeting.

A diversity guide provides additional information and ensures

the e-learning content remains active, with fact sheets and a CD-

ROM containing all the information and documents required for

implementing the approach.

WOMEN IN THE COMPANY

The role of women in Veolia Environmental Services is recognized

as an undeniable factor in its performance, and has for some

years been the focus of international initiatives. The purpose of

SOCIAL PERFORMANCE

Diversity in all its forms

Combat all forms of workplace discrimination, boost skills development for all personnel, support cooperation between employees to make the company more efficient – the diversity approach structures the entire human resources management policy at Veolia Environmental Services.

77,466employees in 31 countries

25

these actions is twofold: to boost the presence of female emplo-

yees in traditionally male professions, especially operational and

management positions; and to develop the career of our female

employees, which implies their access to positions of responsi-

bi lity.

This last point has been the subject of a specific mentoring

program in Australia. In China, several management positions in

operational units are now held by women.

In France, in order to work on all fronts to improve the gender

balance in the company, Veolia Environmental Services has set

out its approach in a framework agreement on professional

equality between male and female employees that commits

management and trade union representatives to implementing

an action plan. This agreement covers the various stages in

human resources management and work time organization, and

also the means used to educate and bring about a change in

mentality and attitudes.

Two training programs will be tried out in 2011: one is specifically

for female managers starting out in their career, the other is for

experienced managers. These two programs share content

regarding certain cultural and structural hurdles preventing

female managers from exercising leadership and evolving

toward senior management levels.

The creation and development of an internal network of female

managers, which these programs encourage, is another way of

bringing about change in practices and combating stereotyp-

ing.

WOMEN IN VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

The role of women in the company is recognized as an undeniable factor

in its performance.

A framework agreement on employment

and job retention for disabled people

was signed on November 18, 2010,

with all unions in France. This agreement

ties in with the commitments adopted

by Veolia Environmental Services in

implementing a long-term disabled

employee policy that focuses on

employee recruitment, training and

retention, and which has been the

subject of an agreement with Agefiph

(a French non-profit organization that

specializes in providing assistance in the

employment of disabled people).

The actions undertaken in 2009 under

this agreement were carried over into

2010 with conclusive results. The actions

by the network organized on the basis of

disabled employee project leaders have

led to the dissemination of best practices

and an increase in the number of

disabled employees from 4.6% of the

workforce in 2009 to 5.2% in 2010.

Promoting

employment for

disabled people


NEW METHODS FOR IMPROVING LABOR RELATIONS

IDS, a labor relations body, was created in 2009 for Veolia

Environmental Services’ subsidiaries in France. The aim is to

strengthen the sense of belonging to Veolia in the many companies

of which it is comprised in France, and to help the negotiation of

national framework agreements on cross-company issues. IDS has

already assisted in the conclusion of three agreements: promoting

the employment of older employees; addressing psychosocial and

workplace stress issues; and gender equality in the workplace. The

quality of labor relations in the company is based on improving

training of the employee representatives who are members of IDS

to help them perform their duties to the best of their abilities.

An initial training session spread across one year was run in 2010,

in partnership with Sciences-Po University and the Dialogues

association. The topics covered in this course include management

and personal skills, economics and labor culture, corporate strategy,

labor relations and unionism, and methodology. Participants had

to write and defend a dissertation, and were awarded a certificate.

This approach is an excellent way of improving labor relations in

the company, and also aims to enhance the status of employee

representative as part of a career path.

LEVERAGING LABOR RELATIONS IN COMMERCIAL PROPOSALS

The actions taken by Veolia Environmental Services to improve

labor relations apply in numerous areas both within the company

and in its external relations. They cover fields as varied as health,

safety and the environment, and are reflected in many measures

concerning diversity, recruitment, training, mentoring, combating

illiteracy, labor-management dialogue and employee benefits.

The numerous partnerships with actors involved in social integra-

tion projects also reflect Veolia Environmental Services’ commit-

ment to integration through work.

This aspect of social performance, which is focused on the compa-

ny’s operational practices, is also a valid argument that can be the

determining factor in choosing between tenders.

The added value of its social performance was a deciding factor in

Veolia Environmental Services’ French subsidiary being awarded a

major contract in 2010 by the authorities of Greater Dijon. The

contract specifications included social measures to ensure the

retention of 150 employees of the previous provider and main-

tenance of their salaries.

In a similar vein to the company’s technical expertise, its social

and environmental policy is now set out in a specific document

– Resources – to enable a coherent and updated presentation of its

solutions-orientated approach to the labor component of its services.

UNDECLARED WORKERS, A RESPONSIBLE POSITION

In early 2010, Veolia Environmental Services took a leading role in

the public discussion about undeclared workers in France, including

making a contribution to the publication of a joint position with

unions and industry representatives.

This position presented the case for setting out precise and

SOCIAL PERFORMANCE

An affirmative approach to

labor and social issues

27

objective conditions for obtaining resident papers and work

permits for employees – and their employers – who fulfill all their

fiscal obligations.

After realizing that its workforce included employees in this

situation, Veolia Environmental Services considered that it was

its duty to assist those employees, whose work was entirely

satisfactory, in going through the administrative procedures to

legalize their situation.

Above and beyond its commitment to social responsibility, Veolia

Environmental Services was at pains to point out the reality of

undeclared labor in certain economic sectors. We took the position

of defending, within a very precise context, the principle of

regularization as an instrument for combating social dumping

and the practice of undeclared employment.

Also involved in this issue, Veolia Environmental Services in the

United Kingdom produced a guide for all managers to help them

identify undeclared workers. This guide is part of a recruitment

and training process.

A WIDE RANGE OF ACTIONS

Corporate social responsibility is a core priority for Veolia Environ-

mental Services. Almost 900 of our employees are involved in a

variety of areas: children’s education and well-being, social inte-

gration, the environment, and improving the quality of life for the

most underprivileged. For example, in 2010 Veolia Environmental

Services employees in the United Kingdom were able to participate

in numerous actions implemented locally including waste clean-

up operations in the countryside, teaching children the principles

of waste sorting and recycling, weeding in a zoo, painting in a

public building, etc. In the final analysis, the initiative was judged

extremely positive, not just for the company’s image and attrac-

tiveness, but also for its employees in terms of their integration in

their company and their personal fulfillment, among other positive

results.

SOCIAL MEASURES RHYME

WITH COMMERCIAL SUCCESS

In 2010, Veolia Environmental Services was

awarded a major contract with the Greater

Dijon authority that included social

measures to ensure the retention of

150 employees of the previous provider and

maintenance of their salaries. All the newly

integrated employees will complete

the general training course, with a focus

on safety, provided during the Veolia

Environmental Services “Professional

Career Path” sessions.

Veolia Environmental Services in the

United Kingdom launched an initiative

at the end of 2009 that aimed to allow

each employee to devote one half-day

a year to a project of benefit to the

community. The program had the backing

of general management and was

promoted by each site manager.

Put into practice for the first time in 2010,

it proved to be a great success. Whereas

the target was an employee participation

rate of 5%, a total of 7.31% of the workforce

in fact volunteered. This success was

achieved as a result of a communication

campaign to inform the employees using

internal newsletters and the intranet.

It also owes much to employees being

able to respond rapidly to requests for

volunteers posted on the intranet, share

their interests in a particular project

through a Club open to all employees,

and report on their experiences as

volunteers on an internal blog.

Half-day of voluntary

service funded

by the company


OPTIMUM H&S REPORTING

Protection of its staff’s health and safety is crucial for Veolia

Environmental Services. This is reflected in the personal and

ongoing involvement of the members of the Executive Committee,

the coordination of awareness-raising and prevention actions at all

levels in the company, and at local, regional, national and interna-

tional levels. Each year, in each country, a road map sets out the

areas for quantitative and qualitative improvement based on the

continuous improvement targets set by Veolia. Monthly reports are

a key instrument for steering this policy and are used both to assess

performance and share information. The desire to simplify the

reporting procedure and optimize the ways in which the infor-

mation is used led to the development of a tool called Acciline,

which was first introduced in France in 2005. It has since been

improved and is set to become the company’s sole system for

managing H&S reports worldwide. In addition to France, it is now

also used in Asia and Morocco.

