They came from all over the world, and from all walks of life, with a common concern for environmental security in general, water security in particular. On 9 April 2026, 34 high-level representatives of all stakeholders gathered around Veolia’s Executive committee to sign a pledge for environmental security and share insights and practical ideas around water reuse.
The 34 stakeholders who gathered in Paris early April, around Veolia’s Executive committee were coming from the United States, Lebanon, Jordania, France, Namibia, China, or Chile, among other countries ; they were business leaders, mayors, ministers, industrial engineers, NGOs representatives, or academics, among other occupations. And yet, they started from two common assumptions: a commitment to environmental security as the path to a more resilient society; and a belief in the power of a collective approach to unlock practical solutions.
Veolia’s commitment to environmental security goes beyond emergency solutions and risk mitigation: it aims for systems resilience. It contributes to a world that plans ahead. [...] But one company, as large and expert as it might be, cannot act alone. This is why Veolia is stepping up its long tradition of dialogue with the launch of the Stakeholders Assembly: actively listening, and building strategies together.
Veolia Stakeholder Assembly - Pledge on Environmental Security
The new Assembly builds on Veolia’s long-running tradition of stakeholders engagement and takes it further, by convening high-level participants for a direct, sparring-partner-style discussion with seven members of the Group’s Executive committee, including CEO Estelle Brachlianoff, and four members of the Board, among them Veolia’s Chairman Antoine Frérot.
At Veolia, we are convinced that business thrives when it is useful - and not the other way around. You are here with us today to share your singularity, your very own outlook on how to achieve a desirable future
Antoine Frerot, Chairman of the Board, Veolia
Environmental security is a multifaceted issue. In order to start somewhere with a path for practical improvement, the Assembly considered water security, and the state of global water bankruptcy recently acknowledged by the United Nations.
After a first evening dedicated to the signing of the pledge which all stakeholders contributed to, some of Veolia’s clients had the opportunity to present groundbreaking reuse projects for municipal, agricultural and industrial use.
In the afternoon, they divided into four groups to investigate the major levers on the path of water reuse as a powerful solution:
- social acceptability : how to reassure citizens on the safety and environmental benefits of water re-use?
- policy regulation: how best to interact with authorities at all levels to build legal frameworks ensuring safe reuse development and adoption?
- economic models and financing: which financing and pricing mechanisms can guarantee access to water for all in the most water-stressed areas?
deployment adoption at local level: how to scale up from pilot projects and widen worldwide adoption of water reuse solutions?
Participants took advantage of the diversity of their skills to bounce ideas on pricing, health regulations, data modeling, engineering, or deeply embedded emotional and social considerations on people’s relationship to water. Members of the Executive committee went away with a set of fresh ideas on how best to defend water reuse within Veolia’s own leading instances and at international events worldwide.
Stay tuned for the next step of the Stakeholders Assembly: a collective call for action on water security starting on World Environment Day, June 5th!
Starting tomorrow, your work becomes a call for action on water security and reuse. And we are all ambassadors in our own way. You are with us as our allies on these projects.
Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO, Veolia, to Stakeholders Assembly participants.
Future Generations Council
