Humanitarian initiatives of Veolia
Ukrainian Veolia enterprises have not stopped their work since the first day of the full-scale war. The company's specialists continue to work for the sake of sanitary safety and comfort of citizens, ensure the removal of waste for law enforcement agencies and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We are actively involved in charitable initiatives in support of the Ukrainian people during the war.
- Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Veolia Foundation, together with its partners (the French Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, International Solidarity, the Ministry of Europe and foreign affairs, UN agencies, etc.), has been mobilized to support the population affected by Russian aggression. Priority needs for access to hygiene facilities in transit centres and accommodation centres that accept refugees have been identified.
- Thanks to the Veolia charitable foundation, created to help Ukrainian colleagues restore destroyed or damaged housing, it was possible to attract 200 thousand euros. Some of these funds have already been used to help our colleagues, whose homes were either completely destroyed or partially damaged as a result of active military operations in the Kiev region. Financial assistance was provided to the family of one of our heroes - an employee of the Kyiv Enterprise "Altvater Kyiv", who since 2018 served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and died at the front in early May this year. Now about 30 employees of Veolia are mobilized and perform combat missions in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and this figure is growing.
- Some of the donations are partly used to provide financial support to employees and their families who were forced to leave their homes and go abroad at the beginning of the Russian army's invasion of Ukraine: with the international support of Veolia, our employees and their families received comprehensive assistance in crossing the border and arranging life in European countries.
- Polish Veolia provided specialized equipment and protective clothing to the municipal enterprise Kyivteploenergo in the amount of about 30,000 euros.
- Veolia enterprises in Ukraine cooperate in humanitarian projects with the charity organization of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Caritas, the Solomyanskaya regional state administration in Kyiv, and the Ukrainian Red Cross mission.
- Humanitarian mission to transfer books to Poland for Ukrainian children temporarily staying in Poland. A batch of books in the Ukrainian language, intended for young Ukrainians and Ukrainian women who were forced to leave their homes and temporarily stay in Poland, was presented to the Centre for education and development, which operates under the auspices of the city of Warsaw and supports refugees from Ukraine.
- Thanks to the contributions of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria and the holding company Veolia CEE), the Veolia Foundation in Germany purchased and transferred household energy equipment for Ukrainian colleagues to combat power outages caused by massive missile strikes on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
- After the destruction of the Kakhovka dam on June 6, The Crisis Support Centre (CDC) of the Ministry of Europe and foreign affairs implemented several solidarity actions to help Ukrainians directly affected by the flood. The Veolia Foundation has provided Aquaforces 2000 mobile water treatment plants that can purify up to 40,000 litters of water per day. In addition, six water storage tanks with a volume of 10 M3 were delivered to Ukraine for transfer to the non-governmental organization Solidarités International, which operates on-site. This cooperation is part of the humanitarian cargo program managed by the crisis situations centre of the Ministry of Europe and foreign affairs to support the Ukrainian population.
The position of Veolia enterprises in Ukraine
Education
Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. We care about people and the planet and encourage all our staff to respect the environment and the local communities that we work in. So we can create a brighter future for everyone. Being a good neighbour is only part of the story. We also get together with local community groups and schools to provide education sessions and a variety of environmental initiatives to encourage recycling, recovery and reuse.
Occupational safety
Veolia has undertaken to provide even better protection from work-related risks to all employees and improve workplace safety. As well as employee education, occupational safety is the second strategic item defined for the entire Veolia Group on an international level. The principal OHS rules contained in the Labour Code and ISO standards are also provided in labour safety codes. Employees undergo professional as well as first aid training.
Diversity
Veolia places great emphasis on social cohesion and stability, in particular during organisational changes. This is why it pays a great deal of attention to the quality of social dialogue with employees, as well as to respecting the principles of diversity, equal opportunities and combating all forms of discrimination. Veolia Group pursues a recruitment policy designed so as to facilitate finding a job to people who are disadvantaged on the labour market.