Veolia Environnement and the sea

For a long time, the ocean’s riches appeared limitless. But extensive fishing, climate change that has damaged coral and increased settlements on coastlines have changed the game. There has been a slow public awakening, far too slow according to some, and Veolia Environnement is fighting to increase public awareness.

Helping to preserve the marine environment
Veolia Environnement’s original vocation was to provide local authorities with services and solutions to improve their environmental quality. The sea is a natural part, perhaps even the most important, of the shared environment that we must protect and make safer when aggressive pollutants are doing their worst. By supporting local initiatives, contributing to research programmes and signing partnerships to solve these problems, Veolia Environnement helps preserve natural environments: the earth, the air and the sea. Where possible, better prevention of irreparable pollution and damage has become a federating priority. To achieve this ambitious but essential objective, we must raise awareness and a sense of responsibility among people, particularly the younger generation. Veolia Environnement’s choice of sporting events to support in the maritime world, like its partnership with Roland Jourdain or with SolOcéane, is also part of the group’s choice for coherent event communication.

Veolia Environnement “acts” to save the oceans:

• In collaboration with the French Sailing Federation (FFV) to preserve fragile environments (river banks and lakes as well as coastlines where water sports are practised) through collecting waste with the FFV schools and by developing teaching tools and practices.

• Through collaboration with the Albert de Monaco Foundation, to raise public awareness about global warming, the loss of biodiversity and reduced access to drinking water. This foundation focuses on equitable management of natural resources.

• With the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and its subsidiary the SNCM, through the perpetuation of a sanctuary (an area of 90,000km2 between France, Italy and Corsica) with the objective of protecting the habitat of marine mammals.

• Thanks to the partnership with the Conservatoire du Littoral to protect and restore the “tidemark”, a vital element of our coasts’ ecosystems that represents the biomass washed up on our shores, an essential element for the fauna and flora in these coastal areas.

• By becoming the exclusive partner of the sailor Roland Jourdain, to help raise general awareness of the risks and challenges in defending the oceans around the planet, using communication about events and general information.

• By financially supporting the four members of the French sailing team in their preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, associating the values of these sportsmen and women with values that Veolia Propreté will develop within its own teams.

• Through partnership with a new round-the-world sailing race for monotype sailboats in solitaire. This race will have an innovative scientific facet and will continuously collect physical and chemical data from faraway parts of the world.

We must find a way to solve our growing use of this resource and to alleviate the pressure on water. Through its maritime activities, Veolia Environnement is committed to find these solutions.

Preserving the future by controlling the present
Sustainable development of seas and oceans is imperative for all nations and peoples, yet the principles of this development are a source of potential conflicts. It is difficult to conciliate the demands of a global, shared ocean whilst applying the founding principles whereby all countries can use its resources as they see fit. However, ensuring this protection helps stimulate world economic development: 40% of European GDP comes from the maritime environment! It is all about operating broad actions covering every ocean, designing solutions that preserve the marine world whilst using its resources more efficiently. Today the world leader in environmental services, Veolia Environnement, is by its very existence concerned with the universe in which it operates. Its development in the maritime environment, through many activities from alleviating pollution to generating useful daily services, involves nearly every sector of the Group. Now, Veolia Environnement is investing in raising public awareness about environmental safety and preservation, through its support for people like Roland Jourdain, whilst continuing its research and development programmes on sanitary safety, seawater desalination, treating ballast water, etc.

Daily management through progress
The urgent problems of the sea and its preservation have led Veolia Environnement to extend its services and create different branches adapted to these problems, with a budget for research and development that has risen by 30% in four years. Thanks to the Institut Veolia Environnement, we can anticipate the main political and societal spheres of influence. The group can react faster by investing in research into transformation of the world around us, offering solutions to industrial groups and local authorities faced with pollution problems. And when Veolia launches new procedures, for example in the field of desalination or sanitary safety, they are subsequent to extensive research and include innovations to limit the impact on the natural world, such as saline waste in the field of seawater desalination plants…

Veolia Environnement: three directions for action

Acting for the ocean: many scientific interest or teaching groups have expressed concern for the oceans and Veolia Environnement supports their actions through different levels of participation.

Living with the Oceans: Sailing on the seas, using the ocean riches and more recently conquering the depths are age-old human activities which still make the news and in which Veolia Environnement invests considerably.

Taking care of the ocean: an incessantly renewed source of life that is currently being given a rough ride, the ocean remains at the crossroads of modern civilisations. It is also under threat and Veolia Environnement is vigilantly watching over it.