Veolia's circular journey - From Sombreffe to national news
Highlighting a new sustainable project that gives organic waste a second life
On July 9, Veolia, the European market leader in waste, energy and water management, opened its first depackaging unit in Belgium and Luxembourg in Sombreffe (province of Namur). This new facility separates organic waste from soft plastic packaging, allowing the organic material to be later converted into green energy through biomethanisation. At full capacity, the site will process up to 30,000 tonnes of local waste per year, providing a tangible example of the circular economy.
Our approach:
- We wrote a press release emphasising the project’s mission and its contribution to sustainability in Wallonia and throughout Belgium.
- To attract media interest, we specifically invited national and local journalists to visit the site to experience the innovation first-hand.
- Following the event, we extended the reach of the story by distributing the press release to a broader group of relevant media contacts.
Our results:
The campaign generated 18 articles across 12 media outlets, combining strong local engagement with national visibility:
- 8 articles directly resulted from the media that had attended the event, including coverage from local TV station Boukè, as well as Sudinfo, L’Avenir and La Dernière heure.
- Shortly after the press release was published, the story was picked up by Belga, the Belgian national news agency.
- 10 more articles followed, thanks to the broader distribution of the press release in French and Dutch.
This strong media response shows how effective it is to combine local credibility with national visibility to draw attention to meaningful change.
By activating our network of local journalists and spreading the story through a wider media campaign, we ensured that the project received the attention it deserved.
At Brum Smith, we believe that sustainability can and should make headlines.
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