To raise awareness among key players and private citizens by making clear the commitment of FIT Consulting Srl to the energy and digital transition leading to new models of sustainable mobility of goods and people. This is the goal of the “Manifesto to take on the challenge towards sustainable mobility in European cities by 2023, in response to the climate emergency” launched by the leading company in the field of innovation, research and business design for the mobility of people and goods, both at the European and national level.
Background. In 2022, the European Commission selected 100 cities in the Union to participate in the “100 smart and climate neutral cities by 2030” mission – Mission City – for which 377 European cities had applied. Over the two-year period 2022-23, the Mission program will be able to count on about 360 million euros in funding, part of the Horizon Europe program, to embark on an innovation journey in cities to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. The Community Mission program comes in a context where as much as 75 percent of Europe’s population lives in urban areas, where more than 70 percent of CO2 emissions are spread. With the Cities Mission program, European cities have set ambitious goals in terms of sustainability, inclusiveness and security, as called for in the European Green Deal. By 2030 these cities have the ambition to become virtuous ecosystems, Living Labs of innovation, drastically reducing consumption and emissions, representing best practices to achieve zero climate impact by 2050. In addition, the European Commission, in order to mobilize public and private resources, has established two important partnerships: 2Zero (Towards zero emission road transport) and CCAM (Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility). The two partnerships are tasked with accelerating the development of the most innovative technologies and helping cities toward the transition to Smart Cities, targeting goals of decarbonization, improved quality of life, efficient management of traffic and urban spaces, including parking and curbside, and defining the infrastructure requirements that can ensure the best conditions toward a successful deployment of these technologies.
As far as Italy is concerned, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) foresees substantial funds for Mission 1 “Digitization, Innovation, Competitiveness and Culture” with a resource amount of 46.3 billion; for Mission 2 “Green Revolution and Ecological Transition” with a resource amount of 69.8 billion; and with Mission 3 “Infrastructure for Sustainable Mobility” with a fund of 32 billion euros. Specifically, mission 2 has four different axes: 1) Sustainable agriculture and circular economy (€7 billion); 2) Renewable energy, hydrogen and sustainable mobility (€18.22 billion); 3) Energy efficiency and building upgrading (€29.55 billion); and 4) Land and water resource protection (€15.03 billion). In the EU Council’s recommendations, Italy is precisely requested to take steps to focus investment on the green and digital transition, particularly on clean and efficient energy production and use, research and innovation, sustainable public transport, and waste and water management. It is also pointed out that Italy performs well on climate change in particular: the level of emissions is significantly lower than the EU average. To achieve the green transition, according to the report, it is crucial to improve energy efficiency in the building sector, promote sustainable transport, foster the circular economy in regions lagging behind in development, and prevent climate risks.
FIT Consulting’s commitment. During 2023, FIT Consulting will therefore actively engage in the following goals:
– Study and anticipate future trends, such as Physical Internet, MaaS, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, automation in transportation, curbside management, digital ecosystems (Data Space) to start a path toward decarbonization and digital transformation in European cities;
– Exchange experiences on best practices, based on demonstrations made in real, effective and replicable Living Labs derived from the most advanced research and innovation activities in the field of mobility of goods and people;
– Make its network available with key players at the European level, building and strengthening partnerships of excellence, in order to share knowledge and disseminate solutions and best practices to facilitate replication and scale up at the European level;
– Actively involve all stakeholders and influencers in research and innovation projects, identification of needs, and decision-making processes during the executive design phases for the implementation of bottom-up solutions for Smart Cities, to make market penetration of innovative services usable and sustainable (including financially);
– Facilitating solutions that foster data sharing among stakeholders, in a trusted manner that is focused on defining increasingly efficient and optimized mobility solutions for goods and people;
– Increase awareness of the potential advantages and benefits of Smart Cities, helping to achieve a higher level of digital literacy by creating procedures and systems that provide incentives and rewards for citizens and businesses that demonstrate and offer continuous and virtuous engagement;
– Strengthen its leadership in involving mobility users, logistics operators, and local and national authorities in defining solutions for Smart Cities, empowering all strata of society, including the vulnerable or socially disadvantaged, to foster greater gender balance in participation. It is important to facilitate “capacity building” actions and tools for city administrators and urban planners to make cities People- and Planet-friendly, at the same time fostering ethical and resilient growth in a broader scenario of developing economies.
