New sustainable businesses
“With more than half the world’s population already living in urban areas, and that percentage expected to rise to 75% by 2050, it is clear that the path to sustainable development must pass through cities. Currently it is estimated that 70%-80% of global GDP is generated in cities and that, at the same time, they are responsible for 70%-80% of GHG emissions.
“Smart cities” are therefore a way to reconcile growth and sustainability.”1 It is not a coincidence that the Sustainable Development Solutions Network has included the theme of “inclusive, productive and resilient cities” among its proposals for the definition of the new Sustainable Development Goals.
“Smart mobility” and Intelligent Transport Systems are examples of introducing new technologies (ICT) in urban environments to create solutions that improve the quality of life of the growing urban population, and also provide new business opportunities for companies.
(1) Abha Josh-Ghani, Who needs smart cities for sustainable development, World Bank, 2012.
Together with the revitalization of traditional businesses, eni’s new strategy includes the launch of innovative new businesses.
Car sharing in Milan during the first months of the activity
55 thousand
clients registered
200 thousand
rentals
enjoy>
eni’s new initiatives include Enjoy, a sustainable mobility service launched at the end of 2013 in Milan, which makes a fleet of high efficiency vehicles available in the city. This is a highly technological car-sharing service which does not require the user to return the vehicle to a fixed point, but allows them to leave it anywhere within the area covered by the scheme. Although the idea was taken from similar systems already established in some Countries (UK, USA and Germany), the service has some internationally unique aspects in terms of innovation and sustainability. The Enjoy scheme uses vehicles with very low emissions which are particularly adapted to urban areas as they are small and take up less road space.
In the first 3 months since the service was inaugurated in December 2013 in Milan, about 55,000 people have signed up to use the service, and over 200,000 vehicles have been hired. The service is expected to be extended to other Italian cities such as Rome and Turin. The process for registering and using the Enjoy service is entirely “smart” and does not require physical registration or paper documentation. All the operations, from registration to use, are managed on-line using special applications. The vehicles are cleaned daily using eco-friendly detergents that do not require water, thus avoiding an estimated consumption of around 120 litres for every car wash.
