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Should we be more open about salaries? Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

Salaries are often kept secret in most workplaces - but times are changing.

The BBC’s Deborah Weitzmann discusses implications for pay transparency policies and the gender wage gap.

Deborah visits Flash Pack, a travel firm in London where staff members are open about their salaries. She travels to New York City where employers are preparing for a new law requiring them to post clear salary bands in job listings later this year - following the US state of Colorado. She speaks to Scott Goldshine, general manager of Manhattan-based deli Zabars.

Deborah also hears from salary expert David Turetsky about why some people find conversations around pay difficult, and Dr Grace Lordan from the London School of Economics explains how openness about pay might benefit women and address the gender pay gap.

Presented and produced by Deborah Weitzmann.

(Image: An office meeting. Credit: Getty)

Business Daily meets: Russ Glass Sep 08, 2022

Show notes

Can an app, founded by a former monk, become one of the biggest tech companies in the world?

Russ Glass, the chief executive of Headspace Health, takes Leanna Byrne behind the scenes in one of the biggest mergers in mental health technology.

We get an insight into Headspace Health’s global expansion plans both online and offline; how people turned to mental health technology with the uncertainty of Covid; and how employers could soon be using its staff’s mental health data to make company wide policies.

Presenter/producer: Leanna Byrne

(Image: woman listening to headphones whilst meditating. Credit: Getty)

Why Europe’s inland shipping network is drying up Sep 07, 2022

Show notes

As Europe’s historically dry summer continues, Matthew Kenyon takes a trip on the barge Mezzoforte, and talks to skipper Dirk Pols about the challenges of navigating as river depths fall.

We hear from Cornelis van Dorsser of the Dutch Inland Shipping Association about how the industry is preparing for the continued impacts of climate change.

Economist Saskia Meuchelböck tells us about the economic effects of the last major dry period, just four years ago, when a month of low water on the Rhine knocked 0.4% off Germany’s GDP, and hydrologist Saskia Werners explains how barge captains, industry, importers and the public have to expect more of the same.

Presenter / producer: Matthew Kenyon Image: The Mezzoforte; Credit; Matthew Kenyon / BBC

Venice’s tourist problem: Are day trippers welcome? Sep 05, 2022

Show notes

Italy’s famous floating city has a problem - too many tourists are visiting Venice during the high season. The city authorities recently announced a plan to charge day-visitors a €10 tax during the busiest periods. But many are sceptical about the plan, saying it doesn’t go far enough to address over-tourism.

The BBC’s Vivienne Nunis joins the crowds in St Mark’s Square to assess what can be done when a holiday destination becomes a victim of its own success. And she explores how other popular destinations such as Hawaii and the Isle of Skye in Scotland are addressing the problem.

Producer: Vera Mantengoli

(Image: A gondola in Venice. Credit: BBC)

Business Daily meets: Bruce Daisley Sep 02, 2022

Show notes

Do people who use social media need to be more resilient? Thats the question Sam Fenwick asks former Twitter executive, Bruce Daisley. For eight years he ran Twitter's business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He then became a writer and consultant on better working practices. In his latest book, Fortitude: Unlocking the Secrets of Inner Strength, he examines what makes people resilient. i Bruce Daisley was staying with relatives in Beirut the day of the chemical explosion in 2020. In the aftermath he heard much talk of the ‘resilience’ of the Lebanese people. But when he heard someone say, ‘We don’t want to be resilient. We just want to live!’, it got him thinking about what resilience really is and how individuals can achieve it.

Presenter: Sam Fenwick

(Photo: Bruce Daisley with kind permission)

Using less gas in our homes Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

The Netherlands has long been almost totally reliant on gas to heat people's homes. But as Europe tries to wean itself off domestic gas, something made more urgent by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and by soaring energy prices, the country is trying to lead the way in tackling the necessary energy transition.

Matthew Kenyon hears from Michaela Holl of think-tank Agora Energiewende on the Netherlands’ political strategy and from Energiesprong’s Sanne de Wit about their innovative approach to renovation.

