Multinational food products corporation, Danone, and global utilities company, Veolia, have announced a new partnership focusing on the water cycle, waste management, sustainable agriculture and energy efficiency. The agreement is part of the climate policy announced by Danone which calls for a zero net carbon footprint by 2050 for sites under the company’s direct, shared and expanded responsibility.
The two companies are pushing to advance waste management practices, and transition into a circular economy.
“By teaming up with Veolia, we are ensuring a secure source of strategic resources and optimising their utilisation, since our climate policy is an integral part of our mission and our business,” said Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone.
Priorities include securing access to water resources and sustainable management of plastic packaging–both of which will aim to ensure Danone’s long-term goal of zero net carbon emissions will be achieved.
Specific projects have already been identified in France and other countries for the alliance to be rolled out company-wide, starting this month. Deployment will be gradual, building on lessons learned in a first round of pilot projects.
Some of these projects involve developing ‘zero liquid discharge’ plants to ensure optimum recycling of water resources, and the creation of production units for recycled plastic to secure supply source. Other circular economy projects are also in the pipeline. They include producing biogas by combining factory biowaste with manure from local farms and optimising energy consumption by making expert use of alternative energy sources.
“Our expertise is being invested to optimise water, waste and energy management across all of their [Danone’s] processes,” said Antoine Frérot, Chairman and CEO of Veolia. “Both the form and the goals of this alliance make it a truly unique initiative in creating economic, social and environmental value.”
