Volunteers are employees who are prepared to travel to the four corners of the world to put their experience and skills at the service of others.
A Veoliaforce volunteer is a Veolia employee who, during his or her working hours, goes on a mission on behalf of the Veolia Foundation. Previously trained in humanitarian emergencies and the use of intervention equipment designed by the Foundation, they may be in the field for several weeks or provide their expertise remotely. They leave at the request of international humanitarian organisations after a disaster or to improve the living conditions of the most disadvantaged on a long-term basis. They provide expertise in one of the Group's core businesses: Water, Energy, Waste;
The Foundation coordinates and pays for logistics and travel expenses; Veoliaforce volunteers continue to be paid as if they were working in their usual job.
What about ERUs? Veoliaforce volunteers can be made available to the French Red Cross, a long-standing partner of the Veolia Foundation, to join its Emergency Response Teams (ERU). Illustration after the September 2023 earthquake in Morocco.
Become a Veoliaforce volunteer?
Employees of the Veolia Group can apply to be included among the Veoliaforce volunteers of the Veolia Foundation by following this link (access reserved for Group employees):
For which missions?
Since its creation in 2004, the Veolia Foundation has carried out nearly 250 expert missions, both on development projects and in humanitarian emergencies. Illustrations in Pakistan, Haiti, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Myanmar...
Veoliaforce volunteers's stories
Stéphanie Doualan: “Making dirty water drinkable is pretty magical!”
Stéphanie Doualan, a laboratory technician with Veolia Franciliane, spent two weeks in Mayotte as a Veoliaforce volunteer. In particular, she operated the Veolia Foundation's mobile water purification stations alongside the French Red Cross. A mission like no other for this seasoned volunteer.
Julie Schmitt: “Training means lighting a flame that will itself be passed on.”
Water Quality Manager at Veolia Franciliane, Julie Schmitt left to train Médecins Sans Frontières staff in Pakistan. Why did she do this? She is a Veoliaforce volunteer from the Veolia Foundation, in parallel with her position at the Méry-sur-Oise plant. Here's how.
Valérie Gauthier : « It's not essential and yet being there, doing a little more, opens up so many perspectives. »
Valérie Gauthier, Division Manager at Veolia RVD Ile-de-France, led a mission with Médecins Sans Frontières in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda on waste management. This is a major issue for an NGO whose environmental footprint is one of the key requirements for the coming years.
Nathalie Peraro: “Sharing a glass of water can be magical!”
Methods and performance engineer at Veolia, based in the PACA region, Nathalie Peraro spent two weeks on a mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), assigned by the Foundation to support Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the field.
Jocelyn Fillion-Nicollet: “A sea of white plastic.”
Jocelyn Fillion-Nicollet, delegated works coordinator at Veolia Eau Ile-de-France, was trained as a Veoliaforce volunteer in June 2023. Just over a year later, he left on a mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to train Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) personnel in the deployment of Aquaforces 2000.
David Maisonneuve: “Tailor-made for each camp, with one criterion: impact.”
David Maisonneuve, Distribution Networks Manager for the Veolia Group, inaugurated the Veolia Foundation's mobilization in Eastern Chad, alongside the High Commissioner for Refugees, to improve access to drinking water in UN-run camps. He spent two weeks in the Ouaddaï region, near Farchana, where a dozen camps house several hundred thousand people.
Sylvain Mousset: “The best demonstration of our usefulness.”
Thomas Schwarz: “Expectations are high, and that's normal.”
It was back-to-school for some, back from mission for others. Thomas Schwarz, a Veoliaforce volunteer from Veolia Eau Ile-de-France (VEDIF), returned in early September after two weeks in Bangladesh. Assigned by the Veolia Foundation to the United Nations' International Office for Migration (IOM), he worked on optimizing Saniforce, the Veolia Foundation's fecal sludge post-treatment solution for the humanitarian sector.
Melvin Radlo: “A captivating and formative experience”
Marie Gaveriaux: "We come back from every mission stronger than ever."
On June 6, the Ukrainian population suffered terrible floods after the destruction of the Kakhova dam. In support of the solidarity operations carried out by the Crises and Support Center (CDCS) of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Veolia Foundation provided mobile water treatment units.
