You have just been nominated Director of the African development of Veolia Water Technologies, what are your long-term goals?
 
It is difficult to answer that question because Africa, and especially the sub-Sahara region, is facing a situation without precedent. The continent is facing demographic issues and a very fast urbanization. Indeed, the population shift from countries to countries within Africa and to occidental, countries makes it difficult to know what our long-term goals should be. Of course, the goal is to give access to drinking water to everyone continuously during the year and during the day. We also must ensure that the resources are still available after a few years.

It is easy to dig dwells and give access to drinking water, but we cannot be sure that the dwells will operate for fifteen years. First, water will eventually become scarce, and second waste water will be produced and will need to be treated.
If you look at the Senegal river or Niger river for example, the existing water plants are already at the limit because waste water is not treated. Our main goal is to provide the African continent with drinking water and new solutions regarding the waste water management, so the population will always have access to good quality water.
 
For a long time, you have been managing the services as well as the filtering of the water.  Water is not a usual product. What are the specifications of such an activity in Africa?
 
A common mistake is to think that there is a scarcity of water. The truth is that there is a scarcity of drinking water. Most Africans have access to water and when we witness children dying because of the water, it is because it is not good quality water. Providing water for large cities is also very difficult. The production itself is not that challenging but the first difficulty is to find financing. Then you need to operate and maintain the water plants which is not easy. I am not talking only about Veolia; the states also have a hard time maintaining the treatment plants. There is a lot of dwells that are being dug and do not operate after a few years.

The quality of the networks is another issue. In Africa we are facing a very fast urbanization and the cities are growing horizontally and it is very difficult to define what is the exact population of large cities. This growth is not accompanied by the development of the water and electricity networks. For electricity there are solutions like the solar panels or the wind turbines, for water it is more complicated.
 
Water contains a major geopolitical importance and it is common to talk about the “water war”, how do you define your activity at the heart of these issues?
 
Water is a common good and at Veolia we want to be a factor of peace and security in this matter, but it is a delicate one. Let us take the example of the Senegal river: it runs through Guinea, Mali and Senegal. If there are too many water plants in Guinea and Mali, it might be hard to have enough water for Dakar. Another example is Cape town in South Africa: we have been through a three years drought. And now what they call “day zero” is coming when there will not be any running water in the city. With these examples I want to point out that when hear of “water war” we think of wars between countries. But the truth is that it exists within the countries, between cities and regions.

As a multinational company, our role is to provide water to anyone anywhere. In a region where the population is growing, the lack of water would have catastrophic consequences. There would not be any jobs because without water you cannot have any industry, tourism or agriculture. The populations would have to move and there would be revolts. The climate change is a factor as well that just speeds up the process.
 
Are there differences of challenges between each country? Shortage, managing water reserves, water waste caused by obsolete networks?
 
I sometimes hear companies saying they want to be Burkinabe in Burkina Faso, Kenyan in Kenya etc., but I do not think this is the point. Yes, there are differences between countries and there are very large discrepancies between the networks for drinking water and waste water in Dakar and Mombasa for example. At Veolia we adapt to the local specificities, but we are French and a global company. We have solutions, technologies and capacities to understand the needs of anywhere we go. The answer must be local, so we study the situation and adapt. If there is a river nearby or if the coast is close, the network will be different. Even in the same country the situations can be quite different. Also, depending on the country, there may be grants or financing from a global organization and this has an impact on how we can do our job.
 
What are the other impacts that an efficient water management can have on the development of a country?
 
Air, water and food are the basic human needs. For air there is not a lot we can do except fight against pollution. As far as food is concerned, I personally have tried to come up with very simple concepts to develop local farming. It always comes down to the same issues: the infrastructures are poor, and you cannot keep fruits and vegetables in a cold storage because of the lack of electricity. The cost would be so high that it would be impossible to sell the products on the market. The idea is to use very simple techniques to grow fruits and vegetables all year long in a cool greenhouse. This way, with a very low investment, we can have an impact on a very large number of families. These cultivation poles allow the population to be fixed and not be forced to move. Water provides food and from there you have the beginning of an ecosystem that will enable more and more businesses to develop around it.

Water has an impact on the industrial sector as well. There is a lot of small to medium size industries that are developing in Africa and they need water to operate. These industries also need to treat their waste water and at Veolia we can help them do that. By doing so, and with the use of our technology, we take part of the water management in Africa. It is an environment requirement and it is always difficult for a government to develop the industry and to abide by these standards. But I truly believe this can be a win-win for the country if the constraints are the same for everyone, starting with the industrial sector.

The vast majority of Asian countries officially put environmental concerns at the top of their agendas, but locally, there are still many disparities between countries like China, where standards are often more strict than those in the United States or Europe, as well as some countries that do not truly consider the environmental issues.
 
For example, in 2008 the Philippines designed an environmental legislative framework, and yet it has still not been implemented. This lack of responsiveness impacts key industry players, such as Veolia Water Technology, which offers solutions that are adapted to the new versions of these laws. We thought about getting involved with the Philippines’ efforts to put their framework to action, but it’s been seven years and we still have not had the opportunity to implement our technologies.
 
This delay can be attributed to the probability produced by single farms, as well as corruption in that part of the world. 

