A behind-the-scenes look at Suez’s “bottle to bottle” recycling activities
More than ever, companies specialising in waste processing and recovery are central to this transition. “We urgently need to move from away the linear economy and towards circular models,” says Eric Trodoux, COO of Suez Belgium and Suez Circular Plastics Northern Europe.
“Suez wants to operate across the whole recycling value chain. We take plastic packaging to five recycling centres, including Val’Up in the Mons region of Belgium. Suez is one of the partners in this project, alongside intercommunal utility companies IDEA and IPALLE and the Vanheede group.”
Filao: bottle-to-bottle recycling
Suez has recently joined forces with Sources Alma, a French market leader in bottled water, to recycle PET (polyethylene terephthalate). “Together, we are setting up Filao in Charleroi, Belgium’s first integrated recycling plant,” says Éric Trodoux. “Every year, the plant will process up to 40,000 tonnes of PET from Belgian households. We will recycle and reuse that PET to make new bottles, which will be filled with water in France and sold in Belgium. Overall, this circular model will avoid 120,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.”
Producing energy and new raw materials from waste requires specific financing arrangements. In particular, the Filao project is being jointly funded by Société Régionale d’Investissement de Wallonie (SRIW – the investment agency for the region of Wallonia). As Suez’s main bank in Belgium, BNP Paribas Fortis is also involved in the project as a trusted partner. “A solid business plan and an excellent environmental profile are two features shared by the numerous projects supported by BNP Paribas Fortis and our own. BNP Paribas Fortis is also a bank that understands the issues we face: waste processing and recovery remain unusual business activities, which are highly dependent on international markets.”
An offering based on environmental gains
“As the world emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change is the common denominator in the way Suez plans, builds, sells and educates. As a result, our vision is to offer customers a service based on environmental gains. We are guided by five principles: protecting life, the earth and the climate, through a fully circular model and local partnerships,” Eric Trodoux concludes.
Entrepreneurial success stories
At BNP Paribas Fortis, we are particularly proud to support pioneering and inspiring companies like Suez. Working together to forge new ways of doing business: another example of Positive Banking.