From declarations to evidence. How responsible business builds impact on the economy

Just a few years ago, companies competed primarily with ambitious climate and environmental declarations. Slogans about a “green company”, “ecological solutions” and “climate neutrality” appeared on websites, packaging and advertising materials almost without exception.

Today, in practice, the use of such a communication model is already legally limited and risky. The EU Directive 2024/825, known as Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (EmpCo), changes the rules of the game dramatically. Adopted on February 28, 2024 and published on March 6, 2024, it prohibits the use of general environmental claims – such as “green” or “climate-friendly” – unless they are supported by specific evidence, scope and methodology.

Member States had time to implement the provisions into national law by March 27, 2026, and the regulations themselves will enter into force on September 27, 2026. According to the European Commission data from May 28, 2026, only 7 out of 27 EU countries managed to fully transpose them on time, and proceedings were initiated against the rest – including Poland – for infringement of EU law due to the lack of timely implementation of the directive. Regardless of the pace of national implementation, from September 2026, companies operating in the EU will have to operate under a uniform, more rigorous environmental communication standard. This direction reflects broader changes in the regulatory environment and the evolution of expectations placed on enterprises.

Consumers want information that can be verified, not blanket environmental declarations. Investors evaluate companies based on verifiable data, not statements of intent.

The new regulations require that environmental claims be supported by evidence and verifiable. The market – both capital and consumer – increasingly rewards transparency and punishes ambiguity. As a result, the way companies communicate their responsibility is changing: from the language of ambition to the language of facts.

Impact that can be measured

The difference between communicating intentions and communicating results is fundamental. The statement “we are doing something for the climate” says nothing about the scale, time or result of the action. The statement “we reduced energy consumption by a certain percentage over a given period” is a claim that can be tested. In infrastructure practice, this difference translates into specific indicators: reducing energy consumption in production and distribution processes, improving the efficiency of heating and water supply networks, reducing transmission losses, energy recovery from waste and sewage, recovery of secondary raw materials, modernization of infrastructure and increasing the energy security of consumers. Each of these elements can be described by a number, period and measurement methodology – and it is this measurability, in accordance with the logic of the new EU regulations, that determines the credibility of environmental communication.

The municipal and industrial services sector – waterworks, heating, waste management, energy management – is particularly highlighted here. This is an industry where declarations easily collide with the reality of infrastructure: networks, installations, contracts with cities and industry. Therefore, examples of companies that have been reporting specific parameters of their activities for years are gaining importance as a reference point for a new communication standard.

Veolia as an example of an entity reporting the effects of ecological transformation

The Veolia Group in Poland has been operating in this segment since 1997, serving approximately 2.9 million customers in 51 cities by 2025 and employing over 4.6 thousand people. The company’s activities cover four areas in which – instead of declarations – you can indicate investments with publicly reported effects of their implementation.

Energy

The modernization of heating systems is the most visible example here. In November 2025, Veolia announced a project in Poznań that will lead to the complete elimination of coal from the city heating network by 2030.

An important stage – a new cogeneration unit – allows for heat and electricity generation efficiency to be up to 92%. and reduce CO2 emissions by 25%, which corresponds to a reduction of up to 260,000. tons per year. The constantly modernized heating network in Poznań, which has a history of almost 60 years, supplies heat to approximately 60%. of the city’s 560,000 inhabitants. The next stages include the integration of heat recovered from data centers and sewage treatment plants as well as geothermal energy. Veolia conducts decarbonization projects similar to those in Poznań in several Polish cities.

Water

Security of water supplies and the resilience of cities to extreme phenomena – droughts, floods, increased seasonal demand – is an area where the efficiency of resource use is of importance comparable to that of energy. Reducing losses in transmission networks and reusing water and sewage in industrial processes are activities whose effects are reported in the company’s publications as part of a long-term resource management strategy.

Waste

Waste management in Veolia’s model combines energy production with the recovery of raw materials, which is the basis of the circular economy. Instead of being stored, waste becomes a source of heat, electricity or secondary materials – which reduces both pressure on the environment and dependence on primary raw materials. An important part of the group’s activities in Poland are heat recovery projects from industrial processes. Instead of producing energy, the company recovers it in places where it was waste.