Industrial pollution is a problem all Asian countries face, including pollution from heavy industries, such as petroleum refining, the production of chemicals or electricity by coal plants. These industries are booming, particularly in India and China, to support the development of national infrastructure.
 
We must understand that in this region, pollution is often seen as a necessary evil to industrial development. The economic development of Asian countries rely on these industries, which happen to have a real economic impact. The definition of new environmental regulations represents a major challenge for the countries, as they have an impact on their competitiveness in the global market. China must find a way to comply with international standards, while maintaining the competitiveness of their local businesses.
 
China should also take into account the pollution caused by the manufacturing sector that involves many foreign companies. These businesses relocate to Asia because of its flexible legislation and savings benefits from the manufacturing process. Thus, the problem of pollution is closely linked to a low-cost manufacturing model, which could be jeopardized if countries were applying environmental standards comparable to those existing in so-called developed countries.

Water pollution is a major issue in Asia, especially in industrial areas where many pollutants are produced. Treating waste, according to relevant standards, is a priority to preserve precious water resources. This is far from being the case everywhere. In Burma, for example, certain industries, not just local businesses, but the global players as well, discard their waste without treating it directly, consequently negatively impacting the quality of rivers and groundwater. These practices pose serious problems for the environment, as well as public health.
 
This has led some countries to respond to regulations, including Taiwan, where the largest companies in microelectronics that use many toxic products throughout the production chain are based. Taiwan has recently strengthened its legislation for the maximum amount of ammonia contained in the waste and discharged by industries. This will position Taiwan as a responsive and active country on environmental issues. The country must comply with international regulations and contribute to the development of its industry leaders.

Some companies are not always willing to push the acceptance of environmental standards because they fear it will impact their competitiveness. These businesses are reluctant to spend their money on adapting to such regulations, especially when their competitors are sometimes not subject to the same restrictions.
 
But times change, particularly with large Asian companies working with international players, whose regulatory requirements are strongly based around environmental issues.
 
Other companies truly play a leading role when it comes to these issues. TSMC, the largest semiconductor foundry in the world based in Taiwan, is known to integrate environmental issues into its production process. As part of the adoption of the new regulations on ammonia, we have worked to develop a solution that integrates these regulations. It's an exciting challenge because we have to be creative so that our technical solution minimizes production costs or provides a positive return on investment for the company. This basically creates new value expectation for the environment and industry.
 
If Asian industry leaders, such as TSMC, have the intelligence to adopt these innovative technologies, we can expect a ripple effect that will inevitably impact the environment and economy in a positive way.

In Taiwan and Singapore in particular, there is one industry that is focused on the recovery of waste from the production of electronic goods. There are also solutions to reuse the water in the manufacturing process itself, or parallel rings (irrigation, cleaning etc.). To be developed intelligently, these solutions require working far upstream to better understand their manufacturing processes, the quantities of water used and the degree of purity required at each stage.
 
This comprehensive approach has enabled us to integrate our own technology, AnitaMox, the processing chain of waste that contains ammonia, which we hope to offer our Taiwanese partners. The whole point of this technology is its low Veolia environmental footprint. It not only leads to a very low chemical consumption, but overall has extremely moderate operating costs, making it both an ecological and competitive solution.

To be truly effective, this comprehensive approach needs to enter the manufacturing process of our industrial partners. This is a sensitive approach because companies operate in a very competitive environment and they worry that that another company can understand their strategic and confidential advantages in detail. Therefore this overall approach is necessary in order to propose sustainable solutions without threatening the competitiveness of our competitors.
 
In addition, regulations are advancing environmental issues in the industry, especially in the more traditional sectors, which sometimes struggle to reform and evolve new less-polluting practices. For instance, the industry producing palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia suffers from a poor public image for many reasons. What is needed is a comprehensive approach that involves a constructive dialogue with the organizations, setting the regulations to offer solutions that do not have additional costs, but rather turn into another source of income. We now know how to retrofit releases by creating energy with the generated biogas and produce electricity in a stable and controlled manner. To initiate a comprehensive approach, it is understood that regulations can also help to develop an entire economy.

Industrial activity in Asia is marked by strong competitiveness, prompting businesses to think through how to get the purchase price as low as possible. Unfortunately many industries still favor short-term solutions and adopt less expensive ones, but are more demanding in terms of operation and sometimes less effective in terms of pollution.
 
Thus, a large part of our mission is to demonstrate to policymakers the benefits in the long term and carefully consider all factors that will lead to a rational decision in favor of a comprehensive and lasting solution.
 
It is a long process, having to overcome skepticism, while needing to continue to move forward at a fast pace. This implies proposing innovative solutions, offering a real guarantee of results and engaging in operating contracts, in which we do not hesitate to ensure the competitiveness and performance of our solutions. This is proof of our commitment to our Asian partners, to be at their side in the long term, to support their growth and respect the environment.
 
By adopting an approach "lead by example," we work with leaders in highly competitive sectors. We start from the simple premise that if these major companies, adopt our solutions, this is proof alone of their power and effectiveness!
 
We are now reaping the benefits of more than a thirty-year commitment in Asia. Manufacturers are beginning to understand that the cheapest solutions are rarely the answer and they often come back to us with different projects to find more sustainable solutions. This is good news for both the environment and Veolia, whose mission is to "rejuvenate Asia and the World" in partnership with the leaders of our industrial markets.