An essential principle is expressed through this tool with its

standard format, Acciline makes it easier to consolidate the data

from the various subsidiaries and countries, and to deliver

information that is key to determining preventive actions, in

particular through the identification of the root causes of

accidents. In France, Acciline’s functions also already include data

concerning occupational diseases, prefiguring the Health and

Safety Observatory that will be the tool used at the Veolia

Environnement level.

SOCIAL PERFORMANCE

Health and safety:

commitment and method

High standards and pragmatism are at the heart of the Veolia Environmental Services health and safety policy. Integrated management tools and information sharing, awareness and training actions, and the promotion of best practices form the basis of a proactive approach to managing risks. This issue, which mobilizes all levels of management and concerns all employees, is one of the keys to operational performance.

Between 2009 and 2010,

the company’s workplace accident

frequency rate fell by

15%

Between 2009 and 2010,

the company’s accident severity

rate fell by

9%

29

PREVENT AND RESPOND

While prevention is the absolute priority of any safety policy, any

failure or accident must also be used to improve our understanding

of the risks and to take appropriate action.

Any serious accident triggers immediate notification to all

countries, which acts as a call to tighten vigilance even before

analysis of the circumstances of the accident, the conclusions of

which will also be shared. Additionally, the data from the monthly

reports is used to identify operational sites with unresolved safety

issues in an experiment being run in France that has now also been

introduced in Germany and Morocco. Once the sites have been

identified, they are audited by a QHSE team. These safety

management audits are designed to provide a basis for the

manager concerned to develop an action plan that is deemed

binding. At 13 of the first 14 sites thus audited, the frequency of

accidents was halved in less than a year.

The need to develop a high level of awareness among managers of

their personal responsibility for safety was the basis for another

approach. An original training module, based on grassroots issues,

was developed taking a fresh approach to safety. Based on just one

message and using simple tools, it involves all levels of the hierarchy.

The first sessions were held at the end of 2010 and almost 40 more

are scheduled to take place in 2011.

PREVENTION DRIVEN BY MANAGEMENT

The health and safety policy and the aim to reduce the number of accidents are driven

by all levels of management in a company, from the general management to work supervisors.

…

The international health and safety

day, held for the seventh time in 2010,

and the Safety Challenge that singles

out the best practices, are among

the events that bring together and

mobilize the workforce by taking

an entertaining and educational

approach to the subject of risk

management. These opportunities

for discussing and sharing experience,

through which the management team

demonstrates its involvement, are

a reminder to everyone of the need

to make safety a necessity at all times,

all day and every day.

Unifying events


SOCIAL PERFORMANCE

INTERACTIVE RISK MAPPING

Used alongside Acciline, a risk analysis tool has been developed for

health, safety and the environment. It includes data on each activity

and each step in the process that the operator can correct and sup-

plement as a function of the actual configuration of the equipment at

his or her site. The tool then produces a map of the risks and their level

for the entire entity, which management can use to take the necessary

labor, organizational or technical measures required. Configured on a

theory base augmented with field observations and statistics, the risk

assessment tool is continuously refined, in particular with the

incorporation of data from various reports and additional information

that regularly improves its operational utility.

UNITED KINGDOM: RESULTS OF AN AMBITIOUS POLICY

A 40% reduction in workplace accidents in one year is the payoff from

a very determined health and safety policy in the United Kingdom.

The figures aside, there has been a deep-seated cultural shift toward

health and safety issues. H&S is an absolute priority for the company,

and is directly linked to its ambitious growth targets. Actions involved

an extensive internal communication campaign: posters, a “risk

assessment expert” mascot, and a safety bus communicating and

training health and safety messages travelling to each site. At the

same time, and in addition to training actions, several initiatives

directly involved all employees in analyzing risks, identifying solutions,

and paying day-to-day attention to implementing best practices.

Lastly, for the rehabilitation of employees who have suffered workplace

injury, and to develop accident prevention, the company financed the

creation of a fitness center in Croydon, near London, and the national

rollout of a system for free physiotherapy sessions.

…

OPTIMUM SAFETY IN BHP BILLITON’S WORSLEY

REFINERY IN AUSTRALIA

At the end of 2010, the Veolia Environmental Services personnel working

at the site celebrated 365 ‘safe days’.

31

Onboard software that significantly

improves the collection route can also be

applied to improving vehicle driving with

the dual goal of improving safety and

reducing fuel consumption. The principle

involves providing drivers with real-time

data so they can adjust their driving

style. In the United States, Veolia

Environmental Services, after having

assessed the various solutions available

on the market, tested the DriveCam

system, which monitors driving with a

camera and also offers recording options.

Compared with an overall drop in road

accidents of 18%, the fleets equipped

with the DriveCam system recorded a

28% fall. The development of an assisted

driving system is also the subject of joint

research by Veolia Environnement

and the transportation and waste

management divisions.

This massive effort, the innovative approach and the close involvement

of all levels of management have made workplace health and safety a

personal issue for each employee and a subject that has developed a

bond across the entire company. As a result, 2010 was a further step

forward in the continuous improvement plan in place since 2008 and

which led to the triple ISO certification in 2009 of the 350 sites

operated by Veolia Environmental Services in the United Kingdom.

In 2010, services in the petrochemicals sector also earned a prestigious

award for the UK subsidiary of Veolia Environmental Services. After

assessing its service providers at all its European sites, SABIC (Saudi

Basic Industries Corporation) awarded the company its gold medal for

its QHSE performance. This was the second year in succession that

this award was presented to Veolia Environmental Services.

AUSTRALIA STILL OUT FRONT

At the end of 2010, the Veolia Environmental Services’ team working

on site at BHP Billiton’s Worsley refinery celebrated 365 ‘safe days’.

This is just one example that testifies to the level of safety demanded

by our company. In addition, Veolia’s mechanics working at the

same site achieved nine years without a single first aid incident.

Spurred by these results, which are used as a reference in the com-

pany, along with the those achieved in theUnited States, Australia

continues to promote vigilance. Australia has furthermore devel-

oped a series of Fatal Risk Prevention Protocols that relate to core

operations. These ten Protocols are based on a review of the entire

Australian operations, taking into account past incident rates, exist-

ing risk profiles and Australian fatality data.

Road safety: the

American model


ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

REDUCE AIR POLLUTION

Waste collection services take place in built-up areas and in close

contact with the population; they are the subject of ongoing

improvements to reduce nuisances and atmospheric emissions.

Along with the emergence in France of vacuum collection that

Veolia Environmental Services will be implementing jointly with

its partner Envac under two major contracts, the division is

continuing to experiment with hybrid collection vehicles. Two

technologies – hydraulic and electric – are being tested in the

United States and Europe to assess the environmental benefits

and reliability of each technology, and its suitability for the

demands that are placed on collection vehicles. These trials will

also provide details about the operation costs associated with each

of the technologies.

The rollout of fleets of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles is

already in operational phase. Use of these vehicles reduces

emissions by at least 20% compared with conventional fuels, and is

another way of improving the carbon balance. This solution,

adopted in France in the Vallée de Chevreuse, was also implemented

in 2010 in the United Kingdom under a contract with the City of

Sheffield, and in the United States in Fort Myers, Florida, and

Highland Park, Illinois. Both these US contracts involve 60 new

CNG vehicles.

