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Veolia Environnement

Veolia Environnement operates hundreds of private sector water projects in almost 50 countries around the world, reaching an estimated 110 million people. Until 2002, Veolia, formerly known as Vivendi Environnement, was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vivendi Universal, and as such was swirling in a maelstrom of corporate corruption and chaos. Bribery convictions, raids on corporate offices by evidence-seeking securities investigators, class action suits filed by shareholders on both sides of the Atlantic, collapses in both its stock price and its credit rating, massive debt necessitating a fire-sale of assets, a discredited and ultimately ousted corporate chieftain, dizzying financial uncertainty, an identity crisis—little wonder that Veolia has scrambled to distance itself from its erstwhile corporate parent. But whatever distance the water company manages to put between itself and Vivendi in the eyes of the financial community, the company can’t distance itself from its record—a record reflecting a corporation that views water not as a right or a necessity of life, but as an opportunity for monopoly profits. While Veolia’s focus remains developed urban markets in Europe, the US, and Asia, the corporation is hedging its bets with increasingly substantive roles in service delivery in the developing world, often in collusion with the World Bank.

Read the report:
Corporate Profile: Vivendi/Veolia  [168 KB]

In the News:
2005
Sept. 15: Pennichuck CEO blasts mayor for OK of French firm to run waterworks
Aug. 12: Lawsuit asks court to stop construction of St. Croix treatment plant
July 27: More bad news for Veolia - Demand for investigation grows
July 6: Veolia over troubled water
July 2: Ex-worker files suit against utility 
Jan. 8: No fines likely for water company

2004
Sept. 24: Water Barons Lose Another One: Massachusetts Community Rejects Privatization Scheme
June 7: Former Vivendi CFO Under Investigation
Jan. 16: Former USFilter employee investigated by Rockland, MA for corrupt practices

2003
Aug. 23: Private droughts: The poor are not profitable, and foreign firms are pulling the plug

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