Veolia Sustainability Report: “UK circular economy experiencing growing success” after US$1.96 billion investment

02 Nov 2018 --- Global leader in optimized resource management, Veolia, has cited the “growing success of the circular economy and the real benefits the approach is delivering to the UK Economy” in the publication of its latest Sustainability Report. According to Veolia, the results show that Veolia’s £1.5 billion (US$1.96 billion) investment in UK recycling and energy infrastructure is enabling customers to save money, secure supply chains, and achieve major CO2 reductions, and shows how the company is pioneering the new technologies that lower resource use.

With growing numbers of businesses already diverting 100 percent of waste from landfill, Veolia has extended this approach to its decommissioning operations and recycled 98 percent of the 80,000 tons of materials received from the North Sea.

Key recent examples of recycling include converting 60,000 tons of used glass into home insulation and recycling 21 million disposable coffee cups, to producing 10,000 tons of food grade plastic from recycled milk bottles. The company is also helping the water industry preserve essential water resources using advanced data-driven technologies that now reduce water leakages from an industry average of 22 percent to below 4 percent.

Costa Coffee: Paper cup recycling
In one example of improved packaging sustainability, Veolia helped minimize paper cup pollution in the UK. Billions of disposable paper cups are used every year, yet despite the fact they are recyclable, only a small percentage are recovered. In response, Jamie Welsh and Andy Lockett – two Veolia account managers – teamed up to develop a recycling solution to capture cups across collection points. They received 296 tons of cups for recycling – equivalent to approximately 21 million cups.

“We dedicate ourselves to supporting customers, like Costa, to reach its sustainability goals and welcome its commitment to invest in recycling,” says Richard Kirkman of the Veolia Management Board.

“Funding towards greater collection capability is a step in the right direction. We all have our part to play and there is plenty more to do, with millions of disposable cups still not entering recycling streams. If more packaging was made easily recyclable and contamination minimized, we would be able to reuse even more material,” he adds.

The New Plastics Economy
This week, more than 290 organizations comprising 20 percent of all plastic packaging produced globally signed a Global Commitment to eradicate plastic waste at source and establish a circular economy for the material. As a resource management specialist, Veolia was one of the more notable signatories.

Antoine Frérot, Chairman & CEO of Veolia, tells PackagingInsights that, “For a Group like Veolia, a resource management pioneer, it is imperative that all stakeholders come together to find new innovative solutions to stop plastic pollution in its tracks and at its source. Working together is the only option to create a strong global industrial circular plastics system. In this way, we can offer both an alternative to virgin materials and a world without plastic pollution.”

Lastmonth, Unilever and plastic recycling specialists, Veolia, signed a three-year collaboration agreement focused on driving emerging technologies in waste collection and recycling infrastructure. The partnership aims to establish a circular economy on plastics across a number of international regions, starting in India and Indonesia. You can read the full story here.

In September, Veolia called for more standardized packaging which makes products recyclable by design. The announcement came as it was revealed that 93 percent of UK consumers think plastic bottles should contain recycled content and that they would be willing to pay an average of 2.5p more. Veolia is also recommending a simplification of recycling to “remove confusion” and an increase in the use of recycled content in the manufacturing of new products. Read more about it here.

Reducing carbon emissions
Veolia’s latest Sustainability Report explains how it is using innovation to advance sustainability for businesses and the public sector. With a focus on manufacturing green products and energy, and developing tailored solutions for resource efficiency, the company claims to save over 2 million tons of CO2 emissions for its customers.

Getting the energy and resource balance right is fundamental to ensure competitiveness and reduce the energy and carbon cost per product. With the UK grid stretched, Veolia is contributing to energy security and lowering energy costs using 496 MWe of low and carbon-neutral energy supplies for industry, healthcare, commerce and communities – enough electricity to power 1.2 million homes. This includes helping the water industry to become energy self-sufficient and deriving renewable gas supplies, electricity and heat from food waste and manufacturing by-products.

At the launch of the report, Gavin Graveson Executive Vice-President of Veolia UK & Ireland said, “This report includes examples of our partnership working and highlights the real advances we have made, the benefits we deliver to our customers’ bottom line and the communities we live and work in, and our employees.”

“Innovation over the last few years has given us an unprecedented opportunity to minimize resource use, guarantee energy supply and cut climate-changing emissions, and this is reflected in our progress.”

“We believe, now more than ever is the time to make a step change in the approach to carbon emissions and we plan to fund this growth with a planned further investment of £1 billion (US$1.3 billion) by 2022. By driving this innovation we are creating new skills and jobs, and delivering wider social impact for all,” he concludes.

By Joshua Poole