Anas, the company that, for almost a century, has built, managed and maintained the roads that connect every place in the country, has joined the network of the Foundation for Digital Sustainability. The company’s commitment – and the main active projects – in the field of sustainability, the role and significance of digital sustainability in its daily operations, and the reasons that led to the birth of this new partnership are the topics discussed in this interview with Mauro Giancaspro, Director of Technology, Innovation & Digital Spoke at Anas and new member of the Foundation’s Steering Committee: with a degree in Information Sciences, from 2002 to 2021 he worked in the ENAV S.p.A. Group from 2002 to 2021, holding various managerial positions of increasing responsibility within the ICT Department, until he took over as its head in 2013. Since June 2021 he has held his current role in Anas, governing the strategic innovation and technological evolution programmes aimed at generating business value in terms of safety and public utility services.
A systemic and future-oriented approach
“Anas considers sustainability a guiding principle and a driver of development, integrating environmental, social and economic dimensions in all its activities. The company is committed to designing, building and managing an infrastructure network that is technologically advanced, safe and increasingly environmentally friendly, with the aim of creating value for the territory and communities“. This means, as Mauro Giancaspro explained, adopting a 360-degree approach to sustainability, starting from globally shared objectives. Considering, in this path, digitalisation as a fundamental enabler. “Anas’s sustainability strategy is directly inspired by the United Nations 2030 Agenda, contributing in particular to seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including: resilient infrastructure (9), sustainable cities and communities (11), clean energy (7), climate action (13), responsible consumption and production (12), health and wellbeing (3) and partnerships for the goals (17). Since 2018, we also participate in the FS Group’s Sustainability Report, transparently reporting data, projects and results to improve performance each year.
Among the concrete actions, we have investments in safety and resilience, with almost EUR 44 billion by 2032 for new works, planned maintenance and innovative technologies; projects such as Green Light for the energy upgrading of tunnels, installation of photovoltaic systems and Green Road for electric mobility; use of recycled materials, the target of 100% recovery of special waste by 2030 and the development of sustainable asphalts; and then again, in the field of Smart Roads and digitalisation, the development of smart infrastructures, equipped with IoT sensors, real-time monitoring systems and digital platforms for efficient and sustainable network management.
Anas’s approach to sustainability is systemic and future-oriented. Every design and management choice aims to reduce negative externalities, promote infrastructure resilience and contribute to global sustainable development goals‘.
Digital for sustainable mobility
Digital therefore has a leading role to play in the construction of a more sustainable future, especially in an area as crucial, and at the same time complex to manage, as mobility. An area that, through new technologies, will have to become increasingly ‘intelligent’, undertaking a transformation with a view to digital sustainability. “For Anas, digital sustainability is the ability to integrate technological innovation, digitalisation and environmental responsibility in all business processes, with the aim of generating value for the community and reducing the impact of infrastructure on the territory. In the last two years, Anas has accelerated the transition towards digital and sustainable management, adopting tools such as BIM (Building Information Modeling) and the Digital Twin, which make it possible to simulate scenarios, optimise design and assess the environmental impact of works. The SHM (Structural Health Monitoring) platform, launched in 2022, allows real-time monitoring of the health of bridges and viaducts, enabling predictive maintenance and the planning of targeted interventions. The Smart Road programme, with investments of more than EUR 865 million, has implemented IoT sensors, artificial intelligence and big data to monitor traffic, weather conditions and safety, promoting decarbonisation and electric mobility.
In short, in this direction, digital sustainability represents for Anas the key to a modern, efficient and responsible management of infrastructures: an integration of advanced technologies in every phase of their life cycle, to generate benefits for the environment and the community.
“Over the past two years, Anas has demonstrated how digital sustainability is an enabling factor for the transition to safer, resilient and low-impact mobility,” Mauro Giancaspro continued. “Through real-time monitoring (SHM), predictive maintenance and smart road management, it is possible to anticipate risks, optimise resources, reduce consumption and emissions, and ensure greater safety for users.
Digital sustainability also makes it possible to enhance data, foster transparency and collaboration between all players in the supply chain, and promote a corporate culture geared towards continuous innovation. In this way, Anas contributes not only to improving the quality and durability of infrastructures, but also to creating social and environmental value, in line with the country’s decarbonisation and sustainable development goals‘.
Building a Culture of Digital Sustainability
Digital sustainability is also, and perhaps first and foremost, a cultural fact. Much of the achievement of a more sustainable future depends on the creation of this culture, and its dissemination in all spheres and at all levels: and it is precisely in order to tackle this challenging path that Anas has chosen to partner with the Foundation.
“Anas has chosen to join the Digital Sustainability Foundation network to strengthen its commitment to promoting a culture of sustainability integrated with technological innovation,” explained Mauro Giancaspro.
“Participation in the network makes it possible to share best practices, access specialist expertise and collaborate with other public and private players on research and development projects. This path allows Anas to be an active part of the national and international debate on sustainable digital transformation, contributing to the definition of standards, methodologies and innovative solutions for infrastructure management and the mobility of the future“.