Autostrade Per L’Italia | World Engineering Day

Integrated infrastructure

As Italy’s largest toll road operator, Autostrade per l’Italia currently manages around 3,000km of Italy’s motorway network under concession – close to 50% of the entire country’s tolled routes. These cross 15 regions and 60 provinces and include 215 service areas, more than 4,200 bridges and viaducts, and 420km of tunnels.

The company is committed to the UN’s 2030 Agenda and considers sustainability as a key part of its mission to make mobility increasingly sustainable, safe, innovative, efficient, and responsive to the present and future needs of society and its communities.

Aiming to become a leading European integrated mobility operator, Autostrade initiated its Transformation Plan in 2020 and has incorporated two main climate-change ambitions into its strategy. The first is to mitigate climate impacts by reducing the carbon footprint and developing sustainable mobility models. The second objective is to adapt and make infrastructure resilient to climate change. To achieve these goals, the company has embraced technological innovation and digitalization.

Florence area projects

Autostrade is working on a major project in Tuscany – upgrading the A1 motorway south of Florence, which involves the construction of a third lane in both directions and a new tunnel. The improvements will save an estimated 600,000 travel hours a year, resulting in an annual reduction of 10,000 metric tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

From the outset, sustainability was woven into the project. The company is reusing an estimated 3.3 million cubic meters of excavated soil to construct embankments, as well as incorporating recovered material into its asphalt and using recycled steel, further reducing impact on the environment.

Autostrade is also creating 380,000 sq m of green spaces, including the planting of 11,250 trees and 37,500 shrubs, along with the creation of a new public park over Florence’s Casellina Tunnel.

Health and safety

Across the group, health and safety is a key priority as Autostrade actively pursues a goal of “zero accidents”. All workers, whether their role is in works, maintenance, or business, are encouraged to invoke a Stop Work Authority if a procedure feels unsafe. By incorporating the HSE Alliance, every company is working to the highest standards.

“Workplace health and safety means wellbeing in your workplace and the participation of all in the common good of returning home and telling our loved ones what we did and how we did it,” says Filippo Pandolfi, Health, Safety and Environment Manager Major Construction Projects Florence Area at Autostrade.

What does a sustainable future look like?

“Sustainability means creating infrastructure that brings value to communities, minimizes impacts, and integrates harmoniously into its surroundings,” says Luca Giacomini, Major Construction Projects Florence Area Manager at Autostrade.

Autostrade is primarily focused on SDG 9, which aims to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.

Given the company’s additional focus on the safety and wellbeing of its employees and efforts to combat the impacts of climate change, Autostrade is also committed to SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 13 (climate action).