Environmental Security: The New Foundation for Growth

As organisations navigate increasing regulatory pressure and stakeholder expectations around sustainability, one of the world's leading environmental services providers is positioning environmental security as fundamental to economic prosperity rather than a constraint on it.

Veolia has appointed Richard Kirkman as its new CEO for Northern Europe and the group's Head of Growth and Innovation. The appointment could signal a strategic shift in how major corporations frame the relationship between ecological transformation and business performance for senior leadership teams.

Richard has previously served as CEO for Veolia's Australian and New Zealand division, where he managed the transformation of the zone, doubling it in size over five years.

There, he led operations responsible for US$2.8bn in annual revenue and 7,000 people across 350 operational sites.

He will replace Gavin Graveson, outgoing CEO for the UK and Senior Executive Vice-President for Northern Europe, who has been appointed CEO of the group's Asia Pacific Zone, effective from 2 April 2026.

In his new role, Richard will oversee operations across the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland and the Netherlands, where the company provides services to industrial, municipal and commercial clients.

This zone comprises more than 20,000 people and US$5.4bn in revenue, with operations across water, waste and energy.

He will also head up growth and innovation at Veolia Group level, accelerating organic growth and new innovative offerings worldwide.

Linking sustainability to sovereignty

For C-suite leaders grappling with how to articulate sustainability's value proposition to boards and investors, Richard's framing could prove instructive.

"Environmental security is essential for public and private entities across the zone and our innovative solutions are primed to support economic growth with sustainable sovereignty," he says.

This concept of sustainable sovereignty addresses a concern increasingly voiced in boardrooms: how organisations can secure resource independence and operational resilience in an era of supply chain volatility and climate uncertainty.

The approach moves sustainability beyond compliance and reputation management into strategic planning and risk mitigation.

Commenting on his promotion, Richard says: "I am looking forward to building on the excellence that Gavin and the team have delivered across Northern Europe and supporting my colleagues as we drive to complete our GreenUp ambitions."

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Accelerating ecological transformation at scale

As Veolia completes the first stage of its strategic GreenUp programme, a three-year plan (2024-2027) designed to accelerate the deployment of affordable solutions to depollute and regenerate resources, the group is entering a new stage of sustainable growth.

According to a company statement, the group's objective for GreenUp is to "make Veolia the missing link in ecological transformation" and establish future environmental security by drawing on its expertise in water, energy and waste.

It also aims to support these goals through three growth boosters: Bioenergy, Flexibility and Energy Efficiency; Water Technologies & New Solutions; and Hazardous Waste Treatment, each supported by US$4.7bn in growth investments.

Reconciling economy with ecology

The GreenUp programme offers a blueprint for how organisations can structure capital deployment around sustainability objectives while maintaining commercial viability.

For executives developing their own transformation roadmaps, the model demonstrates how environmental services can be positioned as enablers of industrial competitiveness rather than cost centres.

Discussing the GreenUp plan, Estelle Brachlianoff, Group CEO of Veolia, says: "The ecological awareness must now be channelled towards effective action, which protects rather than punishes, which reconciles the economy with ecology, and human health with the environment."

This perspective addresses a persistent challenge for sustainability leaders: securing executive buy-in by demonstrating alignment between environmental objectives and business performance.

By framing environmental security as instrumental to growth, Veolia's leadership approach could provide a template for how senior executives communicate sustainability priorities to stakeholders who remain focused on traditional financial metrics.

Discussing growth targets and Richard's appointment, in a post on LinkedIn, Gavin said: "My time at Veolia has been defined by remarkable projects, growth, and exceptional teams I'm immensely proud of. Richard brings deep knowledge of this business and region, having worked here for many years, and his energetic and forward-thinking leadership will ensure Veolia continues to thrive and build on the strong foundations of GreenUp, our strategic plan."