Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia CEO: We need to rethink waste

Justin Rowlatt speaks to Estelle Brachlianoff, chief executive of environmental firm Veolia. The corporation’s origins can be traced all the way back to 19th Century France, when it was established as a water company during the country’s industrial revolution.More than a century-and-a-half later, it’s grown to become one of the world’s leading operators of environmental services, working across five continents - providing water supplies, waste management and energy services.In this exclusive, wide-ranging interview, Brachlianoff reveals how a multi-billion dollar corporation operates, as well as how Veolia adapts to the various challenges posed by climate change, and opportunities offered by technological advances.“Why is it important that we increase the recycling rates? It's not just for the CO2 emissions, although it's important, it's because it's a source of materials as opposed to importing it from elsewhere. So in a way, instead of mining the planet, what about mining our waste? Instead of importing paper and oil and plastic, because plastic of course is traditionally made out of oil and lithium to make batteries, what about mining our waste?” says Brachlianoff.(Image: Estelle Brachlianoff. Credit: Getty Images)Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.Thank you to the Big Boss Interview team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with entrepreneur Isaac Larian, meteorologist Celeste Saulo, and Arm CEO Rene Haas. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Justin Rowlatt Producers: Ben Cooper and Olie D'Albertanson Editor: Damon Rose

Ione Wells speaks to Roelf Meyer, South Africa’s new ambassador to the United States. In the 1990s, Meyer was one of the leading negotiators in the talks that helped bring apartheid to an end.Now he takes up his new post amid a serious rupture in relations with the US President Trump has cut aid, expelled the previous South African ambassador and offered refugee status to white Afrikaners he says are fleeing persecution, claiming the community faces “genocide”.The South African government rejects that allegation. Meyer, himself an Afrikaner, explains why he believes Trump has been given the wrong picture and how his experience negotiating the end of apartheid could help repair relations with Washington.“The notion of a mass attack on the Afrikaner was misrepresented by those that might have conveyed the message. I mean, I’m an Afrikaner from South Africa myself. And I can say that I’ve never experienced something of that kind. We found it strange. So the source is misrepresented, unfortunately, something that just doesn’t exist,” says Meyer.(Photo: Roelf Meyer, South Africa’s ambassador to the US, wears a navy blazer with a white shirt and light blue tie. He has short white hair. Credit: Getty Images) The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Ione Wells Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose

“I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said. I've only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life. I was hyper alert to what he was saying, and those are precisely the words that he said, and I promise that to you now. Genuinely, that is what he said.” Laura Kuenssberg speaks to Earl Spencer, brother of Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana was one of the most famous women in the world and was once expected to become queen. Her campaigning broke with royal convention and brought global attention to her chosen causes. Relentlessly pursued by the press, she was admired and attacked on a scale few public figures have experienced. Diana died at the age of 36 after a car crash in Paris. Now, nearly 30 years on, her brother has decided to set out the story as he remembers it. He attacks those he says harmed Diana, and what he sees as the royal establishment’s failure to protect her. Buckingham Palace has questioned whether grief has clouded his judgement and memory. Earl Spencer defends his recollections and explains why he believes his account must be placed on the historical record. Presenter: Laura Kuenssberg Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose(Image: Earl Spencer. Credit: BBC)

“Not just African musician. Everybody, even journalist, even president, even football player, even promoter. We need to do it for those people who suffer, who don’t have food or security. We need everybody to denounce it. Speak louder, talk more loudly about the situation. Not just for Congo, but all Africa.”Jewel Kiriungi speaks to Congolese musician Fally Ipupa, one of Africa’s biggest music stars.His music has taken brought Congolese rumba to audiences around the world, earning him the Democratic Republic of Congo’s highest honour, a knighthood in the National Order of the Leopard.Fally discusses what it means to represent Congolese identity internationally as conflict in the east of the country fuels one of the world’s worst displacement crises.He recognises that his global success gives him a platform to draw attention to what is happening at home, but he argues that speaking out about the suffering is a wider responsibility.The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with tech billionaire Reid Hoffman and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, head of the World Trade Organisation.You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.Presenter: Jewel Kiriungi Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Justin Lang and Farhana Haider(Image: Fally Ipupa. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

‘I compare the erosion of international humanitarian law with bankruptcy it happens gradually at first and then all of a sudden instantly. This is what is happening with the Geneva Conventions at the moment. You look away, you look away, you look away, you increase your tolerance level until all of a sudden you realize we've crossed the line. We've crossed the red line, and we've done so collectively, because these things are happening under international watch.’ Imogen Foulkes meets Mirjana Spoljaric, the first woman to lead the International Committee of the Red Cross.The ICRC is 163 years old. It works in war zones around the world, with one central mission: to uphold the Geneva Conventions, the rules designed to preserve some humanity, even in war.All 196 states have ratified the conventions, They established fundamental protections: civilians should not be targeted; hospitals and health workers must be protected and humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those who need it.But in practice, Mirjana Spoljaric says, those rules are increasingly being flouted. She talks about the growing lack of accessing war zones, the ICRC being denied visits to prisoners of war, and what happens when even the most basic rules of war are ignored.The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the head of the World Meteorological Organisation, Celeste Saulo, the former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard and the author Maggie O’Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Imogen Foulkes Producer: Farhana Haider Editor: Justine LangGet in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Mirjana Spoljaric. Credit: Joel Saget/Getty)