Other important factors in improving the carbon balance include

encouraging drivers to be more careful and adopt economic driving

practices, as well as efforts to rationalize collection, resulting in

optimal routes and fleet management. At a constant tonnage

compared with 2009, there was a 3% reduction in fuel consumption

in 2010.

CARBON FOOTPRINT: FROM GHG TRACKER TO A PERSONAL

CALCULATOR

GHG Tracker, the carbon footprint measurement tool developed by

Veolia Environmental Services, is now available in a new, easier-to-

use version. Since 2009, this decision-making tool which compares

several waste management scenarios, has been deployed to

450 users at Veolia Environmental Services. The tool can prove a

real differentiator in tenders, and can then be used throughout the

term of a contract to evaluate the effects of measures designed to

reduce the carbon footprint.

With the same goals in mind, Veolia Environmental Services has

now developed a personal carbon footprint calculator that

Target: an exemplary

environmental performance

For Veolia Environmental Services, the improvement of its environmental performance by saving resources and reducing impacts on natural and urban environments is an ongoing requirement when deploying its services. As a benchmark for its various areas of business, the division is committed to using exemplary practices.

The drop is due in particular to improved flue

gas treatment at plants.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

27 20 20 17 16 14147 106 90 81 91 87

80 55 54 54 52 42

1,173966 933 854 853

763

Emissions from waste-to-energy plants

(in grams/metric ton incinerated)

Nitrous oxides (NOx) Hydrogen chloride (HCl)

Sulfur oxides (SOx) Dusts (HCI)

33

measures greenhouse gas emissions in day-to-day professional

and private life, the application being limited to transportation

and energy consumption. Initially designed as a method to boost

our employees’ awareness, the calculator is now available to

Internet users on our websites and will soon be an app available

from the Apple Store.

RECYCLING PROCESS WATER: BEYOND REGULATORY AND

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

Water management is central to various activities at Veolia

Environmental Services. At industrial effluent and hazardous waste

treatment plants, the issues involved are particularly sensitive. They

concern managing treated water discharged into the natural

environment, and limiting drinking or process water consumption.

The project developed at Sarp Industries’ Sotrenor site in northern

France provided a dual response. The liquid waste treatment process

was transformed in order to eliminate all discharge and produce

industrial process water covering 50% of the site’s requirement,

thereby cutting down on the volume of water withdrawn from the

aquifer.

This development is at the core of an approach that changes the

constraint of applying the standards to discharged treated water

into an ambitious goal to recover water. The new approach is all the

more coherent in that it coincides with the introduction of physical-

chemical processes that use less energy than the incineration

treatment they have replaced.

…

SARP INDUSTRIES’

SOTRENOR HAZARDOUS

WASTE TREATMENT PLANT

IN COURRIÈRES, FRANCE

The transformation of the process

for treating liquid waste eliminates

all discharge and produces process

water that covers 50% of the site’s

requirement, thereby also cutting

down on the withdrawal of water

from the aquifer.

35

BEEHIVES ON THE ROOF OF VEOLIA

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES’ HEADQUARTERS

Conserving the diversity of plant and animal species is a question of

environmental responsibility and a client expectation. Installing

beehives in the city helps conserve this species, which is in decline in

rural areas. Additionally, by transporting pollen, bees guarantee

plant diversity in the urban environment.

Wildlife Trust, the UK’s largest voluntary organization for the

protection of wildlife and natural habitats. This certification is

granted in recognition of continuous biodiversity improvement.

Additionally, as the owner of 270 hectares of meadows and marshes

alongside the Pitsea site, Veolia Environmental Services has delegated

management of this acreage to the Royal Society for the Protection

of Birds for the creation of a natural reserve. Veolia Environmental

Services has also renewed its support for the British Natural History

Museum through the prestigious Veolia Environnement Wildlife

Photographer of the Year award organized by the institution. In

conjunction with this event, the division also runs internal actions

that contribute to a shared culture of biodiversity and to streng-

thening its ties with the museum.

FROM HAZARDOUS WASTE STORAGE TO PROMOTING BIODIVERSITY

Veolia Environmental Services’ policy for integrated biodiversity

management also underlies an ambitious approach adopted at

hazardous waste landfills. In 2010, two French sites were awarded

the “Noah’s Garden” label through supporting the national network

of biodiversity gardens created by the Noé Conservation association

(see box).

This certification is in recognition of a highly structured approach

that will eventually contribute to the improved ecological, social

and environmental integration of landfill sites within their

surroundings. During the operation phase, it also provides an

opportunity for communication and education based on the dual

objective of changing the image of landfills in stakeholders’ minds

and of helping disseminate knowledge about local natural heritage.

Internally, the aim of these projects, which attract considerable

employee support, is also reflected in operational performance.

The Occitanis and Solitop hazardous

waste landfills in France exemplify the

integrated biodiversity approach

implemented by Veolia Environmental

Services’ hazardous waste business.

This approach, which starts with a

detailed ecological inventory of the sites

and landscape integration studies,

is based on five main principles:

conserve land areas with heritage value;

characterize biodiversity conservation

through soil and plant studies and

the use of biological indicators; apply

differentiated management techniques

to open spaces; ensure the visual

integration of sites in terms of their

architecture and the treatment of the

natural spaces; and work in partnership

with the non-profit sector. Implemented

over time and in liaison with the

stakeholders, this approach incorporates

biodiversity as a way of optimizing the

activities of Veolia Environmental

Services for the long term.

Two exemplary sites

for a sustainable

approach

SERViCES> Veolia Environmental Services increases its

competitive advantage and the added value

of its services by enhancing the technical content

of its business activities and capitalizing on

its unrivaled offer of integrated solutions

for industrial and municipal clients.


37

Veolia Environmental Services designed the first plant in France to

produce second-generation biofuel from cooking oil and greasy waste,

and commissioned it in 2010.


NATIONAL CONTRACTS

Veolia Environmental Services builds long-term relationships

with its industrial clients based on several principles: an

integrated approach; delivery of service of the same quality and

safety level at multiple sites; ongoing optimization of resource

recovery from waste; cost containment; and services aligned

with the requirements of the industrial facilities. One example

is our exceptional partnership since 1997 with the French

automaker Renault. In 2010, Renault renewed its contract with

Veolia Environmental Services for integrated management of

non-hazardous and hazardous waste at 14 of its sites in France.

One of the sector-specific offers Veolia Environmental Services has

rolled out is designed for construction companies. Here, our services

are adapted to the operations of the various trades throughout a

project. This formula has resulted in several major commercial

successes. In France, we are working for the Bouygues group on one

of the country’s biggest projects: the construction of a hospital

complex in Amiens. We also have national framework contracts,

particularly with the Vinci group, that cover entire regions.

In Australia we have won national contracts. Hanson, one of the

largest suppliers of construction materials, and Kone, a leading

producer of elevators and escalators, chose Veolia Environmental

Services to manage their industrial waste nationwide. The contracts

cover 125 sites.

INCREASED CAPABILITIES, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

In the service sector, as in the industrial sector, resource recovery rates

are increasingly a determining factor in performance. Here, Veolia

Environmental Services is strengthening its service offers by adding

to both its waste collection and industrial recycling capabilities.

In Australia, our acquisition of the activities of Wanless has given

us a regional coverage that includes the strategic cities of Adelaide,

Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Numerous commercial successes in

2010 show the advantages of countrywide response capability.

Westfield, for example, awarded our company an integrated waste

management contract for more than 30 malls in Queensland, New

South Wales and Victoria. We were also awarded a national frame-

work contract by Coles, a major food retailer.

SERVICES FOR BUSINESSES

Industrial logic and our

partnership approach

Veolia Environmental Services’ partnership approach toward its industrial clients is underpinned by its understanding of each industry’s internal logic and capacity to assimilate individual requirements and identify the recycling potential of the waste produced. Even though the services provided are in response to clients’ needs to outsource peripheral activities, the division’s integrated services offering is finely tuned to their core business.

