The transition towards more sustainable mobility is not just about reducing emissions or developing new modes of transport. It increasingly depends on the ability to rethink infrastructure as smart platforms: connected, secure, interoperable and capable of generating value through data. In this context, the road is evolving from a simple physical element into an active component of a digital ecosystem capable of collecting information, enabling services and supporting real-time decision-making for the benefit of citizens, industry professionals and local communities.
For an infrastructure operator such as Anas – the FS Group company responsible for a vast and strategically important network for the country, comprising some 33,000 km of roads, 19,321 bridges and 2,174 tunnels – sustainability is therefore an industrial responsibility even before it is an environmental one. It means ensuring safety, continuity of service, efficient use of investment and the quality of travel, whilst at the same time contributing to the competitiveness of local areas and the daily lives of citizens.
From this perspective, digital technology is a key enabler. It is not a peripheral aspect of sustainability, but a structural lever for transforming processes, decision-making models and the way infrastructure assets are managed. Digital sustainability stems precisely from this integration of data, innovation and accountability.
Talking about digital sustainability therefore means asking not only how much technology improves the efficiency of transport systems, but also how it is designed, governed and made accessible. Digital technology is sustainable when it reduces information asymmetries, enables more informed decisions, promotes the responsible use of resources and creates inclusive, secure and interoperable services. In this context, data, platforms and artificial intelligence are not merely operational tools, but strategic assets to be managed according to criteria of transparency, quality, security and public accountability.
Smart Roads, IoT sensors, monitoring platforms, C-ITS systems, Digital Twins and satellite observation are changing the way infrastructure is designed, controlled and maintained. The paradigm is gradually shifting from reactive management to predictive, data-driven management, capable of anticipating critical issues, optimising interventions and reducing waste, costs and environmental impacts. These tools are complemented by solutions for monitoring the condition of infrastructure – Structural Health Monitoring – as well as surveys using drones and LiDAR technologies, which provide a more accurate understanding of the condition of assets and enable more efficient maintenance planning.
This is the Digital Organisation model, which views technology not as an end in itself, but as organisational infrastructure that enables new skills, new processes and new forms of collaboration. In this model, data quality, information governance, cybersecurity, data protection, interoperability and digital continuity become essential prerequisites for building more resilient and sustainable mobility systems. The availability of interoperable ecosystems and data-sharing platforms is also a key factor in accelerating innovation, maximising the value of public investment and ensuring that digital transformation delivers measurable environmental, economic and social benefits.
The Digital Sustainability Foundation’s Working Group on Sustainable Mobility operates within this context with a clear objective: to transform principles and visions into practical models and, where possible, into shared benchmarks for the sector. Among the topics that have emerged are the Mobility Data Space, the development of Smart Roads and Smart Cities, predictive maintenance, climate resilience, Mobility as a Service, and the relationship between mobility and digital sovereignty.
One key point concerns the human factor. Sustainable mobility is not just a technological issue: it concerns behaviour, individual choices, cognitive stress, safety and trust in the systems. For this reason, alongside digital solutions, we need to invest in a culture of innovation, skills and governance models capable of supporting change.
Equally central is the issue of measurability. The transition to smart infrastructure requires KPIs, standards and certification models capable of assessing the contribution of Smart Roads to safety, efficiency and sustainability. Without shared indicators, there is a risk that innovation will remain a collection of experiments; with common metrics, it can become industrial policy.
Measurability must also extend to the digital footprint of the solutions adopted: data quality and reusability, the energy efficiency of platforms, the reduction in physical travel thanks to remote monitoring, the ability to prevent critical incidents, and the level of accessibility of services for users and local areas. Only by incorporating these indicators into assessment models can we ensure that digitalisation is not perceived as a technological cost, but rather emerges as a concrete driver of sustainability.
The challenge, therefore, is to build an ecosystem. Shared data, interoperable systems, secure digital platforms, and collaboration with universities, research centres, businesses and start-ups are essential elements for transforming road infrastructure into enablers of more integrated, accessible and sustainable mobility. In this context, open innovation models and local living labs also take on greater significance, as they enable solutions to be tested in real-world settings and facilitate technology transfer.
In this process, Anas can contribute by bringing the expertise of those who manage a complex network on a day-to-day basis, one that is exposed to weather conditions, safety requirements, technological developments and new user expectations. The road is increasingly more than just physical infrastructure: it is a smart hub within a wider system, capable of interacting with vehicles, local areas, services and communities. This evolution also creates the enabling conditions for cooperative and connected mobility services and for future applications of assisted and automated driving.
Digital sustainability enables us to “travel less and know more”: reducing unnecessary site visits, improving our understanding of assets, anticipating risks, planning interventions more effectively and making evidence-based decisions. This is where digital technology demonstrates its most tangible value: not in the technology itself, but in its ability to produce measurable impacts. The integrated use of satellite data, distributed sensors and analytical platforms also contributes to the monitoring of hydrogeological phenomena and to strengthening climate resilience.
This is why sustainable mobility must be seen as a strategy for transforming the country. A strategy that brings together infrastructure, data, expertise and public accountability; one that focuses on decarbonisation, but also on safety, resilience, the quality of services and the competitiveness of local areas.
The Working Group represents a tangible opportunity to build this vision and transform digital sustainability from a principle into an operational lever for change: a way of making mobility not only more connected, but also more responsible, inclusive and safe, and capable of generating lasting value for the country.