[     News listing ](/en/newsroom/news "  News listing")

 13 Dec. 2018 



 

 

 

   ![Veolia rencontre 14 start-up et PME innovantes sur le thème de la transformation de l'entreprise](/sites/g/files/dvc4206/files/styles/default/public/image/2018/12/open-inovation-veolia.jpg.webp?itok=EI78j7pZ)   



**On Tuesday 11 December on the initiative of the European Commission’s European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot, Veolia hosted 14 start-ups and innovative European companies for pitching & networking sessions at its headquarters in Aubervilliers. It was an opportunity for these entrepreneurs to present their solutions to transforming business to around a hundred Veolia employees.**

## Making businesses more agile, flexible, human and collaborative

Initiated by Veolia's **Research and Innovation Department**, the event focused on **four major themes**:

- improving the "employee experience", boosting employee motivation and commitment;
- reinventing working methods, developing a more agile and collaborative corporate culture
- rethinking processes and organizations in order to improve performance and productivity
- improving relations with customers and with any other ecosystem actor.



 

 

 



Christophe Nebon, Director of Research and Innovation and Chief Technology and Performance Officer at Veolia, introduced the day: "In all Veolia entities, wherever we operate, innovation is not optional. That's why we are open and attentive to the solutions your start-ups are offering. Cooperating with innovative start-ups helps us grow and transform. "

 





 

 

 

 





Throughout the day, 14 SMEs and start-ups presented their solutions and business models. Individual meetings explored the ways start-ups and Veolia could collaborate.



 

 

 



 ![](/sites/g/files/dvc4206/files/styles/quote_design_v2/public/image/2016/06/Estelle-Brachlianoff_0.jpg.webp?itok=tq9aFgdP) 

Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia's Chief Operating Officer, concluded: "Digital solutions are already transforming all our business processes and opening up new avenues for exploring relationships with our service users or in circular economy loops. But it is also about changing our ways of thinking to become more flexible, more agile. Our commitment to innovation is scaling up through our Innovation Initiative, which is based on open innovation. On Innovation Day, our goal is to more closely scrutinize and identify contributions from outside; ask new questions and learn; shorten distances and be closer to all those we serve and interact with by working with your innovative start-ups."

 





 

 

 

 





## The pitch & networking event in figures:

- **14** start-ups and innovative SMEs from Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Portugal and Sweden pitched.
- **115** BtoB meetings were organized.
- **65** Veolia employees participated in the event; they came from various Group entities across the world: Africa and Middle East, Latin America, Northern Europe, United Kingdom and Ireland, France (water, recycling and waste recovery), Veolia Water Technologies, Nova Veolia, headquarters (legal, development, innovation and markets, technical and performance, and research and innovation departments).

## Start-ups and SMEs:

[720 Degrees Oy](https://720.io/) (Finland) - Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) through sensors in office buildings

[Ablio S.R.L.](https://ablio.com/) (Italy) - Live language interpretation services

[Bioservo Technologies AB](https://www.bioservo.com/) (Sweden) - Portable muscle strengthening systems for intensive work situations

[Cassantec](https://casantec.com/) (Germany) - Improve predictive maintenance and reduce operating and maintenance costs

[Cognuse](http://www.cognuse.com/) (Estonia) - Voice-guided application for transparent compliance with procedural and audit directives

[Concilio](https://www.concilio.com/en/) (France) - High quality health services platform for businesses

[CoReorient Oy/Ltd](http://coreorient.com/) (Finland) - Shared equipment and services for employees

[Cross Border Talents](https://www.cbtalents.com/ "No results") (Portugal) - Just-in-time digital skills method to recruit and train candidates

[Datapole](http://www.datapole.com/en/) (France) - Software publisher dedicated to optimizing human and material resources

[DidSon Sarl](http://didson-acoustique.com/) (France) - Innovative noise suppression technology

[HappyOrNot OY](https://www.happy-or-not.com/en/) (Finland) - Instant employee satisfaction report

[iLocator ApS](https://www.ilocator.com/) (Germany) - Raw infrastructure data acquisition and predictive maintenance

[Linknovate Science](https://www.linknovate.com/) (Spain) - Data analysis to detect the activity of competitors and potential partners

[SaferMe](https://www.safer.me/) (Sweden) - Advanced mobile health and safety management platform, designed for teams working in medium to high risk industries

[**European Innovation Council (EIC) Pilot**](https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/european-innovation-council-eic-pilot)   
The aim of the European Innovation Council pilot (EIC pilot) is to support high-level innovators, start-ups, small businesses and researchers who offer radically different solutions in terms of existing products, services or business models, and that have potential for international development.

### More:

[Veolia and innovation](https://www.veolia.com/en/veolia-group/innovation)