60%of revenue generated by industrial

and service-sector clients

813,000client companies

39

In the same sector, but in the United Kingdom, Veolia Environmental

Services was singled out on two fronts by Asda, which serves

13 million customers a week in its 300 supermarkets. After 10

consecutive years as an ally, Veolia Environmental Services was

named the best overall supplier and biggest contributor to the

Asda sustainability agenda in recognition of its continued work

and support in delivering Asda’s CSR aspiration of zero waste to

landfill.

MATERIALS AND BIOWASTE RECOVERY

Beyond the specific characteristics of the country’s highly dissuasive

fiscal policy to reduce waste landfilling, the situation in the United

Kingdom is a good illustration of a trend that is being driven by the

powerful lever of European regulations, and which demands an

industrial response with suitable facilities that are geographically

well sited.

In line with this trend, and to meet growing demand, in 2010, Veolia

Environmental Services opened in Castle Donington, in the East

Midlands, a materials recovery facility for paper, board, and metal

and plastic packaging. The location and capacity of this new MRF

will meet the regional economy’s needs and enable the division to

develop a complete recovery process with a local focus.

In France, while continuing to invest in sophisticated MRFs, two

of which have been planned since the opening of the center in

Nantes, our company’s policy has also been to invest in resource

recovery from biowaste, primarily from the agrifood and retailing

sectors. In this segment, one of the Grenelle Environment Forum’s

priorities, Veolia Environmental Services is rapidly expanding its

capacity for organic and energy resources recovery by building

several anaerobic digestion facilities, which are scheduled over

the next three years.

AUSTRALIAN GROUP WESTFIELD CHOOSES

VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

Westfi eld awarded Veolia Environmental Services an integrated waste management

contract for more than 30 Australian malls.

The fourth of the Center Parcs leisure

parks in France, the Domaine des Trois

Forêts, opened its doors in the Moselle

region. The center’s concept imposes

meticulous waste management and ease

of waste disposal for the mainly German,

Belgian and Dutch visitors, who are

sensitive to nature and respectful of the

environment. With 900 cottages on

400 hectares, the park is the equivalent

of a town with a population of 5,000.

To meet these requirements and based

on its experience at the other three

Center Parcs for which it manages

waste and wastewater services,

Veolia Environmental Services designed

a system upstream of treatment that

has no fewer than 53 waste collection

areas, with sections for recyclables

and the associated signage.

Center Parcs:

accent on image

and customer-care


MAINTENANCE SHUTDOWNS: PLAN AHEAD AND VISUALIZE

Large energy, chemicals and materials producers require specific

industrial maintenance services, with high standards for safety,

environmental impact management and speed of work. In this

field, which demands trust, technical expertise, organizational

skills and the ability to be flexible, Veolia Environmental Services is

a respected partner of the principal players in these sectors. In

2010, the division was singled out in Europe for the QHSE gold

medal by the SABIC group, and in France, for the Tigre d’Argent

prize by the Exxon group, which classifies it as a first-tier partner.

Veolia Environmental Services regularly cleans refinery tanks in

Australia, the United States, France and the United Kingdom.

This entails dissolving the sludge that forms inside the tanks,

which can amount to several thousand cubic meters. To further

improve this service, we are testing a technology that can provide

a three-dimensional image of the sludge inside a tank, viewable

from the outside. By having this type of map, which pinpoints the

sludge formations and provides information on their morphology,

the operation can be planned ahead and the maintenance work

targeted accordingly, thereby saving time and increasing efficiency.

ROBOTICS: SAFE AND EFFICIENT

On another scale, Veolia Environmental Services was able to

eliminate a major safety concern that also had economic implica-

tions. Inflammable liquids, principally hydrocarbons, are stored at

million of sites: service stations, warehouses in medium and small

companies, tanks in heating systems, and so on. To perform the

cleaning and visual inspections required by law, an operator

previously had to enter the tanks. Inspired by the automated

systems deployed for refinery tanks and by a desire to make the

operations safer, the technical teams of Sarp – Veolia Environmental

Services designed a robot. With a rotating head for high-pressure

cleaning and a continuous gas analyzer, it can be combined with

an inspection kit comprising a camera, lighting and laser tele meter.

These systems are entirely controlled from the outside and can

simultaneously perform diagnosis, cleaning and inspection, as

well as produce a detailed report to which videos and still

photographs can be attached.

The robot was developed before several oil companies reviewed

their specifications and decided not to permit people to work in-

side tanks in the future. It also opened the way to new solutions for

the inspection and maintenance of wastewater collection lines.

Here, Sarp has consolidated its leadership in France with its acqui-

sition of Madeline, a long-standing partner of the Veolia group in

the Lower Normandy region, where there is considerable potential

for growth due to the demographics and industrial fabric.

SERVICES FOR BUSINESSES

New industrial challenges

41

THE LARGE NORTH SEA PLATFORM MARKET

Two years after completing the challenging task of dismantling

six gas platforms in the North Sea, on the Frigg Field in the Shet-

lands, and treating and recycling over 15,000 metric tons of mate-

rial, Veolia Environmental Services embarked on another major

project for Shell with the same industry partner, Peterson SBS.

The operations platforms for the Shell India gas field, in the

southern part of the North Sea, will be dismantled. Veolia

Environmental Services will be responsible for the onshore work,

which will take place in North Tyneside, in northeast England.

The project has social ramifications as well, since it will bring a

former shipyard back to life and create a large number of direct

and indirect jobs.

Our experience in the Frigg project gave us an advantage in Shell’s

consultations, but the new project, which will be subject to a

QHSE management system, will also increase the expertise and

credibility of Veolia Environmental Services and its partner in a

market with considerable potential. It is estimated that more

than 450 North Sea platforms will have to be dismantled in the

next twenty-five years. On another continent, in China, and for

another market, end-of-life ships, Veolia Environmental Services

is also paving the way to growth with a local partner and with the

same high performance and safety requirements.

Southampton is the largest cruise port

in northern Europe. A million tourists

a year board close to 300 cruise ships

there, many of them luxury liners.

To collect waste from these ships as per

the regulations, the maritime services

of Veolia Environmental Services now

have a unit that is second to none.

With the new barge, named Seagreen,

all ship waste streams can be collected

in a single trip, whereas until now, best

practices needed three trips for the same

service.

Designed according to Lloyds of London’s

standards, the Seagreen is equipped

with an onboard heavy-duty crane so

it does not take up space on the quay.

It also reduces waste collection time.

Sarp Industries, a subsidiary of

Veolia Environmental Services, provides

the same service in the French ports

of Marseilles and Dunkirk.

DISMANTLEMENT OF OFFSHORE PLATFORMS

Veolia Environmental Services helps companies in the oil and gas sectors to dismantle their platforms,

particularly in the North Sea. These operations have high environmental and economic implications

since thousands of tons of materials are recovered.

Ship waste:

Model service


An important growth pathHazardous waste treatment represents an important growth path

for Veolia Environmental Services, which has a competitive advan-

tage in the field thanks to its processes’ technical sophistication

and the many operations that have made the company the bench-

mark for this stream.

In 2010, our better-than-expected earnings confirmed our strength

in this segment, particularly in France and the United States, and

reflected the headway we have made in China. Our operational ca-

pacities were stepped up there, notably in Nanjing and Hangzhou,

as several partnerships were formalized for the construction of

new facilities. China’s sustainable development policy is furthering

our growth there. It is also aided by Western companies with Chinese

operations, such as Airbus, for which we set up several processes for

hazardous waste treatment at its Tianjin assembly plant.

“COLD PROCESSES”: ECONOMICAL, EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS

In developing hazardous waste treatment techniques, Veolia Envi-

ronmental Services also seeks savings, weighing biological or phys-

ical-chemical solutions against thermal solutions, cold centrifug-

ing against hot. This orientation, corresponding to the basic values

of an activity dedicated to protecting the environment, was reflect-

ed in 2010 by our operating methods at several facilities, which

added to their competitive advantages.

