Helvetia Environnement

What Helvetia Environnement does

Helvetia Environnement is a privately held Swiss integrated waste management group founded in 2005 and headquartered in Carouge, Geneva. The company operates across Romandie (French-speaking Switzerland), with 10 sites including 13 sorting and recycling facilities, 9 collection agencies, and a biofuel plant, processing 190,000 tonnes of waste annually and serving 490 municipalities and 15,000 private customers through a portfolio of subsidiaries — Transvoirie (collection), Sogetri (sorting), Leman Bio Energie (second-generation biofuel from used vegetable oils, 4M liters annual capacity), SRS, Metawaste (multi-site enterprise waste management), and Helvetia Environnement Fribourg. Its core differentiator is the SORTERA high-performance robotic sorting center in Satigny, Geneva — Switzerland's first facility using ZenRobotics computer-vision and robotic sorting technology, processing 70,000 tonnes per year at an 80% sorting rate versus 30% for conventional methods, with an overall 81% recovery rate across the network.

The company monetizes through three integrated business lines: managed waste collection service contracts with municipalities and enterprises; transaction-based sorting and recycling fees with secondary raw material resale (steel, wood, paper, plastics); and energy recovery revenue from biogas via methanization, wood-to-heat combustion, and second-generation biofuel sold to fleets (75% of Helvetia's own fleet runs on internally produced biofuel, reducing CO2 by 66% versus standard diesel). Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales targeting municipalities, public entities, and private companies across Cantons of Geneva, Vaud, and Fribourg, with no self-serve or e-commerce channels. The group is B Corp certified (score 85.2 since November 2022), ISO 9001/14001/45001 certified, EcoVadis-rated, and committed to CO2 neutrality by 2025 and a 50% Scope 1+2 emission reduction by 2030 under SBTi. In 2024, founders exited after 14 years and Paprec International, a major European waste management operator, became the majority shareholder, positioning Helvetia within a larger cross-border platform.

Name

Helvetia Environnement

Legal name

Helvetia Environnement SA

Website

https://helvetia-environnement.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Helvetia Environnement is a privately held Swiss integrated waste management group serving 490 municipalities and 15,000 private customers across Romandie through waste collection, robotic sorting, recycling, and energy recovery, now majority-owned by Paprec International since 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Recycling Transfer & Consolidation (Single-Stream, Dual-Stream, Source-Separated) (EUAIABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Material Reuse & Upcycling Services (Non-recycling Transformation) (EUAIANAJ)

Keywords

• Waste management services
• Municipal waste collection
• Sorting and recycling
• Energy recovery
• Industrial waste services

Headquarters

HQ city

Carouge

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Waste Collection Services: Collection and transport of all types of waste for municipalities and private companies. Includes street cleaning and public space hygiene services. Revenue generated through service contracts with territorial public entities and private sector clients.
2. Sorting and Recycling: Sorting and recycling of construction, industrial, and municipal waste through 13 sorting facilities across Switzerland. Produces secondary raw materials (steel, wood, paper, cardboard, plastics) sold to industrial partners. 81% of delivered waste is recovered.
3. Energy Recovery / Biodiesel: Conversion of waste into energy: wood waste to heat/electricity via combustion; organic waste to biogas via methanization; used vegetable oil to second-generation biofuel via Leman Bio Energie subsidiary.
4. Green Finance / ESG Instruments: Green Bond issuance (2017, first Swiss private company to do so in CHF, 3.625% annual coupon, 5-year maturity, listed on SIX Swiss Exchange, certified by Vigeo Eiris). Refinanced via ESG-linked bank loan of CHF 57 million led by Credit Suisse in 2022.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Helvetia Environnement is a Swiss integrated waste management group operating in Romandie (French-speaking Switzerland). The company collects, sorts, and recycles construction, industrial, and municipal waste across 13 sorting facilities and 9 collection agencies, while also producing energy (biogas, second-generation biofuel) from recovered materials. It serves 490 municipalities, 15,000 private customers, and large multi-site enterprises via its Metawaste subsidiary.

