Environmental services group Veolia is aiming to create 300 jobs across its Irish operation over the next five years. Veolia, one of Ireland’s leading environmental services company, provides a range of energy, waste and water solutions and is dedicated to carbon reduction, protecting the environment and building the circular economy. Veolia supplies water, waste and energy management services to both public and private organisations. The company employs more than 570 staff across Ireland and has been awarded, by Mayo Renewable Power, the €450 million contract over 15 years to operate a biomass power plant in Killala, Co Mayo. The plant, which will be the largest independent biomass power plant in Ireland, will provide 42.5MW of combined heat and power, enough electricity to power the equivalent of 68,000 homes. “We are now poised for expansion in the Irish market, targeting double digit growth annually over the next five years and creating 300 new jobs. As we transition to a low carbon economy, it is imperative that companies can access environmentally sustainable solutions. We are setting out to do just that, providing businesses in Ireland with the means to manage their resource needs more efficiently and grow with us in a circular economy,” said Veolia Ireland country director Pat Gilroy. “We now want to challenge the popular narrative that pits environmental concerns against the needs of business. Our recent report highlighted that adopting ‘circular economy’ principles could contribute €1.65 billion to the Irish economy and create as many as 5,000 jobs over 10 years,” he added.