Such decisions sometimes translate into spectacular reductions in

energy consumption. For certain types of effluent, replacing a ther-

mal process with a membrane filtration system reduced the proc-

ess’s energy consumption to 1/25th of its former level. These new

applications have also opened up new recovery possibilities.

By drastically reducing the water content of oil products, their mar-

ket value is increased; at the same time, water from waste can be

recycled, leading to zero discharges and a sharp drop in withdrawals

from natural resources.

When it comes to the overall challenge of saving resources, the

company has strengthened its policy on research and facilities

for the recovery of strategic materials and producing alternative

energy from hazardous waste (see pages 54 and 55).

SITE CONTAMINATION: REHABILITATION IMPERATIVE

Veolia Environmental Services’ expertise in decontamination was

also put to work in 2010. In the United States, the first phase of a

HAZARDOUS WASTE

Hazardous waste:

raising the bar

Year after year Veolia Environmental Services continues to extend the types of hazardous waste it manages and to develop sophisticated treatment techniques. The accent is increasingly on recycling and saving resources, which optimizes the stream’s productivity and environmental performance.

43

major project was successfully completed in Oregon on the site of

an electrical power transformer station, where mercury steam

valves had been used for over thirty years to convert current. Be-

sides mercury contamination detected in the soil and ambient air,

it was found that several buildings contained asbestos. It took

10,000 hours of work to remove and carry off the contaminated

materials, and complete the first phase of site decontamination, all

done according to the strictest safety rules. The second phase,

scheduled for 2011, will involve the construction of new technical

facilities for the same power utility. Two other contracts reflect our

international expansion in decontamination beyond the major de-

veloped countries, where we manage hundreds of projects a year.

In Serbia, Veolia Environmental Services will be involved in reha-

bilitating industrial wasteland where an assembly plant will be

built for the automaker Fiat. By 2012, 200,000 metric tons of soil

will have been treated. The second contract, for the site of a former

thermal power plant in Gabon, calls for biological treatment of

contaminated soil and sediments.

In Switzerland, we will be implementing our new thermal desorp-

tion process for soil, an innovative method that avoids excavation

and, therefore, the haulage of thousands of tons of spoil.

COLD PROCESSES: VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES’

INNOVATIVE AND ECONOMICAL SOLUTIONS

At Veolia Environmental Services’ subsidiary Sarp Industries, replacing thermal

processes with cold processes reduced energy consumption to 1/25th of its former

level for certain hazardous waste treatment processes.

Supplies of out-of-date pesticides and

unwanted toxic products pose serious

threats, and public authorities often must

assume responsibility for their treatment.

This is the case in Eastern Europe, where

Veolia Environmental Services’ specialized

incineration plant in Poland must destroy

1,900 metric tons of pesticides for the

government.

In 2010, we treated over 1,500 metric tons

of pesticides and fertilizers at the request

of the Ukrainian environment minister.

Another outstanding project was carried

out for the US Army: 4,000 barrels

manufactured between 1930 and 1950

to store chemicals contained solid residue

with a high mercury content. Besides

destroying the toxic substances and

recycling the steel from the barrels,

as requested by the US Army, Veolia

Environmental Services also isolated

and treated the mercury using a

well-researched process. Our integrated

management of the project, which

involved the specialized units in

Port Arthur, Texas, and Port Washington,

Wisconsin, raised our credibility

in the eyes of the American authorities

and showed the level of integrated

response we are capable of deploying.

Out-of-date and

hazardous products


Infrastructure for integrated off ersThe European Union’s waste recovery and recycling targets and

energy considerations guide the Member States’ infrastructure

policy. Veolia Environmental Services’ integrated management

offers and expertise in the design and construction of major

facilities underpinned its brisk commercial success in 2010.

A major new contract has been signed with the UK County of

Staffordshire with the aim of completely ending the use of landfills

by 2020. The project, already programmed as part of a PFI (Private

Finance Initiative) contract includes the construction of a waste-to-

energy plant with a treatment capacity of 300,000 metric tons that

will generate 23 MWh of electricity fed into the grid, enough to

power 32,000 households.

Another PFI contract, this time with the London Borough of

Southwark, will soon see the opening of a new facility, which will

treat all of the area’s household waste and recyclables. The

development includes a mechanical biological treatment facility to

treat residual waste and a materials recovery facility to sort

recyclables. Plans also include a waste transfer station and a public

recycling and reuse center for residents to bring items that cannot

be included in standard household collections.

The facility will play a vital role in increasing the London Borough of

Southwark’s recycling rate and reducing the impact that its waste

has on the environment. The facility has the capacity to treat over

200,000 metric tons of waste. Veolia Environmental Services has now

exceeded the threshold of one million metric tons of waste managed

under the PFI contractual model developed in the United Kingdom.

NEW BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES: ENERGY AND COMPOST

In France, we have added methane production from municipal

waste, using the anaerobic digestion process, to our services for

public authorities. The process will be deployed in a major project for

Symove, the Oise Verte Environnement joint district waste

management authority. This project, a first in France, involves the

financing, construction and operation of a multi-process center

SERVICES FOR LOCAL PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

Instruments for implementing

sustainable policies

The competition for service contracts with public authorities is fierce. A proposal’s competitiveness and relevance for the particular features of the regions covered depends primarily on the bidder’s capacity for innovation in the organization of the services as well as in rolling out new technical solutions. Our contract renewal rate and success in winning new contracts reflect our added value when it comes to working with public authorities on continuous improvement and forward thinking.

We collect waste from

87.3 million people

40%of revenue generated by local public

authorities

45

ANGERS BIOPÔLE:

COMPOSTING AND

ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

The new waste recovery center in

Angers, called the Biopôle, includes

mechanical biological treatment,

composting and anaerobic digestion

facilities with a maximum capacity

of 90,000 metric tons per year.

comprising two energy-recovery system – one using anaerobic

digestion and the other incineration – after incoming waste is

sorted and ferrous and non-ferrous metals extracted. The digestates

from anaerobic digestion will also be recycled as compost. This new

type of facility can achieve an overall recovery rate of close to 95% on

a flow of 130,000 metric tons at full capacity.

In another major project, Veolia Environmental Services is managing

the Biopôle, the new waste treatment center for the Angers Loire

metropolitan area. Besides sorting recyclable materials, the plant,

with a maximum capacity of 90,000 metric tons, employs a strictly

biological process. Its anaerobic digestion system, based on a

technology tested by the company in Rostock, Germany, is expected

to generate 15,400 MWh of electrical power for sale to the grid. In all,

23,000 metric tons of compost will be recycled as an organic soil

conditioner.

Last, in a project that also includes mechanical sorting, anaerobic

digestion and composting, the Pays de Caux regional waste treat-

ment and recovery authority contracted Veolia Environmental

Services to design and operate the household waste treatment plant

in Brametot, in the Seine-Maritime region. This public service

management contract provides another indication of public

authorities’ growing interest in contracting out waste management

and Veolia Environmental Services’ capability to respond with the

best solutions from both the technical and economic standpoints.

Twenty years after its design, the Nantes metropolitan area’s Arc-en-Ciel facility is still evolving to meet the area’s very high

waste recovery targets. The plant, operated by Veolia Environmental Services, has two new high-performance materials

recovery facilities, one dedicated to source-separated waste, the other to non-hazardous industrial waste. The second,

which is supported by Ademe, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, is unmatched in France for efficiency.

The two new facilities make Arc-en-Ciel a front-runner in waste recovery technologies and reducing impacts associated

with waste treatment.

