Speaking in Paris this week, Antoine Frérot said he would like to see a focus on energy efficiency and commitment to secondary raw material markets when the new proposals are unveiled.
Mr Frérot, who also serves as Veolia’s chairman, was at the company’s headquarters in the French capital to publicise ongoing work across its global waste, water and energy divisions.
In his speech to press delegates, Mr Frérot identified the circular economy as one of six priority markets for Veolia between now and 2020, with ‘huge potential’ in terms of job creation.
He predicted that the global market for the circular economy would be worth €30 billion by 2020, which would be concentrated in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.
The value of the circular economy is expected to increase in correlation with regulatory and political pressures – such as within the EU – and a trend towards ‘utilisation replacing ownership’.
Mr Frérot also claimed the circular economy would become vital as resources become scarce – leading to volatility in prices.
Contracts
Mr Frérot highlighted a number of contracts won by Veolia in 2014 which were “very good examples of the circular economy approach”.
These include Veolia’s contract with Merritt in Canada, which will see the company operate one of North America’s largest biomass facilities in a 30-year partnership with Canadian infrastructure fund Fengate Capital Management.
The plant will run on local wood waste and consume around 307,000 metric tons of biomass per year, producing around 40MW of electricity.
Other ‘innovative’ contracts include Veolia’s arrangement with France-based Castorama to jointly design and co-develop the first kitchen counter entirely made from recycled and recyclable products.
The company has also entered into a consortium with Envie to treat and recycle mattresses on behalf of Eco-Mobilier in Western France, as well as a deal with Renault to recycle electric vehicle batteries.
Mr Frérot said: “In the 21st century the largest potential source of resources is waste. Europe in particularly France will see employment and other benefits from this. Raw materials need to be derived from waste.
“The circular economy cannot use shorter circuits. If the recycling industry is to grow successfully there needs to be competition with the raw materials market. I think it’s important that we don’t rely on shorter loops.”
Syria
Mr Frérot went on to add that hazardous waste treatment was the “ace up Veolia’s sleeve” and highlighted the work done by the company to destroy Syrian chemicals at Ellesmere Port in the UK.
The firm treated around 190 tonnes of B-precursor chemicals at its Cheshire facility in 2014, as part of an international mission to eradicate Syria’s chemical weapons programme (see letsrecycle.com story).
[…] Veolia chief executive Antoine Frérot highlighted his hopes for the circular economy around the world at a conference in Paris on Tuesday […]