Usefulness, at the heart of our strategic vision
Convinced about the role and usefulness of businesses in meeting society's expectations, under the impetus of Antoine Frérot Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Veolia Group is one of the first French companies to have defined its purpose. He says
"a business is prosperous because it is useful and not the other way around".
Veolia's purpose was developed through a long process of work and unprecedented collaboration involving the company's management bodies, employees, the Critical Friends Committee (external experts), customers, people' panels, and so on.
Veolia's purpose was adopted by its Board of Directors and presented at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting on 18 April 2019.
Veolia's purpose hinges on the answers to 4 questions:
- In what way is Veolia useful to society?
- What is its mission?
- How is Veolia different from other companies?
- For whom and how is the wealth generated shared?
Veolia's purpose is not just a slogan, it is expressed in a complete text
Veolia’s purpose is to contribute to human progress by firmly committing to the Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. It is with this aim in mind that Veolia sets itself the task of “Resourcing the world” through its environmental services business.
At Veolia, we are convinced that continuing human development is only possible if economic, social and environmental issues are addressed as an indivisible whole. This belief is embedded in the history of the company, which as soon as it was created in 1853, showed the way by making access to drinking water an essential element of public health and quality of life.
In the conduct of our current businesses in water, waste and energy, we provide our public and private customers worldwide with solutions that facilitate access to essential services and natural resources, and that efficiently conserve, use and recycle those natural resources. Improvement of our environmental footprint and that of our customers is central to our business and its economic model.
We are a company that is both local and global with a high level of technical know-how and labor, and which commits for long periods of time. We guarantee long-term results for our customers by leveraging our long experience, the quality of our services and our high capacity for innovation.
We are a working community where, in addition to an income and respect for their health and safety, everyone can find a sense of purpose in what they do, commitment to rewarding collective action and personal fulfillment.
Through training, Veolia ensures that its employees, the vast majority of whom are manual workers and technicians, develop their skills. The company relies on their responsibility and autonomy at all levels and in all countries, and promotes professional equality between men and women.
Veolia also promotes, particularly on staff representative bodies, social dialogue, which encourages employees to adopt our collective project as their own.
Wherever it operates, Veolia complies with applicable laws and regulations. It also applies widely-distributed ethical rules consistent with its values of responsibility, community spirit, respect, innovation and customer focus.
Veolia’s prosperity is founded upon its usefulness to all its stakeholders in the various regions where it operates – whether customers, shareholders, employees, suppliers, current populations or future generations. Its performance must therefore be assessed in various dimensions corresponding to those different communities concerned. The company pays the same degree of attention and requires the same high standards in each of these dimensions.
In this way, Veolia prepares for the future, protecting the environment and responding to humanity’s vital needs.