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CriteriaCaixa, the investment arm of Fundación ”la Caixa”, has acquired a 5% stake in Veolia Environnement for €1 billion. This stable shareholding agreement includes a board representative for CriteriaCaixa. The investment supports Veolia's GreenUp program and aligns with CriteriaCaixa's diversification strategy. Despite tensions over Agbar's water management in Catalonia, the acquisition strengthens CriteriaCaixa's influence in strategic sectors and benefits its philanthropic activities.

Microplastics have become a concern. These particles, smaller than 5 millimeters, slough off plastic as it degrades. It is a menace that is practically omnipresent and ubiquitous.According to an article published in the magazine of Harvard Medical School, Harvard Medicine, microplastics have been detected throughout the human body, including in the blood, saliva, liver, kidneys, and placenta.Microplastics, smaller than 1 micrometer, called nanoplastics, are even more dangerous because they can infiltrate cells. Apart from the human body, microplastics have penetrated – with their severely contaminating presence – the environment, marine wildlife, and animals.Microplastics could be found in human breast milk and an infant's first stool, the meconium, indicating that the danger of microplastics is walking alongside us, like an ominous shadow, from day zero.It could potentially cause oxidative damage, DNA damage, and changes in gene activity. It is also a known carcinogenic substance and, as Harvard Medicine reports, microplastics have been found responsible for reduced sperm count and quality, ovarian scarring, and metabolic disorders in offspring in studies done on mice.Despite its adverse effects, we humans constantly inhale and ingest microplastics through contaminated seafood, including fish and shellfish. They are present in tap water, bottled water, and other commonly consumed beverages like beer.A study cited by the United Nations estimated that the average adult consumed approximately 2,000 microplastics per year through salt

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:. Veolia (Paris:VIE), world water technology leader, through its subsidiary SIDEM, will engineer and supply key technology for the Hassyan seawater desalination plant in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Commissioned by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and ACWA Power, the plant will be the second largest desalination plant based on reverse osmosis (RO) technology in the world, and the largest desalination plant powered by solar energy. This significant project underlines Veolia's commitment, reaffirmed in its new GreenUp strategic plan, to provide sustainable, low-carbon and energy-efficient solutions, while guaranteeing the preservation of water resources in a context of adaptation to climate change. Located approximately 55 kilometers southwest of Dubai Creek, the Hassyan desalination plant will have a capacity of 818,000 cubic meters per day (m3/d) — 180 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) — providing a safe and reliable source of drinking water to two million people. The plant will start operating in 2026, with a gradual ramp-up to full capacity in 2027