Redefining Risk Capital as a Business Enabler: Veolia's Innovative Approach

Redefining Risk Capital as a Business Enabler: Veolia's Innovative Approach
Aon Insights Series UK

08 of 13

This insight is part 08 of 13 in this Collection.

July 9, 2025 4 mins

Redefining Risk Capital as a Business Enabler: Veolia's Innovative Approach

The right risk management structure will help reduce costs and provide greater clarity and confidence in dealing with senior stakeholders.

As the world evolves with emerging risks and accelerating technological advances, traditional insurance models often fall short in addressing today’s increasingly complex and interconnected business environments.

At the recent Aon Insights Series in London, our Case Study Session spotlighted Veolia’s strategic approach to risk management and its collaboration with Aon to redefine risk capital as a business enabler.

The conversation—featuring Oliver Wild, Chief Risk and Insurance Officer at Veolia; Rob Kemp, Head of Commercial Risk UK at Aon; and William White, Enterprise Client Leader EMEA—highlighted Veolia’s commitment to ecological transformation and its ambition to capture a significant share of the €2.5 trillion (£2.1 trillion) global market for environmental solutions.

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We have put risk management at the centre of our governance. It’s strategic, but it’s also operational.

Oliver Wild
Chief Risk and Insurance Officer, Veolia

Operating in 57 countries, Veolia generates approximately €45 billion in annual revenues and employs around 220,000 people. The company focuses on the water, waste and energy sectors, with a clear strategy: to lead the market in each domain—or exit it. This disciplined approach underlines Veolia’s focus on operational excellence and efficiency.

Oliver outlined the pressing challenges facing cities and industries—such as decarbonisation, climate change adaptation and affordability. Veolia addresses these through continuous innovation across its service lines, often integrating water, waste and energy to deliver unique, high-impact solutions.

A cornerstone of this innovation is Veolia’s approach to risk management. When Oliver assumed the role of risk manager in 2013, he inherited fragmented data, a weak risk culture and persistent loss patterns. He and his team undertook a multi-year, in-depth review of global risk exposures, investing significantly at Group level to materially enhance risk quality across the organisation.

Despite demonstrable improvements, the insurance market’s response remained underwhelming. There was little recognition of the progress made — or of the capital invested to de-risk the business.

In response, Veolia partnered with Aon to develop a structured risk transfer strategy—expanding captive retention, leveraging alternative risk transfer and optimising open market placements. This innovative structure enables Veolia to retain underwriting profit, offload uncertain risks, and create competitive tension in the insurance market. The result: enhanced resilience, lower overall costs, improved clarity, mid-term cost stability, and greater confidence at executive level.

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We’ve been able to take our destiny back into our own hands in terms of insurance strategy and secure the best return on our prevention investments.

Oliver Wild
Chief Risk and Insurance Officer, Veolia

Through this collaboration with Aon, Veolia has successfully demonstrated the return on investment in risk management—transforming risk capital into a lever for growth.

This strategy is fully supported by Veolia’s governance model, ensuring both compliance and operational efficiency. By combining risk transfer with predictive analytics, Veolia can forecast insurance costs over a five-year horizon—enabling more strategic, data-driven budget discussions with the CFO. This forward visibility is essential for managing the complexities of both digital and environmental transitions.

Veolia’s partnership with Aon has redefined the role of risk capital, positioning it as a strategic asset that underpins the company’s ecological transformation objectives. It stands as a powerful example of how innovative risk management can enable business resilience and long-term growth in an increasingly uncertain world.

This article is current as of May 2025.

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