“This is one of the exact aspect of hybrid warfare of Russia… They are targeting us specifically to create dissensions, to create and to prop up artificially some voices in our societies that otherwise would be quite marginal and create dissensions. So they want to attack us and make sure that our democracies are more fragile, because the more fragile we are, the less we're able to counter their aggressive actions.”Evan Davis speaks to David Vigneault, Chief Intelligence Officer at Strider Technologies and former director of Canada’s intelligence services, about the geopolitical instabilities and technologies that are re-shaping the world order.Between 2017 and 2024, he was responsible for the operations of CSIS, the country’s foreign intelligence and security agency. This period presented a number of challenges for Vigneault and his organisation, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the rise of AI, and an unpredictable Trump presidency across the border.You’re going to hear his take on current tensions around the world, what keeps him up at night, and why he thinks cooperation is key.Thank you to the PM team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukrainian intelligence chief Vadym Skibitsky, the World Health Organisation’s Hanan Balkhy, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Evan Davis Producers: Rosie Seed and Ben Cooper Editors: Justine Lang and Farhana HaiderGet in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: David Vigneault. Credit: Reuters)

Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s chief international correspondent, meets Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi as the Taliban seeks greater international recognition. The Taliban returned to power five years ago but Russia is still the only country to have formally recognised their rule. Afghanistan is pushing for stronger diplomatic relations, but their treatment of women and girls remains one of the biggest obstacles. We ask the foreign minister why Afghan women and girls are facing growing restrictions on education, work and public life. “The conduct with women shouldn’t be looked at through the glasses of western culture and tradition. Afghan values should be considered... You can wander around Afghanistan, in Kabul in the cities, see the way women work, do business or go to elementary schools or to Madrassas, the situation isn’t the way it can be interpreted,” he says.Afghanistan also needs more aid and investment in the midst of a deepening humanitarian and economic crisis. Are the Taliban prepared to do more to achieve full international recognition?(Image: Amir Khan Muttaqi. Credit: Reuters)Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the UN secretary General Antonio Guterres, the former Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet and the film director Christopher Nolan. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Lyse Doucet Producer: Farhana Haider

“I had hired a CEO for the last two years. The company was at a place where revenue had plateaued. I wasn’t someone who could look at a spreadsheet 50 tabs wide and tell my CFO what to do. I was definitely out of my league and I didn’t like that job, and a lot of different things happened before we ended up filing for bankruptcy.” Leanna Byrne speaks to Sophia Amoruso, founder of online fashion retailer Nasty Gal. What began as a one-woman eBay shop selling vintage clothes became one of online fashion’s most recognisable brands. Within a few years, Nasty Gal was valued at $350 million, bringing expectations that it would grow like a technology company and become a billion-dollar business. Sophia reflects on feeling out of her depth running the company, criticism of its workplace culture and the decisions that led to bankruptcy. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Farhana Haider and Damon Rose(Image: Sophia Amoruso. Credit: Araya Doheny/Getty)

“We don’t have another way for surviving, because we are an independent state, it's our territory, it's our land, it’s our culture, it’s our history, and we must fight to prevent the full occupation by the Russian Federation our territory.”Dan Johnson speaks to Vadym Skibitsky, deputy chief of the GUR, Ukraine’s military intelligence service, about the ongoing war with Russia.Formed shortly after Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the GUR is tasked with defending the country at home and abroad through the use of political and military intelligence.Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the service has played a key role in holding off and pushing back Kyiv’s larger neighbour through activities including intelligence gathering, espionage and sabotage. As the war gears up to enter another harsh winter with no obvious end in sight, both sides continue to look for new ways to break the deadlock.In this exclusive, wide-ranging interview, Skibitsky discusses Russia’s use of North Korean troops and military hardware in the war. He also talks about Ukraine's latest strategy of deep-range drone strikes thousands of kilometres into Russia, and how its military plans to grind down Moscow. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with journalist Dmitry Muratov, former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa, and Ukrainian drone commander Robert Brovdi. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Dan Johnson Producer: Anastassia Levchenko Editor: Damon RoseGet in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Vadym Skibitsky. Credit: Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

“Let's go back to the timeframe with the internet building out. We didn’t have an issue that the internet 20 years later is not a valuable utility… If you don't have access to a smartphone, try to get into a sporting event or a concert - it’s not going to happen. That's the internet at its backbone. So artificial intelligence will be the same. It's going to be table stakes for everything that we do. We may see a short-term bump in the road or some pause or whatever you want to call it, and then people will freak out and say ‘AI's dead’, which is complete nonsense because it's only going to get better from here and it's going be a greater utility. So I don't worry about it too much.”Faisal Islam speaks to Rene Haas, CEO of UK-based computer chip firm Arm Holdings, about the current boom in the industry being driven by the growth of AI and data centres.Although some people may not be familiar with the Arm name, their silicon chips are present almost everywhere - from smartphones all the way up to supercomputers.Founded in the early 1990s, the firm began its life operating out of an old turkey barn in the English countryside near Cambridge. As technology shrank and became increasingly mobile, Arm, whose main focus is the design of efficient chips, positioned themselves at the heart of the tech revolution.It is now mostly owned by a large Japanese tech investment group and their chips can be found in almost every part of modern life - from smartphones and cameras through to cars and supercomputers.With the AI revolution continuing apace, analysts have said that Arm will have a key role to play in the coming years. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with AI expert Parmy Olson, Hinge CEO Jackie Jantos, and McKinsey China’s Jo Ngai. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Faisal Islam Producers: Ben Cooper, Priya Patel and Danielle Codd Editor: Damon RoseGet in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Rene Haas. Credit: Getty)