Will France run out of water this summer? Groundwater tables are low and the country has experienced heat waves before. Eco guest of franceinfo, Thursday June 30, Estelle Brachlianoff, the new general manager of Veolia, is reassuring: “We know how to deal – local authorities and businesses – with crisis situations if they were to arise, and therefore provide water to the French people this summer“.
“TO longer term, the issue of water stress, including in France, is a real issue“, develops the new boss of the world leader in water and waste, who advocates the reuse of wastewater, developed by the group in several countries: “We have solutions (…) In Spain [où le groupe est implanté] 15% of wastewater is recycled. In France, it’s less than 0.1%, so we still have progress to make.“.
Veolia has just bought the largest share of its historical rival, the Suez group. The new group brings together more than 220,000 employees, for a turnover close to 40 billion euros. But the group chaired by Antoine Frerot had to sell many important assets to complete the operation. Nothing unacceptable, according to the group’s new general manager: “The project is going exactly as we had planned (…) I’m back from Chile. I don’t know how to tell the difference between the ex-Suez and the ex-Veolia“.
Estelle Brachlianoff becomes one of the few women to lead a global group. According to her, this feminization is first and foremost an element of “diversity“, like others, in the corporate world. But why is this feminization so slow?”It’s slow, but it’s progressing” she replies: “I can testify that it will not stop there. At Veolia, I will work on it“.