Is it worth breaking into the French environment sector? After all, France boasts the two largest, most diversified and, arguably, most successful water, waste management and treatment companies in the world: Veolia Environment (formerly Vivendi and before that Generale des Eaux) and Ondeo (formerly Suez-Lyonnaise and before that Lyonnaise des Eaux).
Between them, Veolia and Ondeo control nearly 100% of the industrial waste market and up to 85% of the national water, solid waste and waste water treatment markets. The remaining 15% is left for Saur. Nevertheless, we believe that there are significant business opportunities for new, innovative companies in the French environment sector. There are three key reasons why the French market cannot be ignored by any environment specialist looking to conquer outside its domestic market:
The French domestic market is large and dynamic
Veolia and Ondeo outsource many of their need’s
Suppliers to Veolia and Ondeo can often piggy-back into other expanding markets
The size of the French environment sector depends on definition (do you include "green" fuels for example?) but the French Ministry of Environment (Ministère d’Ecologie et Développement Durable), known as MEDD, quotes alternatively 16Bn€ or 29Bn€. Using the former figure and therefore narrower definition, MEDD divides the sector into 7 categories, as shown in the pie chart below. The two largest, water and waste management account for over two-thirds.
The 2005 budget for MEDD is close to 1bn€ and the Minister, Serge Lepeltier, has outlined five priorities:
Climate change
Biodiversity
Water Policy (water quality and flood prevention)
Risk Management (both for natural disasters and indutrial installations)
Sustainable development promotion
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