Integrated solutions cutting costs in heavy industry sectors 14 September 2015
Integrated solutions cutting costs in heavy industry sectors
Veolia’s new plug-in solutions designed with nature and the bottom line in mind.
As the Australian economy continues to feel pressure from a declining heavy industry sector; leading environmental solutions provider Veolia has integrated traditional water, waste and energy services to assist these sectors in reducing their operational costs and environmental footprint.
How sectors such as oil and gas production will reduce their operational costs, whilst maintaining their social and environmental license to operate continues to dominate service provision challenges; this is a problem Veolia recognises and is ready to take on, says Rod Naylor, Veolia’s spokesperson for Integrated by Design.
“We know from the many discussions we have had with large industry leaders within these sectors, they are feeling intense pressure to reduce their unit production costs whilst also improving safety, environmental control and quality,” said Naylor.
“As a result from these conversations, Veolia has had to look deeply at our current environmental offering and see where we can work more closely with these businesses to integrate their water, waste and energy needs in the form of one simple integrated solution.”
“We’ve found that by integrating solutions, we have been able to generate cost savings to these businesses, enhance yields and productivity, and strengthen positive environmental and social impacts.”
Aptly titled ‘Plug-In’ solutions, these technologies, services and innovations have been designed to mimic the natural interconnectedness between water, waste and energy as it exists in nature.
With more than 40 year’s experience in delivering essential services for industry in Australia, Veolia has developed significant insight into the challenges these businesses face on a day-to-day basis. Developing integrated solutions to meet those challenges is a journey the organisation started in earnest in 2012 and one which will be continued for years to come.
In developing and deploying integrated solutions, Veolia has found that one of the biggest challenges clients face themselves is that they manage water, waste and energy in operational silos within their organisations. This need for a long term sustainable solution drives Veolia to seek true partnerships where cooperation and collaboration creates value for our clients.
“Veolia can bring the technologies, skills and management capability to plug-in the various elements needed to create integrated solutions that help businesses to respond to challenges like access to skill, regulatory pressures, competition from emerging markets, and the challenge of improving yields with ageing assets,” said Naylor.
“Through working in partnership, Veolia can also bring solutions that enhance environmental and social outcomes, aligning with corporate sustainability and CSR goals, as well as helping to secure and maintain our clients social license to operate, their brand value and customer confidence,” said Naylor.
“Being progressive and challenging a ‘business as usual’ approach through collaboration and integration has created an opportunity to generate value for our customers. Finding these synergies and places of integration in water, waste and energy is often a new approach to organisations, especially when their business is not designed to identify and capitalise on these connections; and because of the work Veolia has been doing to develop these solutions right around the world, we are now in the position to show a range of capabilities to the market.”
“That being said, the market is still very much in the early stages of understanding and pursuing the potential that comes from integrated solutions, and the more advanced the company in terms of its efficiency journey, and its maturity in working in partnership to achieve sustainable outcomes, the more they are able to capitalise on the future potential of integration,” said Naylor.
For example, the services Veolia provides within the oil and gas sector where integrated water management, environmental stewardship and the recovery of resources is critical, “through our work in south-east Queensland, we’ve moved beyond simple transactional management of these services, to where our water, waste and energy systems work hand-in-hand with our customers. This integrated approach has resulted in one client, reducing some upstream production costs by up to 15% while maintaining service level standards - it is joint value creation."
Looking beyond mining and oil and gas, there are a range of other sectors that Veolia will be focusing on delivering their range of Plug-In solutions, “Smart cities and municipal markets, healthcare and food and beverage sectors are experiencing a range of similar challenges across their core operations services, particularly when it comes to ensuring a high sustainable performance.”
“Whilst it is an exciting time for us to be at the leading edge of innovation in offering integrated solutions, we are looking forward to working in a market where this way of thinking and driving a circular economy approach are the expected norm,” concluded Naylor.
For more information on this story, contact Veolia Media Relations:
Claire Maloney
Communications Director
The Bravery
T: +61 431 279 785
E: claire@thebraveryishere.com