Very high effi ciency in Nantes


INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND INCENTIVE PRICING

Our company devotes considerable energy to developing infor-

mation management because it is a common denominator in

service optimization. The introduction of incentive pricing into

waste management, which involves recording the weight of

waste bins or the frequency of their collection, is a good illustra-

tion of how information management can reduce waste, improve

source separation and ensure that the resources deployed corre-

spond to the real needs.

Although lagging behind the United States and some of its Euro-

pean neighbors in incentive pricing, France is now seeing strong

growth in this method. The Grenelle Environment Forum will

make incentive pricing compulsory starting in 2015, but we are

already deploying it for more than 700,000 people across the

country.

Our company won a new household waste collection and treatment

contract in 2010 from the Loir et Sarthe waste authority, SICTOM,

which represents 42 municipalities with over 50,000 residents. To

satisfy the authority’s customer services requirements, we will offer

“à la carte” services organized and tailored according to the different

types of waste producers. Based on the data gathered for pricing,

we will be able to optimize the logistics and collection rounds, and

determine effective awareness activities for encouraging source

separation; these will reduce the environmental impacts of waste

collection.

VACUUM COLLECTION AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Vacuum collection is a very advanced method for reducing im-

pacts and inconveniences, with inlets and underground networks

carrying waste by suction to a terminal. Its list of advantages is


New challenges in urban areas

Improvements are being made to waste collection by reducing its environmental impacts, raising quality while containing costs, and making consumers a part of household waste management. Veolia Environmental Services and its industrial partners share a talent for innovation in services for public authorities, providing them with finely tuned responses that are better adapted to their particular urban setting and that bring the added value of technology to serve the requirements of a local service.

47

WEEE TREATMENT AT THE ANGERS FACILITY,

THE MOST EFFICIENT IN FRANCE

long: the system eliminates the clutter of waste bins on the

streets; it is sanitary; the inlets are available 24/7; and the number

of collection vehicles needed is drastically reduced.

In its functional approach and esthetic impact, vacuum collection

is a logical solution for major urban development and redevelop-

ment projects.

Veolia Environmental Services includes this solution in its pro-

posals, in a partnership with Envac, the leader in this technology.

Our first project of this type is under way in a development of

4,000 apartments in the municipalities of Romainville and Les Lilas,

in the Seine-Saint-Denis region near Paris. The second, for the

municipality of Issy-les-Moulineaux, will deploy the mobile version,

Movac, which is particularly suitable for programs of fewer than

2,000 housing units and for smaller-scale urban redevelopment. In

this system, waste storage tanks are emptied by vacuum trucks.

The two projects are scheduled to go into operation in 2011 and

2013, respectively.

LOCAL CONSIDERATIONS FOSTERING INNOVATION

Innovation does not come exclusively from technological advances.

We are experimenting with collecting source-separated waste

in a horse-drawn trailer in the Flemish town of Hazebrouck. We

developed a prototype for the trailer in aluminum and composite

materials to make it as light as possible for the experiment, which,

for the time being, is limited to one neighborhood.

Suitable for densely populated areas, this very environmentally

friendly solution attracts a lot of attention and raises awareness

about sorting recyclable materials.

That is also the purpose of creating conveniently located drop-

off centers. Here, the service we offer is directly for the public,

Organizing separate WEEE collection

in communities at waste drop-off centers

or through door-to-door collection

accompanied by communication

campaigns result in more returns

of this type of equipment.

End-of-life product returns to retailers

is another factor driving volumes up.

The European Union has set a target

of 10 kg of WEEE collected per person

per year for 2014, and that means more

capacity is needed to treat this waste.

As a pioneer in this area in France,

Veolia Environmental Services is

continuing its industrialization of WEEE

treatment. At the facility in Rousset,

near Aix-en-Provence, the first treatment

phases, including the crucial step

of decontamination, were mechanized

in 2009, and the entire process will be

automated in 2011. This will make the

facility one of the most modern in Europe

for treating small household appliances

and enable it to produce very clean metals

and plastics.

At the Angers facility, which is already

setting the standard for its capacity

to treat all categories of WEEE and

the recovery rates it has achieved, major

work continues on completely

automating the separation of about

10 categories of plastic. The process

will be operational in 2011.…

The Angers plant is the first in France to treat all categories of waste electronic and electrical

equipment. It reaches material recovery rates above the legal requirement: 84% of the weight

of small household appliances, 88% for screens and 94% for large refrigerating appliances.

Increasing amounts

of WEEE


which is informed through various municipal channels. The service

is delivered in town, either occasionally or on regular dates, in

a space divided into disposal areas based on waste category or

end- of-life product. The system also includes signage and a brief

communication campaign to give the service an identity and a

convivial image.

MAJOR SUCCESSES FOR MAJOR COMMITMENTS

Our personnel’s credentials, motivation and commitment brought

many commercial successes in 2010. In France, almost all our

contracts were renewed and we won 42 new ones. Our contract

with Greater Dijon was exceptional in terms of the area covered

and the range of collection services deployed, including the


In the United States, Australia and Europe, Veolia Environmental Services seizes all opportunities to use rail or water for its waste transfer operations. This approach – consistent with the nature of the services

provided by the company – found two new applications in France in 2010. The first was related to the Lyons metropolitan area’s sustainable development policy, which led to EPR (European Products Recycling),

the broker for raw materials recycled by Veolia Environmental Services, being contracted to handle the paper from source-separated waste collection.

To reach the targets for reducing the Lyons area’s carbon footprint, our company set up a rail haulage solution to move 20,000 metric tons per year, making it one of the biggest operations of this type in the paper

sector. This translates into 300 metric tons of CO2 avoided annually. Another highlight of 2010 was river transportation for the biodiesel produced in Limay from spent cooking oil. The first barge left the site loaded

with 1,000 metric tons for delivery to a distributor of oil products.

…

Accent on rail and water

49

HIGH ADDED-VALUE

SERVICES FOR THE GREATER

DIJON METROPOLITAN AREA

Veolia Environmental Services is the

new operator collecting all household

waste and recyclables and managing

the collection bins for Greater Dijon.

The contract, covering the city and its

50 surrounding municipalities, totaling

263,000 people, also includes educating

the public about sorting, and preparations

for the introduction of a special levy for

implementing public collection services

at stores and small businesses.

management of incentive pricing and introduction of a special levy

for waste collection from stores and small businesses. Our

guarantees to the existing 150 collection workers, preparation of an

improvement plan leading to a reduction in the number of vehicles

needed to provide the services, and commitment to offset all the CO2

emissions generated by the collection services set our proposal apart.

In the United Kingdom, the division renewed its prestigious contract

with the City of Westminster, London, and consolidated a partner-

ship built up over 15 years with service provided 24/7. By combining

added value and cost containment, Veolia Environmental Services

was also awarded new contracts for recycling and street cleaning

in the UK, in particular with East Hertfordshire Council and the

East Kent Joint Waste Partnership. Also in Kent, the company

renewed and extended its contract with Medway Council.

In Germany, Veolia Environmental Services won the contract for

collection services in the city of Erkrath, population 40,000, and

gained a position in Hamburg with the creation of a semi-public

company for recycling paper, which strengthened its leadership in

this market.

In the United States, our contracts with many major public

authorities, such as Orange County, Florida, and Los Angeles County,

California, were renewed.

The sludge produced by the 11 wastewater

treatment plants in Hong Kong is steadily

increasing and could eventually reach

2,000 metric tons a day.

The government held a consultation on

treating and recovering energy from the

sludge, which concluded with a decision

to opt for a project resulting from close

cooperation between the Veolia water

and waste management divisions.

Sludge is eliminated by incineration,

and that generates a considerable

amount of steam.

At full capacity, the amount of energy

generated from the steam will surpass

the plant’s needs and could supply

the public electricity network.

In addition, the project’s architectural

design meets a requirement for

integrative landscaping, reflecting the

Hong Kong government’s wish to open

the plant to the public, with educational

tours of the site offered.

