Veolia | Near & Middle East

#Spain faced drought long before most of Europe, and it has turned that experience into a head start. I sat down with @el_pais in Madrid to talk about it. As I see it, when you are on the frontlines of climate disruption, you adapt faster and you become a standard bearer for others to follow. Spain already recycles 15% of its wastewater; meanwhile, many other European countries, including France, are still below 1%. Spain has become a global laboratory for water innovation, with the solutions developed now exported to 45 countries.  So, why recycle #water exactly? Around Murcia, by supplying farmers with treated wastewater, we ease tensions between water users. In Catalonia, we go one step further as we turn it into drinking water. Simply put, the solutions exist, and their payoff is now undeniable. This is why we are accelerating even more in Spain, with €1 billion in investments targeted by 2030. Energy is an equally essential part of the equation. When a town or factory produces its own power from often overlooked resources such as waste heat or non-recyclable waste, it becomes much better insulated from geopolitical shocks and price spikes. And there is now a new player entering the resource sovereignty arena: AI and its data centers, key to Europe’s digital future. Data centers do consume huge amounts of energy and water to cool servers; however, with our recently unveiled Data Center Resource 360 offer, we can cut their freshwater use by up to 75%.  We’re already putting this approach into practice on the ground. In Mississippi, for example, we’re partnering with Amazon Web Services to transform treated municipal wastewater into cooling water for data centers, with operations set to begin in 2027. We also have the ability to recover the heat from these facilities to warm nearby homes through district heating networks. At the end of the day, this is how data centers will earn their place in local communities. These are all critical resource topics that transcend politics and will be shaping future economic decisions for decades to come. And that is why we are fully confident when we plan for the very long term in places like Spain. Spain is like few other countries in Veolia’s culture and history. We have been here since 1867, nearly 160 years, and we fully intend to stay for at least another 160! elpais.com/economia/negocios…

.@Veolia has become the environmental security powerhouse. What was once taken for granted is no longer a given. Resources have become a competitive advantage, a matter of independence, and a source of geopolitical power. Ultimately, they are a condition for life itself and for the prosperity of communities. This transformation is already unfolding across the world. Water has erupted at the center of conflicts in the Middle East, as strategic as oil. Energy is weaponized through the Strait of Hormuz. China has restricted exports of rare earth minerals essential for batteries, electronics, and defense systems. At the same time, climate change is accelerating disruptions, increasing pressure on resources, and amplifying risks for populations and economies alike. Everything is connected. This is what Environmental Security means. For 170 years, we have been anticipating these shifts by turning challenges into proprietary solutions and know-how. Today, this legacy defines our role. We are not just an environmental services company; we are the innovation powerhouse for critical needs and the R&D engine behind the invisible systems that keep civilization running. While some innovate for needs people did not even know they had, we focus on securing what communities cannot live without: water, energy, and critical minerals. This requires the ability to deliver available, affordable, and reliable resources at scale, while strengthening resilient cities, competitive industries, and healthy communities. And we are backing this with unprecedented ambition: €1 billion dedicated to innovation during our #GreenUp plan to scale solutions fast enough to meet the urgency of a world where resources define both stability and prosperity. #Innovation only matters if it delivers impact. Scaling it makes the difference!

You hear it everywhere: the #AI industrial revolution. Demand for #DataCenter capacity is expected to nearly triple by 2030, so is micro chips manufacturing, unlocking new possibilities and quickly becoming a matter of strategic sovereignty for nations worldwide. But alongside this momentum, resistance is also rising, particularly from communities that see the buildup as a threat. In 2025 alone, $156 billion worth of data center projects were stopped in the United States, while Europe starts to see moratorium plans and projects turn down. Because all this AI industry rests on something very tangible: resources. Water, energy, critical minerals, and land. By 2030, the overall water use of data centers and semiconductor manufacturing is expected to equal that of 46 million people, roughly the size of the New York, Los Angeles and Paris metropolitan areas combined. At @Veolia, we are launching a new integrated offer : Data Center Resource 360, designed to turn data centers from resource consumers into potential resource contributors. Combining global reach and technologies, tailor made local community delivery and a combination of our various businesses : our innovation winning formula. To make data centers more sustainable. In practice : ➡️ Capturing waste heat, achieving up to 20% reuse efficiency and reducing energy losses. ➡️ Treating, reusing and replenishing cooling water, cutting water footprints by up to 75%. ➡️ Recovering up to 95% of electronic waste and process chemicals, turning them back into strategic resources. It is all taking shape, with a very promising announcement! We have signed a new partnership with data center developer SDC and we are also developing initiatives with all major hyperscalers, including @AWS, @Micron, @Samsung, and TSMC. This momentum reinforces our confidence in reaching €1 billion in revenue in this sector by 2030. Our ambition is simple: becoming THE partner of choice for these strategic AI industries.