Digital transformation is not a simple introduction of new technologies: it is a revolution in meaning. It is radically changing the way in which activities are conducted and managed, so that digital can generate an all-round positive impact, especially in terms of sustainability. And this is particularly true for a crucial sector such as mobility, where the digital rethinking of infrastructure design and management can have a profound impact on both the environment and the well-being of citizens.
This is a vision that ANAS has made its own and around which it has built its digital transformation plan, as well as all its strategic programmes. It is therefore no coincidence that the third edition of the company’s Sustainability Award, to be held on 26 May, will focus precisely on the role of digital sustainability as a strategic lever for the development of road infrastructure.
One floor, four pillars
ANAS’s digital transformation is based on a long-term vision, fully aligned with the objectives of the 2024-2033 Industrial Plan and the European Green Deal and PNRR guidelines. The plan was not created as a simple technological roadmap: it is a coherent ecosystem of strategic programmes, oriented towards the creation of public value, infrastructural resilience and the overall sustainability of the country system. The model adopted by the Directorate of Technology, Innovation & Digital Spoke (DTIDS) is oriented towards considering technology not as an end in itself, but as a transversal enabler of new processes, skills and decision-making models. In this perspective, digital transformation is an integral part of ANAS’ industrial strategy and acts as a structural lever for the continuous improvement of the company’s environmental, operational and social performance.
More specifically, there are four main pillars on which the strategy is built:
– Digitisation of core and corporate processes, with a focus on infrastructure asset lifecycle management;
– AI & Data Governance and data-driven approach to support timely, transparent and evidence-based decisions;
– Open innovation and experimentation through PoCs, living labs and structured collaborations with universities, research centres, start-ups and SMEs;
– Security, resilience and sustainability of digital systems, indispensable elements of a national critical infrastructure.
In this framework, DTIDS operates as a strategic partner of the business and territorial structures, overcoming the classic IT customer-supplier model and accompanying the evolution of the entire organisation towards a greater capacity to govern complexity and anticipate change.
The projects: digital sustainability at the centre
The main projects of the company’s digital transformation are therefore united by a direct and measurable impact on sustainability, in its environmental, social and organisational dimensions. The aim is not just to introduce new technologies: it is to rethink the way infrastructures are designed, managed and maintained, reducing waste, risks and emissions, and improving the quality of service to citizens.
One example of the most relevant initiatives in this direction is the digitisation of Asset Management over the entire life cycle, by means of integrated systems, BIM and Digital Twin, which allows for more efficient planning of interventions and a more rational use of resources: this approach makes it possible to move from a predominantly reactive management to a predictive one, with direct benefits in terms of costs and reduction of waste, and to acquire a better ability to preserve infrastructure assets in the long term. Then there is the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) programme, which is fundamental for the continuous monitoring of bridges and viaducts, with a twofold sustainability impact: on the one hand it increases the safety of users and the resilience of infrastructures, and on the other it makes it possible to reduce emergency interventions and invasive works, favouring more targeted maintenance.
Also important is the company’s commitment to the development of Smart Road and Smart Mobility, which integrate physical and digital infrastructure, traffic data and advanced services, promoting more fluid, intermodal and less impactful mobility. Through the use of data and digital platforms, sustainability can be expressed in terms of service quality, reduced environmental impact and increased efficiency of the transport system, with direct benefits for citizens and territories. Finally, with regard to the intelligent use of data, ongoing initiatives include theadoption of common processes and platforms for the FS Group’s AI & Data Governance, aimed at ensuring interoperability, standardisation and exploitation of data throughout the entire infrastructure chain. This means making data a shared and reusable asset, supporting more effective, transparent and consistent decisions at group level.
In short, for ANAS, digital sustainability means doing better while using less, thanks to reliable data, predictive maintenance, reduced emergency interventions and greater planning capacity. It is an approach that contributes to reducing the environmental impact of infrastructure, increasing safety and increasing transparency, as well as the efficiency of public action.
The third edition of the Sustainability Award
And it is precisely on the theme of ‘digital sustainability as a strategic lever for the development of road infrastructures‘ that the 2026 edition of the Anas Sustainability Award will focus. This year, it will be introduced by contributions from Paolo Di Cesare, co-founder of Nativa – who will also conduct the event – and Stefano Epifani, President of the Foundation for Digital Sustainability.
The award, now in its third year, is an important step in the path of sustainability that the company has undertaken. But it is above all an opportunity to valorise the work carried out by its Territorial Structures (TS) – the operational heart of Anas – which, every day, work to guarantee the safety of infrastructures and their users, and which therefore represent the main protagonists of Anas’s commitment towards concrete, measurable and daily sustainability. It is precisely the concept of ‘measurement’ that is the driving force behind the initiative: this is the origin of the Award, which aims to recognise and highlight the value of good practices and experiences that, through precise and shared indicators, demonstrate the effectiveness of the actions implemented.
Specifically, the Award looks at the achievement of sustainability targets in four assessment areas: Energy and Emissions (electricity consumed by ST; share of self-generated electricity from renewable sources; electricity consumed for roads and tunnels), Circular Economy (share of separate waste collection; water withdrawn for civil use per capita; kilometres of paving made with recycled materials), Safety and Social (rate of incidence of accidents at work by employees; employee health and safety initiatives and stakeholder engagement actions; accident incidence rate at construction sites), Sustainable Mobility (rate of use of sustainable modes of travel for employees’ home-work journeys; actions to encourage sustainable mobility for employees).
The objective of this initiative is twofold: on the one hand to promote continuous improvement in environmental, social and safety performance, and on the other to spread a culture of sustainability that is authentic, rooted and shared. The award ceremony will take place in Rome on 26 May 2026, as part of an internal event in the presence ofCEO Claudio Andrea Gemme, Anas Chairman Giuseppe Pecoraro, and all the Directors and Heads of the TS. And it is an initiative that not only demonstrates the company’s commitment to more sustainable mobility, but also how sustainability and measurement must go hand in hand. Because sustainability, if it is not measurable, is not real sustainability: this is the cultural leap to take, to ensure that the concept does not remain abstract but descends to the level of concreteness, to generate a real positive impact on society as a whole.