Ethics
Present in 54 countries, Veolia ensures strict compliance with the international laws and treaties governing people’s human and social rights, both within the company and with its stakeholders. The Group’s cultural diversity is integral to these values and rules of conduct.
The Ethics Guide
The Ethics Guide provides a reference for all Veolia employees. Available on the corporate websites and the intranet, it outlines the Group’s values, rules of conduct and actions.
The values underpin the Group’s economic, social and environmental performances. They are also reflected in the skills and attitudes that each employee at Veolia is committed to implementing daily.
A behaviour charter for managers has also been introduced, thereby ensuring that the Group’s core values are shared and respected in every entity.
Responsibility
Veolia takes responsibility for promoting the harmonious development of territories and for improving the living conditions of people concerned by its activities. Internally, one of the Group’s priorities is to develop its employees’ skills and protect their health and safety at work.
Solidarity
The solidarity requirement includes all our relations with our stakeholders. It is exemplified by the constant search for solutions that will provide essential services to as many people as possible.
Respect
Through their behaviour, all Veolia employees must comply with the law, the Group’s internal rules, and respect other people.
Innovation
In order to serve its customers, the environment and society, Veolia places research and innovation at the centre of its strategy to create tomorrow’s sustainable solutions.
Customer Focus
Veolia works to continuously improve the efficiency and quality of its services. Listening to its customers means the Group is able to meet its technical, economic, environmental and societal expectations by offering tailored, innovative solutions.
Compliance
Compliance is not an end in itself, but one way Veolia achieves its objectives. The standards set by compliance help establish a culture of vigilance within the company.
An Absolute Obligation
Compliance with the law and internal rules is essential because it is the basis of the relationship of trust that Veolia maintains with its employees, shareholders, partners and customers and, more broadly, with all its stakeholders.
A Success Factor
Compliance is fully in line with the Group's policy of being a responsible and useful business. As a result it is an essential aspect of Veolia's commitment to its stakeholders.
Furthermore, the Group's ambitions in terms of compliance contribute directly and positively to its competitiveness and to making it different from its competitors. Veolia thus meets the legitimate requirements of its customers in this respect and increases its ability to attract the talent needed to implement its strategy.
Making The Commitment A Reality
Veolia's commitment to compliance is reflected at the highest level of the Group. In its external and internal communications, senior management regularly reiterates that for Veolia ethics and compliance issues are non-negotiable.
In terms of its compliance policy, Veolia mobilizes significant human and financial resources to identify, assess, prevent and remedy risks in the following areas:
- corruption and the traffic of influence
- money laundering and financing terrorism
- corporate due diligence
- violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms
- environmental abuses
- anti-competitive practices
- protection of personal data
- conflicts of interest
- the framework for representing interests (lobbying)
- the integrity of financial markets (insider trading)
- fraud
Veolia strictly applies its compliance policy in its relations with customers, partners and intermediaries, suppliers and subcontractors.
The Group's governance reflects its commitment to compliance. Thus, several dedicated committees are responsible for compliance-related issues – for example, the Veolia ethics and compliance committee, the human rights and vigilance committee, and the sponsorships and patronages committee.
Personal data protection
Veolia is committed to applying national provisions as well as the regulations in Europe covering personal data protection (the General Data Protection Regulation). The Group has therefore drawn up a Group policy and set minimum standards in this regard.
Privacy Policy
Environmental Compliance
Veolia attaches great importance to environmental risk management. Accordingly, the company's governance in this respect is built around a committee specifically dedicated to monitoring these issues. The Compliance Department participates actively in the work of this committee.
Duty of Care
Veolia's ethics and compliance commitment is part of a broader societal dynamic that sees a growing number of stakeholders questioning companies’ extra-financial performance.
One of the most visible examples of this structural trend is France’s law no. 2017-399 of 27 March 2017 covering the duty of care of parent companies and ordering companies. In this respect, Veolia publishes a "vigilance plan" that sets out how the Group meets the requirements of this legislation (human rights and fundamental freedoms, health and safety, serious environmental damage, and suppliers and subcontractors).