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Veolia Environmental Services is involved with various actors into many different supportive projects :
- The awareness to waste sorting and recycling with the ADEME, particularly during the French week-long reducing waste campaign (" Réduisons nos Déchets ") in November
- The support to conservation of the natural environment with the annual operation of collection and treatment of wrecks and nautical equipment of all kinds by the French sailing federation, the partnership with France Nature Environnement association during the French reducing waste campaign in November, the cleanup in Antarctica or the cleaning of Dhaulagiri, seventh higher summit in the world
- The collection of scientific data with the SolOceans race which will enrich data bases used by searchers all over the world on climate change
- The supportive commitment for French sailing team
Veolia teams up with the French sailing federation (FFV)
Coastal areas as well as the shores of rivers and lakes are at risk. People must be made to realize the importance of protecting these vulnerable eco-systems. One way is to teach those who enjoy recreational water sports about preserving marine, fluvial and lacustrine ecosystems.
Veolia Environmental Services began working with the French sailing federation (FFV) in the 2003 sailing season to develop programs to teach French sailing school (EFV) students about the marine environment and its complexity.
Each summer since then, Veolia Environmental Services and FFV have launched an environmental awareness campaign targeting the 420,000 vacationers enrolled at the 478 French sailing schools. The slogan is: "Je fais de la voile, j’aime la mer, je la respecte®".
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In 2005 and 2006, Veolia Environmental Services also supported efforts to preserve the marine environment. More than 86 tons of non-reusable, non-recyclable materials (sailboards, the hulls of light sailing craft, life jackets, etc.) were picked up and processed during a major clean-up and site restoration initiative at water sports centers. In some cases, these end-of-life materials had been taking up space at French sailing schools for more than ten years!
Find out more about the French sailing federation (FFV): http://www.ffvoile.net
Veolia backs the French Olympic sailing team
As of February 7, Veolia Environmental Services supports the French Olympic Sailing team by backing four athletes aiming for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games: Ingrid Petitjean (skipper) and Nadège Douroux (crew) in the 470 class, Xavier Revil (skipper) in the Tornado and Paul-Ambroise Sevestre (crewing for Olivier Backes), also in the Tornado. Objective: help them get ready for the Olympic Games (August 8-24, 2008 in China).
Over and above financial support, this corporate sponsorship initiative includes a tailored induction program for these four young athletes. Working at Veolia Environmental Services on cross-sector teams, they learn about professional life in general and environmental services in particular. As members of the French sailing team, they lead an extremely demanding life of incessant training, frequent travel and competitive international racing. This intense sports schedule is not compatible with a full-time job and earning a living.
Through its support, Veolia Environmental Services also seeks to highlight the values these athletes represent by sharing their experiences with the company’s 80,000 employees. Those values include effort, a fighting spirit and respect for one’s competitors, a well-honed sense of strategy and tactics and humility in the face of an environment we must all respect.
Find out more about the athletes: http://www.ffvoile.net/equipedefrance/news
A new round-the-world yachting event for monotype monohulls
"All sailors – male or female – will be competing on equal terms, which will make the race that much more exciting!"
 The SolOceans will be the first solo round-the-world race allowing skippers to compete on equal terms in identical 52-feet high-tech monohulls. The race will have two legs—France-New Zealand and New Zealand-France—that will last about fifty days each and take place in alternate years. The first race will kick off on October 25, 2009 following a "test run" from October 2007 to March 2008 under real conditions. Recognized by all yacht racing federations, this event will take place every two years with the first leg, France to New Zealand via the Cape of Good Hope, scheduled for 2009, 2011, 2013, and so on, and the second, New Zealand to France via Cape Horn, set for 2010, 2012, 2014 and so forth.
There were two aspects about the SolOceans race that caught Veolia’s attention. First, all entrants will compete on equal terms. This "man over machine" approach ensures the authenticity of a solo race demanding total personal commitment. And commitment is one of the company's key values. Second, Veolia is supporting the OceanoScientific data acquisition campaign. Each monotype monohull taking part in the SolOceans will collect scientific data for researchers, who have little reliable data for those geographic areas. Thanks to Veolia's support, this will enrich databases used by researchers all over the world. This act of good corporate citizenship will help researchers explore the mysteries of the earth and how best to protect it.
Veolia is working with SailingOne on the SolOceans race in different ways. Veolia will be the key sponsor of this international event. The series name chosen for the monotype monohulls especially designed and produced for this round-the-world solo event will be "Veolia Oceans". These boats will be fitted with measurement instruments for the OceanoScientific data acquisition campaign associated with the SolOceans race, whose official name will be the “Veolia OceanoScientific Campaign". The data gathered by these boats as they sail the ocean blue will be collected by Veolia and posted at major international platforms for the exchange of scientific data, in cooperation with prominent institutes specialized in ocean and climate research.
Find out more about the SolOceans race: http://www.soloceans.com/en/
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