Veolia’s Stakeholders Assembly Calls for Accelerated Uptake of Water Reuse to Strengthen Water Security

Regulatory News:

As the world enters an era the United Nations describes as global water bankruptcy¹, Veolia is drawing on the work carried out by its newly created Stakeholders Assembly to call for action to accelerate the uptake of solutions based on proven state-of-the-art technologies such as water reuse. Currently 8%² of the world’s water is reused, with the uptake of reuse technologies constrained by a variety of psychological, financial, and regulatory barriers.

“Water has become a matter of strategic concern. Demand for freshwater is forecast to outstrip supply by 40%³ by 2030. This is a major preoccupation in terms of industrial and environmental security. And although prevention remains vital, technology also has an essential role to play. We must stop thinking of water as linear; instead we should treat it as a renewable resource so industries and local authorities can call on a mix of freshwater and recycled water to meet their critical needs,” declares Anne Le Guennec, CEO of Water Technologies Zone at Veolia.

Given the urgency of the situation, Veolia’s Stakeholders Assembly is issuing a white paper setting out ten concrete proposals and commitments for accelerating the uptake of water reuse, including:

- A new approach to water security. Based on innovative solutions, this centers on an analysis that accounts for stakeholders’ needs as well as local constraints and challenges to define an optimal supply mix which aligns with regional strategies.
- By the end of 2026, providing an open source tool to calculate projected costs associated with having no water (“cost of no water”), designed to make the risk more tangible for public and financial decision-makers. Veolia is working to create the tool in collaboration with several Stakeholders Assembly members, including water economist Esther Crauser-Delbourg, Susan Doering from Aon Insurance, and Laurie Chesné from Natixis CIB.
- A call for a regular United Nations Water conference similar to the conferences on biodiversity and climate to ensure the issue remains at the forefront of international priorities and promote water reuse as one of the core components of the global water agenda.

“Climate breakdown has shuffled the deck when it comes to water. We need to rethink our habits to make sure we’re using water at the right time, in the right place, and in the right way for different communities and regions. The solutions already exist for recycling and preserving water resources. What we now need are robust financial and economic tools, particularly tariffs that properly reflect water’s value. Now is the time to take action collectively,” adds Esther Crauser-Delbourg, water economist and member of the Stakeholders Assembly.

Water reuse is a reality in Chile, the Middle East and Europe

Technological solutions already exist for tackling new risks. With its unique proprietary solutions, Veolia offers innovative approaches for boosting environmental security: solutions that promote water conservation and water saving, for example, by tackling network leaks, wastewater reuse, and desalination solutions that are implemented after all other options have been considered.

Veolia is the pioneer of water reuse at scale. For over twenty-five years the Group has worked with customers around the world, in places like Spain, Namibia, the Middle East and Chile, to roll out tailored solutions.

Veolia’s ReutBox solution has been deployed in France since 2022. The compact, mobile units allow sewage plants to operate in a closed loop, providing quality recycled water for external uses such as irrigation, street cleaning, and watering green spaces. The equipment is already running or scheduled to be installed at over fifty sewage plants. In the southern French city of Narbonne, a cutting-edge installation provides treated wastewater for irrigating vineyards, while in nearby Argelès, France’s largest water reuse installation will soon be supplying water for irrigating local crops.

ABOUT VEOLIA

Veolia, global leader in environmental services, works every day to build environmental security for the benefit of public health and the competitiveness of industries and regions. With 215,000 employees across five continents, working closely with local communities, and thanks to its cutting-edge technologies, the group cleans up pollution, reduces carbon emissions, and regenerates resources through concrete solutions that combine its expertise in water and water technologies, waste, including hazardous waste management, and local energy. In 2025, the Veolia group provided 110 million people with drinking water and 97 million with sanitation, produced 45 million megawatt hours of energy, and treated 64 million tons of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE, Fortune 500, SBF 120) generated consolidated revenue of €44.4 billion in 2025. www.veolia.com

¹ https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/01/1166800
² https://idrawater.org/news/from-8-to-80-scaling-water-reuse-to-secure-our-water-future/
³ Global Commission on the Economics of Water, report 2023.

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