May 6, 2020   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Veolia North America Announces Full Mobilization of Essential Daily Services During COVID-19

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, Veolia North America has implemented a number of comprehensive continuity plans specific to its footprint, underscoring the special role the company sees to ensure there is uninterrupted service for its critical industries during this period of uncertainty. As part of that commitment to keep its operations running as usual, the company has released a breakdown on their essential services platforms which focus primarily on producing and supplying drinking water and treating wastewater, preserving waste processing operations, in particular collections and processing facilities, safeguarding energy management activities in heating networks to ensure industrial and tertiary facilities continue to operate and upholding its activities processing hazardous waste, which is vital to maintaining key industrial operations.

“Veolia’s mission is to provide services that are essential in day-to-day life, like supplying drinking water, treating wastewater, processing waste and providing energy services. During this challenging time, our responsibility is even greater as needs are more pressing. Our operatives are fully mobilized to continue serving the country. Day in, day out, these everyday heroes are on the ground so others can stay at home,” said Brian Clarke, president and CEO at Veolia North America.

Given Veolia NA employees’ expertise in managing crises, even in the most difficult and critical conditions, the company has identified the following verticals as part of their COVID-19 response:

Supplying drinking water without interruption
In order to maintain the quality and availability of its services, Veolia North America has activated a business continuity plan to protect its operations. Its teams continue to guarantee the supply of perfect quality drinking water in sufficient quantity, in all circumstances. To make this possible, Veolia has organized its operational and support services to continuously maintain the level of staffing required to keep its activity ticking over.

Tap water is perfectly suitable for drinking. The water supplied has systematically undergone various stages of treatment, including disinfection, which is designed to eliminate all viruses, as well as the coronavirus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that the virus has not displayed any resistance to the standard treatment applied to drinking water.

Protecting the environment by treating wastewater
Each day, Veolia employees are working hard to keep communities safe and continue providing essential services. This includes water treatment professionals. They are working day in, day out, to safeguard continuity in public water services, which also covers wastewater treatment, because cleaning wastewater is essential to uphold public hygiene and protect the environment.

While important in everyday life, it is imperative in a time of crisis that people remember some things cannot be flushed down the toilet. Waste items such as disinfectant wipes, tissues and all paper other than toilet paper, dental floss, cat litter, medication, cooking fat and even nappies are found in wastewater, even though they should absolutely be thrown in the bin. A nightmare for our plumbing systems, these items clog up pipes in people’s homes and wastewater treatment facilities. Some users seem to ignore the severity of the environmental and financial consequences of disposing of waste in this way, which pollutes natural environments and creates an imbalance in the ecosystem.

Processing waste to maintain public hygiene standards
With the support of public authorities, Veolia has put in place business continuity plans for its waste management activities, which aim primarily to maintain waste collection through specific plans for each local area, and protect waste processing operations and facilities, including waste-to-energy plants, which eliminate waste while generating biogas, steam and heat for urban and industrial networks.

To do so, Veolia is also doing everything it can to protect the safety of its employees, especially those in the field who are currently the most at risk. We are therefore focusing even more actively on safety during these unprecedented times. Our employees strictly comply with the protective measures, health regulations, social distancing rules and professional risk prevention measures already in place within the Group. Veolia also provides employees on the ground with the protective equipment they require and disinfects the cabins of waste collection trucks at the end of every shift.

To support and continue to meet the needs of businesses that remain operational and avoid fly-tipping, sorting centers recovering non-hazardous industrial waste and professional landfill sites will stay open with tighter sanitary measures in place.

Heating and energy for all
It is essential we maintain the continuity of service generating and distributing heating, hot water and electricity for our local authority and industrial customers. Our services concentrate on critical facilities as well as the buildings and industries that have remained in operation.

In accordance with current government directives, and in order to safeguard the health of all people including employees, branches will not be open to the public until further notice. On the ground, technicians and on-call teams have also been laid up to work in rotation. Interventions have been prioritized and the teams are concentrating on priority duties, including treating, producing and distributing drinking water, undertaking repair work on major leaks and handling emergency call outs like water cut-offs and leaks likely to damage property or harm people. Our call centers remain open to handle such emergency calls. Other customer inquiries are now being dealt with via our smartphone apps, email or our website.

A crisis unit activated since the start of the epidemic
All operations carried out by Veolia North America on the ground are coordinated by a crisis unit working at national and regional level, in liaison with the Veolia Group global crisis unit.

About the Veolia group
Veolia group is the global leader in optimized resource management. With nearly 179,000 employees worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions which contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them.

In 2019, the Veolia group supplied 98 million people with drinking water and 67 million people with wastewater service, produced nearly 45 million megawatt hours of energy and treated 50 million metric tons of waste. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of €27.189 billion in 2019 (USD 29.9 billion). www.veolia.com