From Trash to Turbines: How Veolia is Powering Growth in Waste, Water, and Clean Energy

Image Credit: Veolia UK. By partnering with Veolia, defence organisations can address one of their key international priorities in the tackling of climate change and biodiversity loss

Veolia has reported strong momentum in the first half of 2025, highlighting both growth and heavy investment in its ecological transformation strategy.

During the first six months of the year, the company states that its performance was fully aligned with the objectives of its GreenUp 2024-2027 programme. The so-called “boosters” of the business, which include water technologies, hazardous waste, bioenergies, energy flexibility, and efficiency, delivered nearly 9 per cent growth.

A significant commitment to ecological transformation

Veolia allocated 2.2 billion euros, or around 2.5 billion dollars, in net financial investments during this period. Revenue, when adjusted for energy prices, climbed by 3.8 per cent to 22.048 billion euros. Organic EBITDA increased by 5.5 per cent to reach 3.37 billion euros.

According to the company, this progress was fuelled by operational efficiency gains of 191 million euros and an additional 47 million euros in synergies. Both are part of a broader goal to achieve 530 million euros in efficiencies by the end of the year.

Key moves included acquiring the remaining 30 percent of Water Technologies Services from CDPQ for €1.5 billion, which Veolia states will unlock €90 million in cost synergies by 2027. The company also completed around 300 million euros of acquisitions in hazardous waste treatment across the United States, Brazil, and Japan. These steps strengthen its position in areas such as circular water management, pollution control, and sustainable waste treatment.

“The excellent results recorded in the first half confirm the relevance of the GreenUp plan's growth priorities,” writes Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, in the H1 2025 results.

Image Credit: Veolia. Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia

“In an uncertain economic and geopolitical context, the challenges related to health, resilience, competitiveness, and sovereignty are all the more crucial and confirm the sustained demand for our services. 

“Our unique ability to demonstrate agility in a constantly evolving environment enables us to maximise value creation for our stakeholders by combining resilience and growth.

“The strong performance in the first half of 2025 makes us fully confident in achieving our objectives for the year.”

To support future climate-aligned projects, Veolia issued its first green hybrid bond, raising nearly 500 million euros.

Environmental service performance

Water

 Water sales rose by more than 3.4 per cent on a like-for-like basis. Price increases of around 2 per cent, combined with strong commercial momentum and volume growth, lifted performance. Municipal water, a core business, grew by 3.6 per cent, helped by tariff increases in Spain, Central and Eastern Europe, and North America.

Waste

 Waste activity revenues increased by 2.4 percent, on a like-for-like basis, supported by price revisions, stronger recyclate values, and steady commercial demand. Solid waste management, the group’s backbone, increased by 1.5 percent. Hazardous waste treatment outperformed, with a 4.9 percent increase, led mainly by France, Special Waste Europe, and North America.

Energy

 Energy sales declined by 0.9% on a like-for-like basis; however, after adjusting for energy price impacts, they increased by 5.5%. Climate benefits and higher volumes offset the adverse price effect. District heating and cooling networks, concentrated in Central and Eastern Europe, expanded by 5.1 percent. At the same time, bioenergy, flexibility, and energy efficiency activities increased by 6.6 percent, thanks to strong markets in Italy, Hungary, Spain, Belgium, and the Middle East.

Regional performance

Europe outside France saw revenue grow by 5.6 per cent to 9.73 billion euros, helped by tariff indexations, favourable climate conditions, and recycling gains in Germany. Latin America surged by 10.5 per cent to €948 million, led by growth in water and waste services in Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina.

Image Credit: Veolia UK. Veolia has many sights across the world

The Middle East and Africa achieved 4.8 per cent growth, reaching €847 million, with new energy and water projects identified as the primary drivers. In North America, revenue increased by 2.6 percent to €1.54 billion, driven by the hazardous waste segment and regulated activities with favorable pricing.

Outlook

Looking ahead, Veolia has reaffirmed its 2025 guidance. The company is targeting organic EBITDA growth of between 5% and 6%, annual efficiency gains of approximately €350 million, and net income growth of around 9%.

By 2027, through its GreenUp plan, Veolia expects its EBITDA to exceed € 8 billion. It also aims to sustain net income growth of nearly 10 percent per year while keeping leverage at or below three times, with dividend growth tied to earnings.