The Helsinki city council has been re-evaluating its relationship with the bus company Veolia. The council is looking at the ethical implications of Veolia’s parent company’s operations in Israeli settlements.
City Councillor Yrjö Hakanen tabled a motion calling on the city to freeze the transport company Veolia out of bidding for providing services because of its operations in the occupied Palestinian territories. City authorities have since begun to review the ethical implications of their public procurements.
Veolia Transport Finland is a subsidiary of the international Veolia Environment Group.
A report tabled in the United Nations calls for a boycott of Veolia Environment because of its operations in the disputed territory. According to the report, the company has participated in constructing a rail network from Israel to settlements in eastern Jerusalem.
Green League councillor Johanna Sumuvuori now wants city authorities to clarify Veolia’s position in city tenders.
“Yesterday we had a very good discussion about corporate social responsibility and ethical tendering policies. We finally agreed to ask Helsinki Regional Transport to reassess its tendering policies with respect to Veolia,” she explained.
Ethical issues under closer scrutiny
Sumuvuori said that in the future ethical and human rights issues would become more important factors in municipal decision-making.
“This is just one matter. In the future we will call for consistency to ensure that we monitor at all levels what consequences or impacts public sector tenders have on peoples’ lives, how those services are provided and what kinds of social or environmental factors may be at work behind the scenes,” the councillor added.
Sumuvuori said she hoped to see regular reports on such background factors presented to city council members.
Veolia Finland has no say in Middle East operations
The acting CEO of Veolia Transport Finland, Päivi Katajisto, pointed out that the local company operating in Helsinki cannot influence the operations of its parent company.
“This is difficult for us because we’re a very small part of the group. The parent company makes its own decisions and we don’t participate in them or have any influence over them,” she noted.
Katajisto said that the parent company operates judiciously in the Palestinian area.
“The parent company has stressed in a statement that it has no intention of taking sides, but is just offering transportation services impartially to all national groups. All residents of the area will benefit from the trams and no one will be discriminated against. All passengers who wish to are free to board them,” she concluded.