Understanding Our Customers

Our services are essential to the communities in which we operate, whether we are providing drinking water, managing waste, installing a heating, ventilating or air-conditioning system in a hospital or school, or transporting people. The communities and our clients may be in urban, regional, coastal or country areas, but their needs are the same – a reliable service.
 

Client and customer feedback: knowledge means better service

Measuring performance in our customer relations enables us to continually improve the quality of our services. Veolia Environnement's reputation as an experienced company allows clients to trust our ability to deliver beyond project requirements.

Customer engagement will be a key priority for Veolia Environnement in 2010 with improvements to be realised through better account management, detailed performance reporting, timely issues resolution and greater dialogue and feedback mechanisms. The challenge is to use client feedback to extend our capabilities to provide further mutually beneficial project outcomes.

Case Study

Reflecting and learning – the Connex Melbourne experience

For more than 10 years Veolia Transport operated the commuter rail network in Melbourne, having had its contract extended twice. While we were disappointed not to be reappointed after a tender process in 2009, we are very proud of what we achieved during this time, including:

• Unprecedented patronage growth – 100 million more trips were taken in 2009 than in 1999, a 100 per cent increase
• 1,500 new weekly services despite fleet-size limitations
• Enhanced customer communication including SMS notifications, customer information at the biggest station on the network, Flinders Street, and the Meet our Managers program
• Cutting-edge staff engagement programs
• Building and maintaining good relationships with unions to achieve industrial harmony

There are a number of key lessons from our experience in Melbourne including having an ongoing and sustained focus on the customer experience and investing in stakeholder relations.

Case Study

New Zealand team puts the customer first

In 2009, United Water, Veolia Water’s wholly owned subsidiary in New Zealand, completed a series of customer satisfaction surveys, achieving outstanding performance satisfaction ratings between 94 and 99 per cent.

The surveys rated United Water’s service across five key parameters including response time and length of time to complete work.

The annual surveys target customers across seven contracts in New Zealand, who have recently contacted United Water to request assistance with water, wastewater or stormwater services. The surveys provide a clear picture of how well United Water is serving the communities in which many of our workforce live.

This high level of customer satisfaction reflects the New Zealand team’s commitment to customer service, underpinned by a comprehensive ‘Customer First’ training program. Based on the Veolia Environnement value of Customer Focus – Customer First is an internal initiative which has so far trained over 90 per cent of all staff to deliver exceptional customer service. The opportunity has also been taken to involve our client’s employees from their respective call centres and operations areas in the Customer First program, to better understand our approach in responding quickly and professionally to client and customer needs.

Building competitive advantage for our clients

Veolia Environmental Services seeks to add value by being a consultative partner rather than just a service provider.

As part of our national waste management contract with George Weston Foods, Veolia Environmental Services has produced a tailored 'Towards Zero Waste' plan which included the establishment of a 'Waste Minimisation Group', consisting of employees from George Weston Foods and Veolia Environmental Services. The group meets regularly to discuss waste and recycling results and looks towards waste minimisation and recovery opportunities.

Accreditation

We conduct all of our operations in compliance with client and regulatory obligations. Our businesses are certified to international environmental standards. We invest resources into keeping abreast of legislation to capture market opportunities resulting from any change.

International standards in environment, occupational health and safety and quality

Since 2004, Veolia Environnement has expanded its Environmental Management System (EMS) to all its businesses and divisions. These efforts have led to 89 per cent of revenue from our activities in Australia and New Zealand now being covered by an EMS including those accredited to the international environmental management standard ISO 14001. Some 93 per cent of Veolia Environnement priority sites, defined as those with the greatest potential for environmental impact, were audited as part of the EMS process.

A similar focus is now being directed to achieve accreditation to international standards in occupational health and safety management systems and quality with some operations already leading the way:

• United Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of Veolia Water in Australia, was the first water operations company in Australia to gain internationally accredited quality (ISO 9001) and environmental (ISO 14001) certification, and now has also achieved health and safety (AS/NZS 4801) certification.
• United Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of Veolia Water in New Zealand, achieved certification to the AS/NZS 4801 health and safety standard and ISO 18001 international health and safety standard in 2009.
• Veolia Transport's Perth operations are certified against ISO 9001 quality, ISO 14001 environment, and AS/NZS 4801 and ISO 18001 health and safety management system standards. All other operations have one or more certifications in the areas of quality, safety and environment.
• Veolia Environmental Services in Australia holds national triple certification for all its sites across ISO 9001 quality, ISO 14001 environment, and AS/NZS 4801.
• Veolia Environmental Services in New Zealand achieved external tertiary accreditation for its Workplace Safety Management Practice Program, which is based on the AS/NZ 4801 safety standard. In addition. Veolia Environmental Services also achieved Gold-level certification of EnviroMark, which is New Zealand's environmental program leading to ISO 14001.
• All Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies activities and services are certified to ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 18001 and AS/NZS 4801 by BSI Group.

Being at the forefront of legislative change

Veolia Water was the first private company to be granted a network operator's licence from the Minister for Water in New South Wales in 2009. This followed the passing of the Water Industry Competition Act 2006 (WICA) by the New South Wales State Government. Under this Act, Veolia Water would require a licence to construct, maintain and operate water infrastructure in New South Wales.

Acquiring this licence was particularly important as it permitted Veolia Water to construct, maintain and operate a new recycled water plant which is part of the Rosehill Recycled Water Scheme in Sydney's western suburbs.

Once construction of this plant is completed, it will produce more than 4 billion litres of highly treated recycled water to major industrial and commercial clients – reducing their demands on drinking water supplies.

In considering whether to grant a licence and in deciding what conditions to impose on a licence, regard is given to four core principles:

• The protection of public health, the environment, public safety and consumers
• Encouraging competition in the provision of water supply and sewage services
• Ensuring the sustainability of water resources
• Promoting the production and use of recycled water

Being the first private company to be granted this licence is recognition of our expertise in operating large water infrastructure projects with regard to economic, social and environmental outcomes.