Promote ecology that protects against climate change
Every October 24, the International Day against Climate Change to raise awareness about its effects on human health, ecosystems and socioeconomic stability of the territories. The impact of extreme events such as DANA, droughts or fires in our country shows the need to act against their consequences.
Veolia, through its three activities in the fields of water, energy and waste, is consolidating itself as the leading company in decarbonization and optimized resource management at a global level. With an innovative approach, the group promotes ecological transformation, providing solutions that help us adapt and mitigate the impact of climate change.
Ecology that protects
The ecology that protects is a concept promoted by Veolia that combines human progress and environmental protection to accompany its municipal, industrial and agricultural sector clients in their transition towards sustainability. To this end, it prioritizes innovation and digitalization as drivers of the three key objectives of its strategic program. GreenUp: decarbonize, decontaminate and regenerate resources. Through advanced technologies such as digital twins, IoT, big data and generative AI, operational efficiency is improved and incidents are anticipated, contributing to the development of more efficient infrastructures, respectful of the environment and resilient to climate change.
Increase the availability of water in the face of its scarcity
The growing water scarcity in Spain requires a diversified water resources management so as not to depend exclusively on conventional water sources and climatic conditions.
Therefore, Veolia manages water through two main strategies. The first is the reuse of treated wastewater for new uses urban, agricultural and industrial, with representative examples in the Baix Llobregat ecofactory or the Cabezo Beaza treatment plant in Cartagena. Currently, Veolia in Spain reuses approximately 15% of treated wastewater.
The second strategy is desalination of marine and brackish water (water with a lower proportion of salt than seawater), to guarantee supply in the face of water scarcity and increased demand. Key facilities for this purpose are the Bahía de Palma desalination plant in Mallorca and the Sant Joan Despí desalination plant in Barcelona, both of which have high capacity. The group’s global experience contributes to the development of desalination solutions in Spain since, currently, 18% of the world’s desalination plants use Veolia technologies.
Renewable energies
Veolia leads energy efficiency in Spain, thanks to its experience in solutions based on local decarbonized energy generation. It designs flexible and innovative solutions that ensure an uninterrupted supply of energy, improving people’s well-being and caring for the planet.
One of these solutions is efficient management of forest biomass, that prevents fires and transforms this plant waste into green energy, promoting the circular economy. The company produces more than 300,000 tons of SURE certified biomass annually, meeting the highest European sustainability standards.
Besides, Geothermal energy is presented as a clean and inexhaustible energy alternative, It uses the heat from the subsoil to provide heating, cooling and hot water constantly. In 2024, Veolia implemented this service for more than 100 customers in the municipal, tertiary and residential sectors.
Another initiative for decarbonization is hot and cold networks, such as the Ecoenergies Barcelona, the world’s first urban network of ecological cold and renewable heatthe result of a strategic alliance between Barcelona City Council and Veolia. This is another paradigmatic example of a circular economy: this network recovers the residual cold from the Enagás plant in the Port of Barcelona, while taking advantage of the heat from the biomass obtained from pruning urban parks and gardens.
Take advantage of waste
Veolia also focuses its strategy on creating truly circular value chains in which waste is transformed into high quality raw materials, promoting more efficient production and consumption systems and reducing the use of raw materials and energy.
To this end, Veolia operates two plastic recycling plants. La Red by Veolia (Seville) processes more than 120,000 tons of post-consumer, industrial and agricultural plastics annually. For its part, TorrePET by Veolia (Badajoz) specializes in high-quality food PET, being the first company in Spain with ‘End of Waste Condition’ certification.
Likewise, the Maresme Comprehensive Recovery Center (Mataró, Barcelona) stands out, which processes 280,000 tons of waste per year through selection, composting, methanization and energy recovery plants. Along the same lines, at the Las Lomas Treatment Center (Madrid) recyclable materials are separated from domestic waste and the rejects are valued to generate electricity.
Veolia processes 280,000 tons of waste per year at the Maresme Comprehensive Recovery Center in Mataró, Barcelona
With integrated management in the areas of water, energy and waste, Veolia contributes to alleviating the effects of climate change, strengthening its commitment to sustainability and betting on innovation as a driver of ecological transformation.
