In the City of London, our fleet of electric refuse collection vehicles (ERCVs) is helping to reduce air pollution in the Square Mile.

Five new 18 and 26-tonne trucks, powered by lithium-ion batteries, form the UK’s first zero-emission recycling and waste collection fleet. The vehicles, which can complete a full shift on one charge, are part of the City of London Corporation’s plan to ensure at least 90% of the City meets World Health Organisation guidelines for nitrogen dioxide by 2025.

To ensure the electricity infrastructure remains resilient for local communities, and can charge the fleet, Veolia has developed a smart charging system. This intelligent solution compares shift patterns, available generation and vehicle power requirements, and automatically determines which vehicles are charged. By using this system the vehicles are available when needed, local grid power availability is maintained, and future expansion can be met as further decarbonisation measures are introduced.

“These new vehicles will help to further drive down air pollution in the City and improve the environment. This pioneering fleet complements the work we’re doing to help businesses consolidate vehicle deliveries and use more hybrid models.”

Keith Bottomley
Chairman, City of London Corporation’s Environment Committee

In West London, we worked with Brent Council, residents and budding chefs to create a cookbook with a difference. The authors showcase their commitment to tackling climate change through their love of food by sharing recipes that promote using up leftovers and reducing food waste.

The cookbook, From Brent to Bowl, includes recipes from around the world celebrating the borough’s rich diversity and heritage, including one from celebrity TV chef, Nadiya Hussain MBE. The 20 recipes included were chosen after a community competition of dishes that use leftovers, produce zero waste or are plant-based.

The book is available as an ebook with print copies available to borrow from all Brent libraries.

Royal Berkshire Hospital provides acute hospital services for more than 500,000 people across Reading. To meet NHS targets of reducing its carbon footprint by 80% by 2032, and become zero carbon by 2040, the hospital needed to cut its energy use, while guaranteeing stable supplies of heat, electricity and hot water.

We worked closely with the hospital’s team to convert the site from steam to a Low Temperature Hot Water (LTHW) system to make big operational efficiencies. The system, installed in ten plant rooms across the site, consists of 3 LTHW hydrogen-ready boilers and associated 44 LTHW heat exchangers. We also updated the hospital’s combined heat and power (CHP) heat rejection and recovery system, by replacing the steam waste heater boiler with a LTHW exhaust gas exchanger.

The £8 million project is delivering immediate carbon savings. One significant improvement is a closed loop water system requiring minimal top up, which has seen a reduction of around 17,900m3 of raw water used every year by the old steam system.

Other annual savings include:

“This was an extremely challenging project given the timelines for delivery, working in a 24/7 acute hospital setting and during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project serves as an outstanding example of what is achievable through a culture of collaboration, innovation, commitment and cooperation. This approach delivered the project within budget and to specification ensuring effective use of time, resources and financial investment without compromising on quality or health and safety. Veolia’s efforts are laudable and set new standards in the industry.”

Guy Kieser
Associate Director of Estates, Royal Berkshire Hospital.

The Veolia Sustainability Fund supports grassroots community projects across the UK. In 2021, we contributed £27,000 worth of funding to 46 projects, as well as in-kind resources and volunteers from across our business.

Launched to mark World Environment Day on 5 June, the Fund provides grants of up to £1,000 to help local projects get started. In the first eight months, we received more than 100 applications from non-profit organisations, community groups or individuals who want to transform their local community by enhancing biodiversity, promoting sustainable waste behaviours, protecting or preserving resources and the environment, or using recycled, reused or reclaimed materials.

Among the projects we are supporting are:

“We are really grateful to Veolia for providing an opportunity to help us support those who can’t afford transportation of their own through us. As a small business we can’t always afford to provide as much support as we might like to for those in need. Grants like this really help us create a positive direction for those who have hit a hard time recently by helping people get access to affordable, efficient, and healthy ways to get around, we can not only save them a lot in travel costs, but aid them in a healthier lifestyle that can help with a better physical and mental state too.”

Gary Lee, Director, Full Cycle Bicycle Project

Increased media attention has changed attitudes to plastics. Thankfully, Veolia is ahead of the curve when it comes to plastic solutions – for example, working with the UK dairy industry to turn used plastic milk bottles back into new ones in the UK.

We launched our first Janitor Service in Westminster, providing doorstep recycling and waste collections using an electric buggy and exclusive janitor.

The service has enabled Westminster City Council business waste customers to safely manage their waste while footfall slowly increases again. Since the service launched, existing customers have benefited from the service, as well as 13 new customers who have signed up, which has further helped reduce congestion with fewer vehicle movements on Westminster’s roads.

We established a partnership with North Paddington food bank in London to help support vulnerable people.

Veolia donated in-kind resources such as vehicles that were not being used and volunteers to pick up surplus food from local supermarkets and deliver them to the food bank to be sorted and redistributed.