Notts: Waste firm Veolia scoops Queen’s Award

Veolia has been named as a winner of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development, the UK’s highest accolade for business success.
Guardian NewsGuardian News
Guardian News

The award was received for setting the sustainability benchmark and its new business strategy which focuses on manufacturing green energy and calories and places it at the centre of the green economy.

The company which run recycling facilities across the country, including a Materials Recovery Facility in Forest Town, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire annually recycles over one million tonnes of waste and converts non-recyclable waste into energy sufficient to provide electricity and heat to over 300,000 homes across the UK.

Veolia distinguished itself as a social sustainability leader; devoting annually 20,000 hours to charity work, donating £50 million pounds to community projects, systematically engaging with schools and helping unemployed people, including ex-offenders, back into work.

The East Midlands annually rises to the volunteering challenge, recently the team from Veolia Castle Donington lent a hand at Alrewas Arboretum and helped to re-build the steps to the Sumatra Railway. These were becoming dangerous, so the rotten sleepers were replaced and extra stone to build up the levels was added. This not only made it safe, but was an improvement to the original design.

The afternoon group leveled spoil on the river bank which had been washed away in the winter floods and then dug out a new planting bed ready for the spring plantings. James Shallcross, Assistant Curator said: ‘The groups work very hard and it always a pleasure to have them at the Arboretum.’

Matthew Spaul, East Midlands General Manager said ‘Our organisation is committed to being a good neighbour and a key stakeholder in the communities where we operate. The award is recognition of our employees commitment to their local community’.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia Environnement Executive Vice-President UK & Ireland said: “It is an honour to be recognised by Her Majesty the Queen for the work we have done over the last five years transforming the business. This award highlights the work all 14,000 members of staff have undertaken to continue to drive the business forward - for us sustainability is not part of our business, it is our business!”

Approximately 160 Queen’s Awards have been announced this year for outstanding business achievement in the fields of International Trade, Innovation and Sustainable Development.

The awards are made annually by HM The Queen, and are only given for the highest levels of excellence demonstrated in each category.

For more information please visit www.veolia.co.uk or join in the conversation on Twitter @VeoliaUK #QueensAward.