The report includes practical examples of initiatives that the firm has put into place, which it believes demonstrate its commitment to the circular model. Veolia claims that 20% of its turnover is generated through this model, and it has a target to double this by 2020.
The company adds that its new strategy has seen it shift from an environmental services provider to a manufacturer of new goods and an energy producer.
Included in the report are 17 examples of ‘circular projects, which include working with beverage producer Diageo to recover energy from whisky by-products at its Cameronbridge Distillery, the trial of a ‘Bag2Bag’ scheme to create refuse sacks from waste plastic bags and the company’s ‘Pro Fibre’ scheme, launched this week to make use of contaminated paper (see letsrecycle.com story).
Veolia’s recently appointed head of circular economy Forbes McDougall has helped to put together the report. Dr McDougall, who had formerly held the post of corporate waste strategy leader at Procter & Gamble, spoke to letsrecycle.com ahead of its launch to outline why he believes switching to a circular model is key to the growth of the business.
Opportunity
He said: “There is a big opportunity at Veolia as they have moved everything under one roof. Doing that means that the synergies are all interlinked. There is more opportunity to leverage the different technologies we have access to. My role is to identify opportunities with customers or municipalities and make sure that the parties that need to talk to each other to deliver a circular working model.
“The clear message for businesses is that we will do the right thing for the customer. We won’t be putting material in a landfill just because we own one, or burning if there is a higher value recycling opportunity. I have been told that has been understood across the business.”
He added: ”The waste sector sees itself as having been involved [in the circular economy] for some time. There are always companies at the forefront and we have got partners we are working with who understand the value. I think it is a matter of time before it becomes an inevitable part of business.
“Part of my role will be talking to customers and doing the same internally. We recognise that no two customers have the same needs and we need to tailor our solutions to them.”
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