The Hague City Council’s Astrid Kennis talks about what we can all do in our homes to improve insulation and pay for the work that’s necessary. And Ruben Buna Heslinga, of Dutch housing corporation Mitros, talks about a current renovation project in Utrecht. We also hear from Lesley, a tenant in one of the newly refashioned buildings, on what she expects of her energy bills now.

Presenter / producer: Matthew Kenyon Image: an apartment block in Utrecht being renovated to meet new environmental standards; Credit: Matthew Kenyon

Getting ready for Paris 2024 Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

Ashish Sharma reports from Paris as the city prepares to host the Olympic games in the summer of 2024.

President of the Paris Organising Committee of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tony Estanguet, tells Ashish how they hope to make the games the most sustainable ever held. We also hear from Sodexo, the company charged with catering the games.

Local business owners tell us how they feel about the Olympics coming to their city so soon after the pandemic and in the midst of an energy crisis.

Presenter / producer: Ashish Sharma Image: Tony Estanguet; Credit: Getty

The unusual world of dark tourism Aug 30, 2022

Show notes

Instead of choosing a traditional sunny holiday, some tourists choose to visit places that many consider sites of tragedy, death or disaster.

On Business Daily we explore the benefits, and controversies, around this unusual type of tourism.

We speak to tour guides in two different areas to find out why tourists visit, and what benefits they bring. We hear from Dominik Orfanus and Lara Graldina from ChernobylX, which provides specialist tours, and also from Mee Tsuyama, from the Hiroshima Interpreters and Guides Association, on how the travel industry has helped the city recover from the devastation of the atomic bomb.

Presenter/Producer: Rory Claydon

(Picture: Radiation sign in Chernobyl Credit: BBC)

How to dispose of nuclear waste Aug 29, 2022

Show notes

One of the biggest challenges facing the nuclear industry today is how to deal with the lethal radioactive waste which has accumulated over decades. Governments across the world are trying to find a permanent solution to keep the waste safe and secure. Presenter Theo Leggett visits Sweden, where progress is being made with deep geological storage. Maria Fornander from Sweden’s nuclear operator SKB, explains how the waste is initially placed under water, and will then be buried in cast iron 500m underground. Theo visits the Äspö Hard Rock laboratory, where SKB project director Ylva Stenqvist is testing the techniques and equipment. Rolf Persson of the Oskarshamn Municipality, says other countries planning similar ventures could learn from Sweden’s approach. Neil Hiatt, the chief scientific adviser to the UK’s waste management group Nuclear Waste Services, speaks to Theo in Sweden - how might it work in practice? In the UK, similar proposals have faced local opposition, Marianne Birkby runs a pressure group, Radiation Free Lakeland, opposing a possible waste facility in the North of England. And Dr Paul Dorfman, from the University of Sussex, explains why he believes plans for geological disposal are at best premature – and potentially impossible to deliver safely. Producer and presenter: Theo Leggett (Image: Radioactive containers. Copyright: Getty)

The refugee entrepreneurs starting again Aug 26, 2022

Show notes

It's been six months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, the war in Ukraine has pushed the number of refugees across the world to more than 100 million. In this programme we hear from refugees about starting a new life - and a new business. Yuliia is from Ukraine but is now living in England. On the day she fled her home country, she threw some belongings in a bag, took her two children and drove across Europe. She was a wedding dress designer in Ukraine and is now hoping to restart her business in the UK. Razia works for Silai Wali - a social enterprise led by Afghan-women refugees in New Delhi. It up-cycles waste fabric to create handcrafted decorations. Plus, Bish Wadeep Mortia who set up the company, tells us more about how it works. And Waseem is from Jumpstart Refugee Talent in Canada - it is a refugee-led non-profit organisation whose sole purpose is to help people find work or start new businesses. Presented and produced by Jess Quayle (Photograph courtesy of Yuliia)

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