Product overview

Helvetia Environnement is a Swiss group offering comprehensive waste management services with three core business lines: collection and services, recycling and valorization, and energy creation. The company operates a portfolio of specialized brands including Transvoirie (collection services), Sogetri (recycling), Leman Bio Energie (biofuel production), SRS, Metawaste (enterprise solutions), and Helvetia Environnement Fribourg. The group manages waste collection in over 490 municipalities, operates 13 sorting facilities and 9 collection agencies across Switzerland, processes 190,000 tonnes of waste annually, and employs 350 collaborators across 10 sites in Switzerland. The company also operates SORTERA, Switzerland's first robotic sorting center using ZenRobotics technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Transvoirie: Waste collection and municipal services subsidiary operating in French-speaking Switzerland (Romandie), serving 300 municipalities and 6,500 private customers.
• Sogetri
• Leman Bio Energie
• Metawaste
• SRS (Swiss Recycling Services)
• Helvetia Environnement Fribourg
• Helvetalk

Products and services

• Collection and Services (Collecte et services)

Quantifiable outcome

• 81% of delivered waste is recovered and valorized
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Servette Rugby ClubminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2020Partnership established in 2020 and renewed in 2023. Servette Rugby Club main partner. Pacte Grenat: four-year commitment for eco-responsible rugby in Switzerland. Joint sustainability and community engagement initiative.
• ZenRoboticscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2019ZenRobotics provided its proprietary Recycler robotic waste sorting technology for the SORTERA center in Satigny, Geneva - the first robotic waste sorting system in Switzerland. This technology enables automated sorting of solid waste fractions with precision robots.
• Constantin RecyclingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership agreement signed in 2018 with Constantin Recycling to operate a PET waste treatment center in Roche (Canton Vaud). Longstanding player in PET recycling in Western Switzerland.
• Vigeo EirisminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 26 June 2017Specialized ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) policy certification firm. Certified the Green Bond issuance and the use of funds, measuring Helvetia Environnement's capacity to issue an environmental bond and comply with fund destination criteria. Conducted ongoing monitoring during the bond period.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PreZero: European environmental services division of the Schwarz Group operating across waste collection, sorting, recycling, and energy recovery. Directly comparable integrated business model and value proposition to Helvetia, with similar emphasis on circular-economy and ESG positioning.
• Renewi: Listed European waste-to-product company focused on recycling and secondary raw materials with municipal and industrial customers. Comparable to Helvetia's sorting and recovery platform, with public-market disclosure that can serve as a valuation and operational benchmark.

Broad incumbents

• Remondis: One of Europe's largest privately held recycling, service, and water companies. Comparable to Helvetia's integrated waste and secondary-raw-materials business model, with similar family-controlled origins and a strong municipal customer base across European markets.
• Veolia Environmental Services: Global waste management and circular-economy operator providing collection, sorting, recycling, and waste-to-energy services. Overlaps with all three of Helvetia's business lines but at much broader geographic and portfolio scale, including industrial hazardous-waste handling.
• FCC Environment: European environmental services division of FCC (Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas) operating waste collection, treatment, and recycling across multiple countries. Closely comparable in business model and municipal customer profile to Helvetia, though with broader European geographic reach.
• Suez (Suez Recycling and Recovery): Major European environmental services and waste management group with operations across recycling, sorting, and energy recovery. Directly comparable to Helvetia's integrated collection-to-energy platform, though operating at far larger scale across multiple geographies rather than concentrated in Swiss Romandie.

Others

• TOMRA: Provider of sensor-based sorting and recycling technology for waste streams. Comparable to the ZenRobotics layer used at SORTERA; both supply the optical/robotic sorting capability that defines next-generation recycling economics in facilities like Helvetia's.
• Komptech: Manufacturer of mechanical and biological waste-treatment machinery used in sorting and recycling facilities. Comparable as an enabler of the same waste-sorting operations Helvetia runs at SORTERA and the 13 Swiss facilities, addressing the same customer need for high-throughput recovery.

Emerging players

• Hitachi Zosen Inova: Engineering, procurement, and construction firm specializing in waste-to-energy plants (EfW) and biogas upgrading. Comparable to the energy-recovery leg of Helvetia's business (biogas methanization, biomass combustion, biofuel production) from a technology-stack perspective.

Regional players

• ERZ Entsorgung + Recycling Zürich: City-owned waste management operator for the Canton of Zürich in German-speaking Switzerland. Comparable integrated waste-management peer operating in a different Swiss region, providing a useful benchmark for Swiss municipal waste services economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/helvetiaenv?lang=fr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/helvetia-environnement
• Instagraminstagram.com/helvetia_environnement/?hl=fr

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Helvetia Environnement