Veolia has a strong commitment to supporting community activities.
Our Volunteering Policy supports employees who wish to actively engage with their communities by offering up to 16 hours paid volunteering time off per year. Staff are encouraged to use their volunteering hours to support local organisations or charities in a more hands on manner in a variety of ways.
As part of our commitment to supporting the development of the communities in which we live, Veolia has begun to develop partnerships with local communities where we can share our environmental expertise in a non-for-profit capacity. Our energy expertise is helping a Dublin city centre housing organisation to raise energy awareness amongst its tenants, while in Co.Kilkenny, Veolia technology and skills are being deployed to support a local community develop a vibrant riverside amenity.
Primary school children are being made aware of the value of water via the deployment of the Veolia Water Box. This practical learning tool is in use in most countries where Veolia operates. It enhances the existing SESE (social, environmental and scientific education) subjects on the Irish primary school curriculum.
Veolia Ireland is a member of Business in the Community, Ireland's only professional network for sustainable business. BITC oversees the Schools’ Business Partnership which is an education inclusion programme that partners schools with business. Veolia will work with the pupils of Plunkett College in Dublin 9 in 2014/2015 for the Skills @ Work programme in order to provide them with a unique insight into the world of work and practical lifeskills.