Energy efficiency

Modernization of buildings, energy management in industry and implementation of solutions that reduce media consumption for end customers are an area in which the financial effect – lower operating costs – goes hand in hand with the environmental effect. This is a practical example of the thesis that ecological transformation and economic competitiveness are not in conflict.

Data regarding Veolia’s operations in Poland indicate that in the years 1997-2025, emissions at Veolia Group plants were reduced by 91%. in the case of sulfur oxides (SOx), by 80%. for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and by 96 percent in the case of dust.

These effects were possible thanks to the modernization of the dust removal installation, improved energy efficiency and greater use of renewable energy sources. These are historical data, but they clearly show the logic in which the company reports its activities: not through declarations of direction, but through measured results in a specific period. It is worth noting that the above data concerns only the activities of the Veolia Group in Poland and are only part of the global indicators of the group, which in 2024 – on a global scale – provided drinking water to 111 million inhabitants, sanitary services to 98 million, produced 42 million megawatt hours of energy and processed 65 million tons of waste, with consolidated revenues of EUR 44.7 billion. The group’s global strategy for 2024–2027, called GreenUp, envisages a reduction in CO2 emissions by 18 million tonnes by 2027 and an extensive program of investments supporting the energy transformation.

Why it matters for the economy

The transformation of energy, water and waste infrastructure is not a cost that must be incurred for image reasons. It is an investment that affects several dimensions of the economy at the same time. The first is security. Modernization of heating networks, diversification of energy sources and departure from imported raw materials – such as coal – reduce the exposure of cities and industry to fluctuations in fuel prices and availability. The second is competitiveness. Lower costs of energy and water in production processes, resulting from higher infrastructure efficiency, translate into operating costs of enterprises using these services. The third is immunity. Cities that invest in modern resource management systems are better prepared for crisis situations – from spikes in energy demand to extreme weather phenomena. The fourth is efficiency – lower transmission losses and better use of secondary raw materials mean that the same economic effect can be achieved with less resource consumption. This combination – of security, competitiveness, resilience and efficiency – is why the ecological transition is increasingly appearing in conversations about economic strategy, and not only in environmental reports.

From footprint to impact

In July 2026, the Veolia Group in Poland published the material “Because we want to have an impact”, presenting the company’s approach to sustainable development as well as the activities and effects achieved in 2025. At the same time, the vesg.pl website was launched, collecting information in one place about the activities of the Veolia Group in Poland in the ESG area – strategy, the so-called multi-dimensional efficiency, implemented projects and current publications on ecological transformation. The key message of this publication goes beyond just reducing your own impact on the environment.

What matters is not only how much a company has reduced its own environmental footprint, but also the impact its activities have on its surroundings: on cities that benefit from modernized infrastructure, on industry that gains access to more efficient energy solutions, on business partners and on residents who benefit from lower costs and higher air quality. This shift in emphasis – from footprint to impact – is consistent with the logic promoted by the new EU regulations: what matters is not the declared goal, but the verified result.

– The time when ambitious environmental declarations were enough is ending. Today, a company’s credibility is built through transparency, data and results achieved together with clients and partners – says Luiz Hanania, president of the management board and general director of the Veolia Group in Poland.

– Ecological transformation is not an end in itself. We measure its value by whether it improves energy security, increases the efficiency of resource use and strengthens the competitiveness of the economy, he adds.

What’s next?

New EU regulations do not end the transformation process – they change its rules. Companies that have built communication around general slogans for years will have to provide evidence – scope, methodology, reference year. Those that already report specific parameters of their investments gain an advantage resulting not from marketing, but from organizational readiness. The next months will require four things from infrastructure and industrial companies: cooperation with cities and clients in designing joint investments, capital for the modernization of networks and installations, operational data enabling the measurement of effects and transparency in publishing them. Enterprises will be increasingly assessed by regulators, investors and consumers on the basis of what has been measured and verified, rather than on declared ambitions.

– The most responsible companies do not focus on talking about their ambitions. They focus on implementing investments whose results can be measured and verified – sums up Luiz Hanania, president of the management board and general director of the Veolia Group in Poland.

More information about the Veolia Group’s activities in Poland and publications regarding the company’s impact on the economy and the environment can be found at vesg.pl