Captage de biogaz et cogénération d'énergie verte : transformer les déchets en levier de valeur territoriale, le cas de Veolia

On January 29, 2026, Impact France and Wavestone published the national study “Economic Valuation of Corporate Commitment”.
Objective: to translate the economic benefits of companies’ social and environmental actions into avoided costs for society.
Among the seven case studies analyzed, Veolia’s focuses on a key environmental issue: methane capture and its use for energy generation through cogeneration.

A strategic shift: from mass management to creating a new driver of profitability

With a presence on five continents, Veolia is a French company specializing in the management of essential resources for cities and industries. It is involved in every stage of the waste lifecycle, from collection to final treatment, including recycling and recovery.

As part of its GreenUp strategy, published in 2024, and its SBTi commitment, Veolia has launched a decarbonization plan aimed at increasing the offset emissions of its customers (Scope 4) by 50% by 2030 (2023 baseline). This objective relies in particular on improving methane capture and the energy recovery of biogas captured at its sites. This ambition is all the more important given that global household waste production, already responsible for 5% of GHG emissions, is projected to grow by 70% by 2050 according to the World Bank. Given this trajectory, the challenge is no longer merely to manage material flows, but to radically transform the treatment of gases resulting from their decomposition into a major lever for decarbonization.

At the Iperó technical landfill site in Brazil, Veolia has been implementing various initiatives to this end since 2021:

Measures to gradually improve the methane capture rate (target of 80% by 2027),
A cogeneration plant converts captured biogas into green electricity, enabling Veolia’s customers to reduce their Scope 2 emissions by replacing electricity generated by conventional gas-fired power plants.

In this context, utilizing captured methane is a key strategy. It offers a twofold benefit: reducing methane emissions into the atmosphere and replacing fossil fuels with biogas to generate electricity.

Putting a monetary value on climate impact: from captured gas to avoided damage

To quantify the impact of Veolia’s activities at this site, the study compares:

A baseline scenario: the Ipéro site in Brazil in 2021, with low methane capture rates and electricity consumption from conventional gas-fired power plants.
A performance scenario for the same site in 2024, featuring improved capture rates and the replacement of fossil fuels with on-site green electricity.

This method calculates the amount of excess gas captured and the amount of renewable electricity generated. These figures are then converted into a monetary value representing the future damages avoided as a result of today’s emissions reductions.

The study estimates the avoided costs associated with Veolia’s actions in two distinct categories:

The avoided costs per capita related to the direct climate benefit—that is , the reduction in methane emissions into the atmosphere—and
the avoided costs per capita served associated with the energy benefit, i.e., the generation of renewable electricity that replaces polluting generation.

To convert tons of gas into euros, the study refers to the Social Cost of Carbon, as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency. We therefore convert the damage prevented by Veolia’s actions into euros, then apply this figure to the number of residents affected—that is, the area covered by the Ipéro site. The “before-and-after” comparison method allows us to isolate the company’s direct impact.

Monetizing the social benefit: a savings of 29 euros per person

The study shows that this initiative by Veolia results in savings of 29 euros per resident served by the Ipéro facility, which processes waste from one million residents.

To understand where this number comes from, you need to break it down into two parts:

A boost in methane capture: In 2021, the site captured only 32.5% of the methane produced by waste. By 2024, that rate had risen to 65.5% thanks to new equipment. This means 10,000 tons of methane are captured instead of 4,000. Since this gas is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect (28 times more than CO2), this technical advancement prevents enormous environmental and health damage, representing a savings of €27 per capita.
Un gain sur l’électricité: au lieu de simplement brûler le gaz capté, Veolia l'utilise comme carburant. Pour se faire, une centrale de cogénération transforme ce biogaz en 31 GWh d'électricité verte. Cette énergie est à comparer avec l’électricité produite par des centrales à gaz naturel classiques, s’appuyant sur des énergies fossiles polluantes. Ainsi, en utilisant un déchet local plutôt qu’un combustible fossile importé, on économise 2 € par habitant en coûts de pollution évités.

The sum of these two factors therefore amounts to a total of €29 in "avoided costs" per person for the year 2024. This indicator makes it possible to quantify the reduction in risks in monetary terms. It transforms an environmental impact into a concrete economic benefit for the community. By avoiding future expenses related to climate- and health-related damage, the company’s actions thus generate a net added value of €29 per capita.

Link to the study

Moving from belief to proof: demonstrating through facts

The Veolia case highlights a key point: decarbonization is not just a necessity; it is a source of tangible value wherever it is implemented.

In Brazil, a very concrete initiative is helping to reduce emissions and generate measurable cost savings for society, estimated at around €29 per person served. In other words, the green transition is already yielding tangible economic benefits, even in diverse industrial and geographic contexts.

The lesson is broader: when decarbonization solutions are implemented, they generate positive externalities that are measurable, comparable, and quantifiable in monetary terms, regardless of the region. This represents a shift in perspective: wherever decarbonization is implemented, it creates value that must be fully recognized and scaled up globally.

“Now more than ever, it is essential to ensure that public and private sector stakeholders recognize the positive impact of the solutions proposed and implemented by companies. Quantifying the avoided costs is, of course, not the only way to do this, but it is a particularly effective one.”