Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, was invited to speak on the subject of "Making the world desirable" on Saturday, July 8, at the 23rd Rencontres économiques held in Aix-en-Provence from July 7 to 9, bringing together more than 360 personalities - business leaders, academics, heads of state and government, students, players from the non-profit sector... - to discuss major economic, political and social issues.
Given that, for the first time within a very short span of time, the world is witnessing the convergence of economic, social, health and ecological crises, many are tempted to give in to pessimism. Faced with this situation, it is urgent and imperative to "Recreate hope", the central theme of this year's Rencontres économiques. After all, isn't hope the most powerful force driving human beings to action?
For Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, there's no doubt about it, and a sustainable and desirable future is within our grasp. "We have solutions for decarbonizing, depolluting and regenerating resources. The challenge is to get everyone around the table and take action now, with half of the solutions that already exist. Let's not wait for the 2nd half to be invented and deployed before accelerating", she declared.
On this point, Antoine Frérot, Chairman of Veolia, attending the same Rencontres, emphasized: "We have a range of solutions that avoid wasting resources, such as drip irrigation in agriculture, water network monitoring systems to prevent leaks, and reuse of wastewater, which should be more widespread following the green light given by the European Union, which now considers these actions to meet and exceed applicable health standards.”
Make the world desirable on 3 conditions:
"The path, though fraught with pitfalls, does exist. It's a mix of technological solutions and sober assessments that calls for involvement by everyone. And studies show that the world is ready. On a few conditions, however: that efforts are equitable, that it really works, and that it doesn't have negative health implications. So what are we waiting for?” It's possible to hope for a better world where humans and nature have their rightful place: a sustainable and desirable future.
For the Rencontres, this vision was also the topic of a major photographic survey carried out throughout France in collaboration with Wipplay, a community platform that brings together all those involved in photography and deciphers the world through images.