Hong Kong: going

beyond our needs

RESOURCE REC


The need to conserve resources continues to bolster

the importance of transforming waste into secondary

raw materials and energy. Veolia Environmental

Services has made this activity a key focus of its

positioning and uses the most advanced technologies

to recover all waste sources.

OVERY

51

In 2010, Veolia Environmental Services’ treatment facilities

recovered 12.8 million metric tons of waste.


SOURCE-SEPARATED COLLECTION: FROM SEQUENTIAL SORTING

TO SALTO

Two years after the source-separated waste materials recovery

fa cility in Châteaubernard, France started operating, the sequential

sorting process (SALTO) patented by Veolia Environmental Services

was expanded to the materials recovery facilities in Laluque, in the

Landes area of southwestern France, and Sarcelles and Vaux-le-

Pénil in the Paris region.

Sequential sorting technology will now be rolled out under the

brand name SALTO and 10 new facilities are due to open in France

and the United Kingdom by 2012.

Through the optimized use of available technologies, this process

uses a single sorting machine to separate more than five different

materials – and several categories of plastic – while also signifi-

cantly improving the quantitative and qualitative performance of

the process (see box). It also improves work, health and safety

conditions for employees, since the sorter’s job becomes a quality

control activity. In practical terms, SALTO already enables the sort-

ing of plastic resins that are not currently recovered but that

upcoming regulations will include in waste sorting instructions.

Veolia Environmental Services is also working on applying the pro-

cedure to other waste sources.

OVER 50% OF NON-HAZARDOUS INDUSTRIAL WASTE RECOVERED

Unsorted non-hazardous industrial waste is very disparate and

difficult to recover. In this respect, the high-performance materials

recovery facilities designed by Veolia Environmental Services are a

real step forward and halve the amount of non-hazardous industrial

waste sent to landfill. After the Ludres facility, near Nancy, France,

another 100,000 metric tons capacity plant was opened in Nantes

as part of the Arc-en-Ciel facility. It boasts an additional unit for the

extraction of light plastics, notably packaging films, for recycling.

Over 50% of inbound waste can be recovered by these two facilities,

producing virtually equal proportions of waste for recycling

– paper, board, wood, ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metals and

plastics – and waste to be transformed into solid recovered fuel

(SRF).

SRF is designed to meet user specifications for use in authorized

facilities such as cement works or industrial furnaces and is partly

composed of biomass. It represents one way of conserving fossil

RESOURCE RECOVERY

New generation waste sorting

To increase our capacity for recovering materials and reduce the proportion of waste sent to landfill or incinerated, we have focused on developing our sorting capacity. After our industrial pilot facility produced conclusive results, in 2010 we started to deploy innovative recovery solutions for two types of waste streams: source-separated household waste and non-hazardous industrial waste.

In 2010, Veolia Environmental Services

recovered

12.8 million metric tons of waste

329non-hazardous waste materials recovery

and recycling facilities

53

fuels, achieving energy independence and cutting greenhouse gas

emissions.

Consequently, energy prices, carbon trading and strict European

regulations constitute this activity’s growth drivers. Veolia

Environmental Services is the SRF leader in Germany with 1 million

metric tons produced a year, and will continue to expand its

capacity in this sector in France. Two new plants similar to the

Nantes facility are scheduled in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

and Upper Normandy regions of France.

SALTO, the self-adapting sequential sorting process developed and patented by Veolia, represents a major innovation.

It is based primarily on the combination of an algorithm with an optical sensor system that enables the sorting machine

to analyze the composition of the waste flow on a circular conveyor belt. Using this information, the system automatically

adapts the sorting instructions according to the primary category of waste material detected. Once a sorting sequence

is completed according to the instructions, and as new waste material arrives on the conveyor belt, the composition of

the waste flow changes. The system therefore reanalyzes the waste flow composition and activates a new sorting sequence.

VEOLIA

ENVIRONMENTAL

SERVICES’ ARC-EN-CIEL

FACILITY NEAR NANTES

A whole host of innovative

technologies to turn waste

into a resource.

Self-adapting sequential sorting


Veolia Environmental Services’ operations cover a very large spec-

trum of non-hazardous and hazardous waste recycling activities,

from mainstream processes to niche markets. Recovering new

waste sources, developing waste recovery procedures, understand-

ing the market and implementing internal synergies are all ways of

fulfilling strategic objectives.

A EUROPEAN DEPARTMENT FOR THE SALE OF RECOVERED

PAPER WORLDWIDE

Within a few years, Veolia Environmental Services has become a major

player in paper recycling and trading in Europe, with over five million

metric tons collected in Germany, France and the United Kingdom

(the main contributors), as well as in Belgium, Denmark and Poland.

Given the scale of our operations in this market, both in terms of

the volumes involved and commercial activities in over 25 countries

on four continents, we needed coordinated organization at a com-

panywide level.

Each of Veolia Environmental Services’ European subsidiaries has

access to a centralized recovered paper sales organization, which

coordinates trading across Europe.

This European sales organization is the preferred partner of large

papermakers operating in several countries. Most importantly, it

enables us to guarantee supplies on a European scale and obtain

competitive sales conditions in return. The sharing of information

between the main geographic regions (Europe, Asia and North

America) also improves our knowledge of the global market and

enables us to anticipate developments. Our European sales organi-

zation enables centralized management of sea freight and its

optimization through grouping together volumes to be shipped.

Likewise, in addition to our office in Singapore, we have opened an

outlet in China, which is an essential export market for European

countries because their national markets’ requirements are not

sufficient to absorb their volumes of recovered paper.

HAZARDOUS WASTE: TWO SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS

In hazardous waste, two projects exemplify the commitment of

Sarp Industries, Veolia Environmental Services’ subsidiary, to the

search for innovative solutions and the construction of industrial

facilities to capture and recover waste sources that are under-

exploited and at the same time represent a risk for the environ-

ment. In 2010, in Limay, France’s first production plant of second-

generation biofuel derived from spent cooking oils operated for its

first year. This outlet has created industrial capacity that was previ-

ously lacking and now offers a high-added-value solution for the

recovery of a waste source that meets key economic and energy-

saving objectives.

The Osilub project carried out in collaboration with Total also

reflects our aspiration to achieve high-quality regeneration of used

RESOURCE RECOVERY

Strategic positions

Sorters no longer have to handle waste,

thanks to the remote control sorting

system developed by Veolia

Environnement’s Research & Innovation

center, which reached the industrial

prototype stage in 2010. This system

comprises a device that projects the

image of the conveyer belt onto a touch

screen. The sorter uses the screen

to select an object that is then ejected

by a compressed air jet. This project

represents a new stage in Veolia

Environmental Services’ work on how to

improve the comfort, health and safety

of sorters in materials recovery facilities.

Remote control sorting

55

motor oil. The plant, which is being built in Gonfreville-l’Orcher,

within the port of Le Havre, will not only increase France’s very

limited capacity to treat this waste source, but will also use

technologies that increase the recovery rate to over 80%.

TECHNOLOGICAL NICHE MARKETS AND STRATEGIC MATERIALS

For the recovery of hazardous industrial wastes, Veolia Environ-

mental Services is expanding in technological niche markets. For

example, to treat industrial sludge primarily from the mechanical

and auto industries, we use a semi-industrial process that separates

the sludge components and enables both the regeneration of the

oil and the recycling of the metals.

Sarp Industries has also developed an iodine recovery process. This

rare halogen is found in some industrial waste and, in addition to

its biological functions, can be used for a variety of applications

including medical imagery and the manufacture of high-perform-

ance materials. Another advantage of this new technology is that

the facilities created to separate and treat the iodine can also be

used to recover valuable metals like nickel, cobalt and molybde-

num.

