Ramona Dumitru, Veolia Romania: Ecological Transformation defines our purpose as an organisation

For Veolia Romania, Ecological Transformation defines its purpose as an organisation and the effect it has on every layer of the company’s business. In this respect, Business Review talked to Ramona Dumitru, Public Affairs and Communications Director at Veolia Romania, about the recently launched Ecological Transformation initiative, which is part of Impact 2023, a strategic plan adopted by the entire Group, whose main priority is striving for maximum positive impact, whether social, societal, commercial, environmental or financial.

By Anda Sebesi

What can you tell us about Veolia Romania’s initiative called „Ecological Transformation”?

The Ecological Transformation initiative is part of Impact 2023, a strategic plan adopted by the entire Veolia Group, whose main priority is striving for maximum positive impact, whether social, societal, commercial, environmental or financial.

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Ecological Transformation defines our purpose as an organisation and the effect it has on every layer of our business. The core of the project is enabling society to thrive whilst protecting and preserving the planet, natural resources and reducing the impacts of climate change.

For us, ecological transformation means identifying and implementing solutions our communities need in order to combat the challenges we’re facing and building a more sustainable future by tackling ecological threats.

And we are not doing this alone. We are extremely fortunate to have partners whose values are aligned with the Group’s and Veolia Romania’s and who chose to work with us on delivering impactful solutions together.

Why did you choose to launch this initiative now?

We’ve known this for years and in the aftermath of COP26 we’ve been reminded stringently that today, even at the peak of technological progress, people everywhere are dealing with a scarcity of water, energy and raw materials, toxic pollution, access to essential services, energy transition, climate change, etc.

This paints a very dire picture. Therefore, few tasks are as essential as finding ways to overcome these major issues. Veolia, being the leading environmental services company, has the expertise and resources to contribute to positive change in a time when this shouldn’t be a choice, but exercising and acknowledging our responsibility.

What does it imply and what are the solutions it offers?

Ecological transformation translates into working to radically and effectively change patterns of production and consumption. It means placing ecology at the heart of every process and every assessment.

Thus, it addresses six global challenges Veolia can have an impact on, through innovative solutions: the adaptation to climate change, the development of new materials and technologies for energy efficiency, management and food chain waste recycling, circular economy, and digitalization.

In your opinion what is the added value of such initiatives for the society as a whole and for the environment as well?

While we subscribe to keep on delivering a solid financial achievement, it is mandatory to reach ambitious performance levels for the other dimensions of our society. Veolia, by way of Impact 2023, has committed publicly to 18 multifaceted performance indicators, which cover five dimensions of on behalf of our stakeholders: social, societal, commercial, environmental, or financial.

Ecological transformation is looking beyond economic and financial performance alone to work on environmental, social, commercial, and human resources performance. Multifaceted performance is the promise of achieving the perfect balance between all these factors and not treating them as stand-alone, individual threats.

For how long will you run this campaign and what are its expected results/impact?

The main objective of this campaign is to bring in the public’s eye Veolia’s mission to identify and develop solutions where they do not exist, advocating for a transition to a green economy and ecological transformation, therefore our communication efforts will be constantly focused on this direction.

Veolia Group has always believed in the power of example and has been a player fully involved in reinventing traditional activities through simplification and efficiency.

What can you tell us about the future plans you have in this direction (of ecological transformation)? 

In order to achieve the goal of becoming a benchmark for ecological transformation, we will remain focused on minimizing our footprint by developing new technologies and providing examples of good practice, acting upon values ​​that define us and our stakeholders.

The strategic plan also aims to accelerate innovation, to further carry out the Group’s mission and maximize the results.