Date: August 7, 2008
Source: Veolia Environnement
Veolia Environnement Selects Chicago for North American Headquarters
Veolia Environnement, the world's largest environmental services company, has selected Chicago as its new North American headquarters for the company's four operational groups. The company has signed a 34,500-sq.-ft. lease in Aon Center (200 East Randolph Street) and will occupy one floor overlooking Lake Michigan, downtown, the Gold Coast and Millennium Park in early October 2008.
Veolia Environnement announced the news this morning at an event where the company revealed results of a first-of-its-kind survey examining how more than 8,600 people in 14 of the world's largest cities feel about city living. Chicago, one of the three U.S. cities included in the survey, ranked highest among residents in overall satisfaction with their city. According to the survey, Chicago residents are among the most optimistic about their future and cited the city's cultural activities and diversity of people as qualities they like most about their city.
Veolia Environnement's North American headquarters will house approximately 60 executive managers and administrative personnel from four operational groups focused on water services and technologies, waste services, energy and facility management, and passenger transportation.
The four North American operational groups – Veolia Environmental Services, Veolia Water, Veolia Energy and Veolia Transportation – have combined North American revenues of approximately $4.5 billion and employ approximately 31,000 people.
"We are pleased that Veolia has selected Chicago for its North American headquarters," said Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. "Chicago is often praised for its innovative environmental initiatives so it makes sense that the world's largest environmental services company would make our world-class city its home. Chicago offers an ideal location for connecting with the world, a thriving business climate and a great quality of life."
Michel Gourvennec, chief executive of the Veolia Environnement group in North America, as well as president and CEO of Veolia Environmental Services North America, said the new headquarters builds on a base of approximately 1,000 local employees and combined annual revenues of approximately $240 million in the Greater Chicago area.
"In addition to being a truly world-class city, Chicago offers a perfect, centralized location for managing our North America operations and for consolidating our business leadership," Gourvennec said. "The City of Chicago's many environmental initiatives mirror our focus on sustainable development and our interest in providing leading-edge environmental programs for our municipal, industrial and commercial customers. Chicago's renowned universities and diverse culture present a tremendous source of workforce talent that is important as we grow and consider our future leaders."
The new space will meet sustainable development standards for the U.S. Green Building Council's "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" (LEED) program.
"We are delighted to add Veolia to our highly engaged corporate community," said Rita Athas, executive director of the city's economic development office, World Business Chicago. "Chicago's tremendous talent pool, peerless infrastructure and access to the world, along with its incomparable quality of life, will contribute to a great home for Veolia."
Veolia Environnement was selected for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2006 and was established on the FTSE4Good index in 2004.
About Veolia Environnement North America companies
Veolia Environmental Services is the No. 1 waste services provider in the world, and the only global manager of liquid, solid, non-hazardous and hazardous waste; on-site waste processing, industrial cleaning and process maintenance; and recycling, recovery and disposal for both the public and private sectors. The company has 800 treatment facilities worldwide, treating over 66 million tons of waste per year. Veolia Environmental Services North America is the only fully integrated waste service provider in the United States, operating across all aspects of the waste stream.
Veolia Energy offers energy efficiency, renewable energy, utility management, and comprehensive facilities management services to all market sectors in 38 countries. A leading provider of custom, sustainable energy and facility management solutions, Veolia Energy North America owns and operates the largest portfolio of District Energy systems in the United States.
Veolia Water is the No. 1 water company in the world, serving more than 108 million customers. Veolia Water North America provides comprehensive technical, operational and design-build-operate water and wastewater services to municipal and industrial customers, serving more than 14 million people in approximately 600 communities. Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies North America provides industrial and municipal customers with engineering design and innovative technologies for water and wastewater applications. As a major design-build provider, their capabilities range from initial studies, process engineering and pilot testing, to project management, construction, start-up and training.
Veolia Transportation is the largest private operator of bus, rail, paratransit, shuttle and taxi businesses in North America. The company has over 16,000 employees in the U.S. and operates some 150 contracts for cities, including Las Vegas, Boston, San Diego, Denver, and key suburbs of Washington DC, Atlanta and Toronto. The company also owns SuperShuttle, America's leading airport shuttle service. Veolia Transportation is part of Veolia Transport, the world's largest private operator of multiple modes of public transit. Veolia Transport operates contracts for 5,000 city transit authorities in 27 countries and moves 2.7 billion passengers each year.
Veolia Environnement (NYSE:VE) and (Paris:VIE) is the world's largest environmental services company providing tailored solutions in water management, waste management, energy management and freight and passenger transportation. With more than 320,000 global employees, Veolia Environnement recorded annual revenues of $48 billion for the 2007 fiscal year. Visit the company's global Web site at www.veoliaenvironnement.com and North American Web site at www.veolianorthamerica.com.
Important Disclaimer. Veolia Environnement is a corporation listed on the NYSE and Euronext Paris. This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control, including but not limited to: the risk of suffering reduced profits or losses as a result of intense competition, the risk that changes in energy prices and taxes may reduce Veolia Environnement's profits, the risk that governmental authorities could terminate or modify some of Veolia Environnement's contracts, the risk that Veolia Environnement's compliance with environmental laws may become more costly in the future, the risk that currency exchange rate fluctuations may negatively affect Veolia Environnement's financial results and the price of its shares, the risk that Veolia Environnement may incur environmental liability in connection with its past, present and future operations, and the risks related to Veolia Environnement's relationship with Vivendi Universal, as well as the risks described in the documents Veolia Environnement has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Veolia Environnement does not undertake, nor does it have, any obligation to provide updates or to revise any forward-looking statements. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of documents filed by Veolia Environnement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from Veolia Environnement.
For more information, contact:
Veolia Environnement North America
Scott Edwards
281-985-5479 and 713-302-1059
scott.edwards@veoliawaterna.com.
or
Porter Novelli
Samantha Blau
312-856-8814
samantha.blau@porternovelli.com.
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