Following the implementation, by many countries, of exceptional measures to curb the Covid-19 virus epidemic, Veolia is organizing itself to ensure the maintenance of its essential services, while guaranteeing the safety of its employees.
Trained in crisis management, Veolia women and men rely on proven organization and methods to carry out their missions for public authorities and industrial companies, even in deteriorated conditions:
- treatment and distribution of drinking water
- wastewater treatment
- waste collection, treatment and recycling
- treatment for hazardous medical waste
- energy
- industrial operations
Continuity plan for essential services: drinking water, sanitation, waste management, energy
The generalization of the epidemic in all geographies and its economic consequences have led the Group to implement measures for all its operations in order to minimize the effects of this crisis on its employees, reduce the impact on results and prepare for the post-crisis rebound as of now.
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To guarantee the maintenance and quality of its services, Veolia activated its continuity plan at the beginning of the epidemic, organizing country by country and business by business, the continuation of its activity.
The first part of this plan: reduce the number of employees in the field in order to avoid contamination among employees.
The second part: ensure the continuity of essential services (drinking water, sanitation and waste management) with our employees who remain mobilized in the field.
In both water and waste, Veolia ensures the maintenance of its essential services thanks to the commitment of its operators in the face of the epidemic:
The safety of our employees first and foremost
"My main concern is to ensure that our water or waste staff [...] is working under sufficiently safe conditions[...]. This is our main concern today."
Antoine Frérot, on BFM Business, March 19, 2020.
(Interview in French, see aside)
Veolia a besoin de 90.000 masques par semaine pour ses collaborateurs qui assurent la distribution de l'eau pic.twitter.com/oYEUTg53Go
— BFM Business (@bfmbusiness) March 19, 2020
Respect of barrier gestures: respect of safety distances, hand washing with soap or hydroalcoholic gel, organization of remote work (at home) or team rotation to protect our employees.
Safety devices: protective equipment, gloves, masks, temperature measurement, reinforced disinfection of vehicles and equipment, etc...
The measures taken by our employees in Asia, which was affected earlier, helped to limit the consequences of the epidemic. In Europe, teams are mobilizing to ensure quality service, despite the restrictions gradually being introduced, for all of the Group's activities. The digital transformation that the company has initiated and deployed throughout the world is contributing to Veolia's ability to maintain its activities even in deteriorated conditions.
All our business units around the world are mobilized
Wherever we are present, our employees in the field are facing the epidemic to continue to provide the service:
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The Veolia Foundation puts its experience of epidemics at the service of the Group
For more than 20 years, the Foundation has been intervening in humanitarian emergencies. Humanitarian emergencies generally involve major public health issues. The risk of epidemics linked to a total absence or degradation of vital services (water, sanitation, waste collection) can lead to situations where epidemics are more deadly than the disaster itself. Faced with these complex health issues, there is no standard response model. An approach that involves the actors concerned is needed. It is necessary to go beyond the silo approach to favour an approach in which all stakeholders are involved: actors from the medical sector but not only. And this is the great strength of our foundation. For more than 20 years, we have been able to develop a dense network of partners: United Nations agencies, NGOs (Médecins Sans Frontières, Médecins du Monde, French Red Cross...), universities, major international donors...