The extraction of valuable materials is also a key technological and

commercial objective in the recycling of catalysts used to purify

natural gas. Veolia Environmental Services has bolstered its posi-

tion in this international market with the launch of a facility in

Switzerland that is a benchmark as far as process reliability and

recovery rates are concerned (see box).

The production of natural gas, which

fulfils a large proportion of world energy

needs, includes a purification process

that removes the mercury and sulfur

present in this resource using catalysts,

which are small ceramic spheres that

contain precious metals. The catalysts

can be recycled once they are saturated

with mercury and sulfur.

In addition to our already highly efficient

solutions for battery recycling and

mercury recovery through distillation,

we have expanded our offer to include

a new gas catalyst recycling procedure

that isolates the mercury and recovers

the high-purity precious metals.

TRADE IN SECONDARY RESOURCES

In 2010, Veolia Environmental Services sold nearly five million metric

tons of recovered paper in Europe.

Closed-loop recycling

of catalysts


CAPTURING AND RECOVERING

Veolia Environmental Services works continuously on improving

processes so that biogas derived from fermenting organic waste in

landfills can be produced faster and better, converted into energy

and prevented from contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

In Australia, our company has become a benchmark for its

contribution to public policies in this field. We operate two very

large landfill sites in the country, including the Ti Tree Bioenergy

facility in Queensland, which treats around 400,000 metric tons of

waste a year and produces enough electricity to meet the needs

of 4,500 households. Its production capacity was increased in

October 2010 when a third waste-to-energy unit came online.

METHANE PRODUCTION: MOTIVATING CONDITIONS

In Europe, methane production by anaerobic digestion is another

biological waste treatment process that we are developing

in compliance with two of the European Union’s stated aims:

to increase the share of renewable energies to 20% of energy

consumption by 2020 and to reduce the amount of biodegradable

waste in landfills – currently about one-third of household waste. In

2010, Veolia Environmental Services consolidated its new positions

in this sector. In France, local authorities entrusted us with the

operation of the Angers methane-to-energy plant and with the

design and operation of plants in Brametot and Beauvais, which use

dry, continuous, or batch technologies on a case-by-case basis.

We are also expanding into wet technology, which is particularly

well suited to methane production using food waste from the food

processing industry and unsold goods from the food retail industry.

Seven such projects are scheduled over the next two years.

ROSTOCK: INJECTING METHANE INTO THE GAS GRID

As well as seeking to improve efficiency in recovering electricity

and heat from biogas, Veolia Environmental Services’ R&D is

focusing on more advanced treatment technologies that enable

the production of methane that is equivalent to natural gas and

can be used as biofuel.

For example, at our Claye-Souilly site in France, we have developed

the first industrial pilot unit for the production of biomethane fuel

from biogas captured from non-hazardous landfill waste.

Injecting treated biogas into the natural gas network another

RESOURCE RECOVERY

The full potential

of organic matter

Organic waste has significant potential for use in the energy and agricultural sectors using a variety of technologies. From bioenergies to composting, in 2010 Veolia Environmental Services invested in all the biological treatment processes, providing new technical solutions and acquiring positions in new markets.

1.3 millionmetric tons of compost produced

127composting centers

57

high-value added outlet, favored by some countries in Europe as

a means of energy independence, particularly Germany, the

Netherlands and Sweden. This is precisely the purpose of the

methane production plant that we operate in Rostock, Germany,

which treats 40,000 metric tons of organic matter a year and,

after treatment of the biogas, produces over three million cubic

meters of methane that is injected into the public gas grid, or the

equivalent of the heating needs of 2,000 households. A fraction of

the biogas is used to cogenerate electricity and heat for the plant’s

own use. In all, the Rostock activity avoids 15,000 metric tons a

year of CO2 emissions. As well as our command of the technology,

the expertise we have acquired in Germany will serve us well in

France, where authorization for the application of the same

process is expected soon.

COMPOSTING: NEW REFERENCES

In France, which is Europe’s leading agricultural producer, the

production of organic soil conditioners and non-fossil fuel fertilizers

resolves issues facing both the agricultural and waste industries.

Veolia Environmental Services is also focusing research and

development on the composting sector, either as a separate activity

or as an additional stage of the methane production process.

In 2010, the 10,000 metric tons a year of compost we produce from

green waste at our Signes facility in the Var region of France

received the French AB organic certification, rewarding our efforts

to meet the highest quality standards. We are also working on

producing high quality certified compost from mixed organic

waste, mainly household waste. In this activity, which is particular

to France, our company has initiated research in partnership with

the agricultural industry.

ORGANIC COMPOST

The compost produced by Veolia Environmental Services at its Signes facility

in the Var region of France obtained the country’s AB organic certification in 2010.

Compost quality, speed of decomposition

and odor pollution all depend on the

category of inbound waste and more

importantly on ventilation conditions

and windrow temperature.

After initiating a pilot test, Veolia

Environmental Services is trying out

a new forced ventilation composting

process on an industrial scale at a unit

under construction in Parcy-sur-Sarthe,

France, which will treat green waste

and wastewater sludge.

The method is based on regulating

the windrows’ temperature, which is

constantly measured by probes, through

ventilation. This process accelerates

decomposition, increases treatment

capacity and reduces the number of

times the compost has to be turned.

In all, it increases both productivity

and compost quality.

Forced ventilation

OUTLOOK> The world produces four billion metric tons

of waste every year.

> Just one-fourth of this waste is currently

recovered or recycled.

> Our planet has limitations: depletion of natural

resources, environmental problems and soaring

raw material prices.

> The waste economy is destined to play

a fundamental role in how our planet manages

its resources in the 21st century.


“Of the four billion metric tons of waste produced

worldwide, just one billion is currently being

recovered (all types inclusive).

That leaves three billion metric tons to recover,

which is an enormous potential.

Our road map is the same as ever: we continue

to turn waste into a resource.”

Denis Gasquet, Senior Executive Vice-President of

Veolia Environnement and CEO of Veolia Environmental Services


CONTENTS

04 EDITORIAL BY DENIS GASQUET,

Senior Executive Vice-President of Veolia Environnement Chief Executive Offi cer of Veolia Environmental Services 06 GOVERNANCE

08 2010 REPORT

10 An expert’s viewpoint12 World Waste Survey14 Profile16 2010 highlights

18 PERFORMANCE

20 Economic performance24 Social performance32 Environmental performance

36 SERVICES

38 Services for businesses42 Hazardous waste44 Services for local public authorities

50 RESOURCE RECOVERY

58 OUTLOOK

This document was produced by the Veolia Environnement Communications Department.

Editorial oversight and coordination: Zahra Azmoudeh, Sybille Derbès.

Veolia Environmental Services project manager: Sandra Vedel.

In charge of images: Laure Duquesne.

Author: Roland Pilloni.

Designed and produced by:

Photo credits: ASDA; Claude Vasconi Architecte; Westfi eld; photothèque Veolia Environnement (Frédéric Beraud,

Samuel Bigot/Andia; Craig Connor/NNP; Alexis Duclos; Rodolphe Escher; Olivier Guerrin; Justin Grainge;

Doug Hill/Veolia Environmental Services; Matthew Jones/Veolia Environmental Services; Stéphane Lavoué;

Christophe Majani d’Inguimbert; Marine Services; Jean-Marie Ramès; Nicolas Vercellino; Stéphanie Zinzula).

English texts: Alto international.

Production manager: Jean-Claude Le Dunc.

Printed by Stipa.

This document has been printed with 100% vegetable-based inks and glazes, on FSC chlorine and acid-free paper, containing no heavy metals and using virgin fi bers from sustainably managed forests.

Veolia Environmental Services

36-38, avenue Kléber

75116 Paris, France

Tel.: 33 (0)1 71 75 00 00

www.veolia-environmentalservices.com

BUSINESS OVERVIEW 2010

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business overview 2010 - environmental services

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