These units - Aquaforces 2000 - can supply up to 10,000 people, in line with humanitarian standards (20 liters per person per day). Marie Gaveriaux, a Veoliaforce volunteer, was in the field at the end of June to train Solidarités International teams in the deployment of Aquaforces. She talks about her experience.
Nathalie Vigneron-Larosa: "Combining expertise to find solutions."
The Veolia Foundation has placed its Veoliaforce experts at the disposal of Solidarités International, an NGO present in particular in Myanmar, to optimize and adapt the identified solutions to the field. Nathalie Vigneron-Larosa, a Veoliaforce volunteer who monitored the project for several weeks, explains how the project was carried out.
You undertook a Veoliaforce mission remotely, more than 8,000 km from the refugee camps in Sittwe, Myanmar. Describe how you approached the mission.
Nathalie Vigneron-Larosa: It so happens that two years ago, I worked in Veolia Environnement's Technical and Performance Department with Romain Verchère, who himself went into the field with Solidarités International. So when the Foundation called me in September 2019, the subject was not completely unknown to me - although of course I haven’t seen the reality of Myanmar for myself.
What was the mission?
NVL: This was a one-off study, estimated to last three weeks, to analyse the process and design a wastewater treatment plant where Solidarités International wanted to increase capacity. There was also an issue concerning the quality of the water discharged.
How did you organize it?
NVL: We have the advantage in the Technical and Performance Department of being fairly self-sufficient. My manager lightened my work load so that I could free up some time. This was especially important since the studies to be carried out turned out, as is often the case, to be more extensive than initially envisaged! When you start working on a topic like a wastewater treatment plant in a refugee camp, you initially feel very inadequate in terms of your skills, processes and know-how, but in the end you quickly understand the techniques employed and the challenges. The processes are rudimentary but we adapt and find solutions, often by discussing the issue with colleagues and combining our expertise.
Is it frustrating to be involved in this type of project at a distance?
NVL: No, I really liked being useful and being able to work on something so concrete while still having the comfort of having all my professional tools at my disposal and being able to continue my family life alongside. The desire to travel is naturally there, but a Veoliaforce mission at a distance is both easier to get our management to accept and it opens up the challenge to people like me with young children.
Arthur de Saint-Hubert : “Lasting emergency...”
In March 2020 Arthur de Saint-Hubert, a Veolia Foundation Veoliaforce volunteer, undertook a mission to prepare for doubling the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant in one of the camps. Explanations.
You arrived in the field as part of a development project that had begun a few months earlier...
Arthur de Saint-Hubert: Yes, and very closely monitored in the Foundation over the past year. In Rakhine State, after several bouts of violent confrontation amongst the population, the Rohingyas were displaced and now live in camps. The NGO Solidarités International, a Veolia Foundation partner, has been working in the field for several years to provide drinking water and sanitation in the Sittwe camps. Against this background other Veoliaforce missions working on the issue of sanitation preceded mine.
What was your mission?
ASH: The Sittwe wastewater treatment plant needs to double in size and be improved. However, there is no electricity: everything is done by gravity, so the height of the water is the major issue for the proper functioning of the entire system. And everything has to be robust and easy to use.
What improvement is needed?
ASH: We need to be able to treat a substantially larger volume and, in addition, improve the quality of what comes out (sludge, ash and water). In the sense of the FAO recommendations, we are not yet at a good enough level of water quality for reuse in the fields, but we are making progress. As for doubling the capacity, the work started shortly after I left.
What were the working conditions in the field?
ASH: I was quite surprised to discover long-established camps that looked more like very poor settlements than refugee camps, as is usually the case. This is undoubtedly the reality of a lasting emergency... A large proportion of the population has been there for a long time, but the people I met in the camps refused to plan ahead: they don't want to imagine themselves still there in six months’ time.
Anyway, I left France without a care in the world, even though I didn't realize the cultural distance there would be between an NGO that employs a majority of local staff in the field and the practices in a highly organized group like Veolia, where I've been working for more than ten years. For the first few days, I was like a bull in a china shop... And then I realized - and it was a real learning experience for me – that it was important to take more account of the very particular context of a humanitarian intervention in the field...