LGS Mobility Manager – Business Unit Employee & Business Services
What does a mobility manager do?
Mobility Management is one of the levers that a company has at its disposal to give consequence and implementation to its sustainability and business strategies, intervening, specifically, in the way people travel, both on their home-work journeys, but also, in a wider sense, on business trips. The way we move determines environmental, social and economic impacts affecting the people moving, the company in which they work and the community in general. Some examples: air pollution, climate change, noise, land occupation, traffic congestion, psycho-physical stress, lifestyle and the resulting health conditions. The Mobility Manager's purpose as defined by law is to favour collective, shared modes of transport with reduced or no environmental impact. To do this it is necessary to consider the characteristics of workplaces, such as location, available public transport, but also the needs of people, their schedules, their family needs, the propensity towards more sustainable forms of mobility. Considering all these elements and many others, the Mobility Manager identifies, in cooperation with other company figures, initiatives to encourage more sustainable travel habits.
According to you, how will mobility change in the coming years and what steps should be taken?
We live in an highly dynamic and unpredictable context, in which imagining the future is indeed difficult. Some experts foresee scenarios of increasingly personalised and integrated mobility services, closely linked to the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things, in which vehicle ownership will be increasingly replaced by the use of shared vehicles. I personally have the feeling that we are very far from this kind of vision, not so much because of technological issues, but because of cultural aspects. While technology evolves with great rapidity, in fact, the mentality of most people changes slowly, in small steps, and only where the possibilities offered by the market find a meeting point with real personal needs and the willingness to pay the price of change in terms of stress and giving up old habits. That is why in the coming years I do not expect epochal changes, but certainly an increase in the use of individual means of mobility as an alternative to the car and collective means, because the experiences of the last two years have led us to less regular working hours and to a preference for non-collective means of transport for health reasons, but also for autonomy and flexibility. The steps to be taken to respond to this latent demand for mobility are to remove obstacles that could slow down the change, first of all by equipping urban, business and home spaces with places suitable for the safe movement and parking of such means.
A project you are hoping to realise?
We have planned many initiatives to encourage the sustainable mobility of Leonardo's people; some are more technical or operational, others concern cultural aspects. In my opinion, the latter are the most challenging. Gandhi said: “Be the change you want to see in the world” and some people really put this maxim into practice by swimming against the current, facing and overcoming what for others are insurmountable difficulties. Sometimes with some effort, but often with joy, creativity and great satisfaction. In Leonardo there are many people like this, passionate and innovative. Therefore, what I hope to achieve is to give these people a voice, so that their experience can be an inspiration to others.
A message to share?
At LGS there is a strong focus on sustainable mobility issues and proposals, insights, suggestions from people in the company are always considered an interesting stimulus. Let's continue together on the road already taken towards more sustainable mobility!