Veolia Group marches toward ecological transformation

Through the acquisition of its counterpart Suez, Veolia, one of the world's largest environmental services groups, is marching ahead toward its goal－becoming the global leader in ecological transformation.

Ecological transformation involves the balancing of economic growth with social and environmental objectives.

Founded in 1853, the French company that specializes in water, waste and energy management is implementing its Impact 2023 program to push ecological transformation as part of its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The world is facing an ecological emergency and the time for transition has passed, according to Christophe Maquet, senior executive vice-president of Veolia.

"When facing such a vast challenge, a major benchmark company is needed, one that can lead the way for the entire industry. Through the acquisition of Suez, we are able to form significant partnerships to combine talents, expertise and solutions in order to lead the world toward another model; to make ecological transformation the driving force behind a renewed market landscape," he said.

Merger to be completed

According to Veolia, the group will complete the merger with its counterpart Suez no later than early 2022.

Suez will be divided into two parts. Veolia will retain the larger half, whose revenue is nearly 10 billion euros ($11.79 billion), and use it to contribute toward its goal of becoming a global leader in ecological transformation, in particular via its activities in the United Kingdom, Spain, the United States, Latin America, Australia and Suez's water technologies business.

A consortium of investors, the majority of which are French, consisting of Meridiam, Global Infrastructure Partners, Caisse des Depots and CNP Assurances, submitted a binding final offer to Veolia and Suez for the purchase of Suez. The new Suez thus formed would have revenues of nearly 7 billion euros.

"The merger of Veolia and Suez is the largest transaction in the global environmental protection industry. Thanks to the addition of 10 billion euros from Suez, Veolia Group will have a revenue of 37 billion euros,"Maquet said.

As for China, except for water business and two hazardous waste treatment projects on the Chinese mainland, all other assets of Suez, including the business in China's Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao, will be transferred to Veolia.

"This transaction is not only very important in scale, but more importantly, it can form a joint force, so that we can jointly cope with the ecological crisis we are facing now," he noted.

The transaction will help Veolia invest more in innovation and environmental protection, explore more solutions and promote the group's exchange with local regulators in green development, the executive added. He confirmed that the merger of Veolia and Suez helps to achieve the targets of Veolia's strategic Impact 2023 plan, enabling Veolia with key partners and cities to develop the green economy and also to support industrial clients in Asia in pursuing green growth and ecological transformation.

Sustainable future

With more than 17 years at Veolia, Maquet has returned to manage the company's businesses in China and Asia after years of working in regions and countries including the Middle East and Japan.

"I am so happy and proud to be back to China and Asia. This is the place where the group is growing at a higher pace," Maquet said.

According to the group, its revenue in China has doubled in the areas of water, waste and energy management in the past five years, through cooperating with Chinese industrial and municipal partners in ecological transformation.

For example, in Pudong, Shanghai, the group manages the supply of drinking water. It is China's first full concession contract concerning drinking water treatment, distribution and customer services. It also provides all-encompassing industrial water services for Tianjin Soda. In Beijing, it oversees the full water cycle at Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Co and reduces fresh water consumption.

"We have been operating in China for more than 30 years," said Maquet, adding that the group has not only brought in investment, advanced technologies and operation expertise but also introduced new business models to the Chinese environmental industry. "We are among the earliest market players to advocate and participate in various types of public-private partnerships and pollution treatment outsourcing."

Currently, China is not simply developing waste treatment and environmental protection, but is more focused on the development of a low-carbon and circular economy, which is also a very important signal for Veolia, the executive said.

On July 16, China's national carbon emissions trading market was launched, another significant step in helping the country reduce its carbon footprint and meet its targets of peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

Maquet believes that the power sector, industrial production, especially heavy industry, transportation and construction, are the main contributors to carbon emissions.

"We need to reform those industries to make them greener and more low carbon and promote the circular economy," he added.

By 2020, Veolia's energy business had helped to reduce nearly 190,000 metric tons in carbon emissions, while its waste business had helped to avoid 400,000 tons of emissions in China. For example, the company recovers energy from sludge at several wastewater treatment plants in Haikou and Urumqi. In Kedong county, Heilongjiang province, Veolia uses the mixture of coal and biomass to provide heat for locals in freezing winters. It also provides material recycling services such as for electric vehicle batteries in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, and manages a recycled polyethylene terephthalate plant in Zhejiang province, which is one of the largest of its kind in China.

"The decarbonization goal of China is a good opportunity for foreign companies like Veolia. We would like to continue to implement Veolia's strategy of Impact 2023 and share our experience and knowledge with China and realize green development together with our Chinese partners,"Maquet said.