Step 1 — Relevant industry

Veolia Environnement is primarily an environmental services and water/waste utility group. From the supplied methodologies, the closest fit is Regulated Utilities, especially given its water and concession-based utility activities. However, Veolia also has material waste and energy services activities, so the exact S&P sector-specific adjustments cannot be fully replicated from the provided facts. I therefore use the general S&P-style corporate adjusted debt and EBITDA framework, with utility-relevant treatment of leases and hybrid capital.

Step 2 — Estimate Adjusted_Debt

Use year-end 2022 balance sheet values, dated 2023-01-01.

Reported financial debt excluding concession liabilities:
- Noncurrent financial liabilities excluding concession liabilities = EUR 19,692.1m
- Current financial liabilities excluding concession liabilities = EUR 6,521.4m
- Bank overdrafts and other cash position items = EUR 213.6m

Reported debt subtotal:

\[
19,692.1 + 6,521.4 + 213.6 = 26,427.1
\]

Leases:
- Noncurrent lease liabilities = EUR 1,656.2m
- Current lease liabilities = EUR 496.5m

\[
1,656.2 + 496.5 = 2,152.7
\]

Concession liabilities are debt-like obligations:
- Noncurrent concession liabilities = EUR 1,680.5m
- Current concession liabilities = EUR 243.2m

\[
1,680.5 + 243.2 = 1,923.7
\]

Hybrid debt portion:
- Deeply subordinated securities = EUR 3,496.3m
- S&P commonly gives 50% equity credit to qualifying hybrids, so debt portion estimated at 50%:

\[
3,496.3 \times 50\% = 1,748.15
\]

Gross adjusted debt before cash:

\[
26,427.1 + 2,152.7 + 1,923.7 + 1,748.15 = 32,251.65
\]

Eligible cash:
- Cash and cash equivalents = EUR 9,012.2m
- S&P does not always net all cash; for an estimate, I treat reported cash as eligible cash.

Adjusted_Debt:

\[
32,251.65 - 9,012.2 = 23,239.45
\]

So:

\[
Adjusted\_Debt \approx EUR\ 23,239.45m
\]

Step 3 — Estimate Adjusted_EBITDA

Reconstruct EBITDA from operating income before share of equity-accounted entities plus operating depreciation/amortization/provisions/impairment.

2022 operating income before share of equity-accounted entities:

\[
2,206.3
\]

Add operating depreciation, amortization, provisions and impairment losses:

\[
3,178.6
\]

Base EBITDA:

\[
2,206.3 + 3,178.6 = 5,384.9
\]

Nonrecurring gains/losses:
- Gains/losses on disposal of operating assets = -299.0m. This appears to be a gain because it reduces reconciliation to cash flow; remove nonrecurring gain from EBITDA:

\[
5,384.9 - 299.0 = 5,085.9
\]

Lease adjustment:
- Since lease liabilities are included in adjusted debt, S&P-style EBITDA generally adds back lease-related depreciation/interest if not already captured. The facts provide interest on lease = EUR 52.5m, but do not separately disclose lease depreciation. The operating D&A line likely already includes right-of-use depreciation. To avoid double counting, I add only lease interest:

\[
5,085.9 + 52.5 = 5,138.4
\]

Hybrid coupon adjustment:
- Since 50% of hybrid securities are treated as debt, add back 50% of hybrid coupon to EBITDA/FFO-style capacity estimate:
- Coupons on deeply subordinated securities = EUR 88.3m

\[
88.3 \times 50\% = 44.15
\]

Adjusted_EBITDA:

\[
5,138.4 + 44.15 = 5,182.55
\]

So:

\[
Adjusted\_EBITDA \approx EUR\ 5,182.55m
\]

Step 4 — Calculate Adjusted_Debt / Adjusted_EBITDA

\[
\frac{23,239.45}{5,182.55} = 4.4842
\]

Rounded to two decimals:

\[
4.48
\]

<answer>4.48</answer>