Press Release -- Veolia Environment Selects Chicago as North American Headquarters

7/30/2008

Veolia Environment, the world's largest environmental services company has selected Chicago as the location of the new North American headquarters for its four operational groups, Mayor Richard M. Daley said today.

The company made the announcement at a breakfast held at the Gleacher Center, 450 N. Cityfront Plaza Dr., at which Daley also spoke.

"When a company such as Veolia makes a commitment like this one, it sends a strong message to the business community that that our leaders work together and that Chicago can meet the needs of any company in the world  from the largest to the smallest," Daley said

"And Veolia's decision further strengthens our reputation as a world-class city," he said.

The new headquarters will bring about 60 executive managers and administrative personnel to Chicago in October, 2008, in space that has been rented in the Aon Center, 200 E. Randolph St.

Veolia is the world's largest environmental services company. The company operates in 68 countries and has 320,000 employees worldwide. The four groups that will headquarter in Chicago employ 31,000 people and the company already has about 1,000 employees in the Chicago area.

The company said it made its decision based on a number of factors, including Chicago's world-class business reputation, its central location and a workforce that benefits from renowned universities and a diverse culture.

But what is especially pleasing in the Veolia announcement is that the company says that Chicago's strong environmental and sustainable development initiatives played a big part in the decision, Daley said.

"Since I have been Mayor it has been my goal to make Chicago the most environmentally-friendly city in the nation and I believe we have made great progress toward that goal, the Mayor said.

"Last year, Chicago was ranked as the number one Green City by Business Facilities magazine. And just last month, Chicago was chosen as a winner of the first annual Sustainable Cities Award given by the Financial Times and the Urban Land Institute," he said.

The Sustainable Cities Award recognized Chicago for leading all cities in incorporating preservation and sustainability practices into its own operations and in the delivery of services to its constituents.

It also commended Chicago for the comprehensiveness of its involvement in environmentally-friendly practices.

At the breakfast, Veolia also released the findings of a first-of-its-kind biennial survey examining how 8,600 people in 14 of the world's largest cities feel about their city. Chicago residents are among the most satisfied in the world and the most optimistic about their city's future, according to the survey.

"A long time ago, we came to the conclusion in Chicago that environmentalism makes economic sense. When a city exists in harmony with its environment, it simply looks better and feels better. And we know that shows up on the financial bottom line," Daley said.

"So we are pleased that the study that Veolia announced today confirms that conclusion," he said.

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