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The annual meeting on innovation takes a step forward. Three cities, Terni, Naples and Rome, will host the Group’s stories about the commitment of the multiutility to ecological and digital transition, the best practices in the territories and its link with national and international innovation ecosystems. 

The Acea Innovation Tour started today as a three-day project about innovation, and how this can be combined with sustainability strategies and translated into water, energy, and environmental services for the areas where the multiutility operates. This year, the traditional day that Acea Group dedicates to innovation will be hosted in three cities - Terni, Naples, and Rome, - where our group promotes a debate between experts in the field (institutional representatives, companies, and start-ups) over the new scenarios and challenges of the future. The slogan for this year’s edition, 'Persone, Territori e Innovazione' ('People, Territories and Innovation'), conveys an idea of innovation that starts from the needs and proposals of people and territories.

The first stage of our Innovation Tour took place today in the city of Terni, Acea’s laboratory city, where the group has already designed and developed innovative solutions for sustainable mobility in order to orient the urban fabric - and its ecosystems made of young people and start-ups - towards an increasingly green and sustainable future.

The event took place in the Confindustria headquarters in the presence of numerous students of the Allievi-Sangallo Technic-Technological institute. Two panels were hosted to analyse, from an institutional and technological point of view, the key issues for the creation of this smart city model: 'Un nuovo modello di smart city' (A new smart city model) and 'Open Innovation e esperienze di innovazione sul territorio' (Open innovation and innovation experiences in the territory). After greetings from the mayor Leonardo Latini, Ivan Vigolo, Acea Chief Innovation & Information Officer, and Carlo Alberto Befani, president of Umbria Energy, speakers included Orlando Maselli, regional assessor for the Urban Agenda and Smart Cities, Benedetta Salvati, assessor for the Environment, Transport and Energy Efficiency, Cinzia Fabrizi, assessor for School, University, Research and Training, Andrea Di Matteo, Head of the Environment and Safety Area of Confindustria Umbria, Stefano Songini, Head of Investor Relations & Sustainability, Acea, Valerio Marra, Executive Chairman of Acea Innovation, Giuseppe Testa, Head of Commercial Services and Operation Technology Systems of Areti, Laura Caparvi, CEO of Umbria Energy, Marco Salera, MED Business Transformation & Innovation Solutions Leader EY, Silvia Celani, Head of Innovation Acea, e Federico Testa, Head of Innovation Strategy, Operation & Sales of Acea Innovation.  

The last speech at the closing of the event was by CEO of Acea Group Giuseppe Gola, who awarded prizes to the winning start-ups of 'Open Call #reshapcea', a contest related to smart cities launched in collaboration with Ernst & Young. The award ceremony took place in line with the new, immersive methods of the metaverse.

'With our Innovation Day, held in three stages for the first time, we aim at consolidating and expanding our dialogue with the territories where we operate, offering our partnership in the search for technologically advanced solutions to provide citizens with an increasingly efficient service management. During these days of meetings and debates, Acea wants to share its strategy that implies a development model in which innovation and digitalisation are integrated with the principles of sustainability and ecological transition,' said Giuseppe Gola, CEO of ACEA Group.

The second tour stage will be on 8 June in Naples. The programme is part of the Green Med Symposium and will take place in the Congress Centre of the Neapolitan capital. Il panel named 'Le sfide dell’Open Innovation nella transizione ecologica e digitale' (Open Innovation Challenges in ecological and digital transition) will be hosted. The Acea innovation model - aimed at realising concrete applications - will be the starting point for the panel to define the best practices applied in the Campania region by many players belonging to our ecosystem and by the Gesesa and Gori group companies in the field of water resource protection and in line with the United Nations sustainable development goals.

The final stage will take place on 8 July in Rome at the Officine Farneto, and will host three panels, 'Innovazione open e senza confini' (Open Innovation without borders), 'Acea insieme per la transizione ecologica: risultati e nuove sfide' (Acea for ecological transition: outcomes and new challenges), and 'L’innovazione glocal: da Roma a San Francisco' (Glocal innovation: from Rome to San Francisco) when the results of the internal work of the company will be reported in 'Tavoli innosostenibili' (Inno-sustainable tables), useful to Acea for the development of a plan for ecological and digital transition. Furthermore, glocal innovation will be discussed by analysing new models, such as the 'Innovation Antenne', and their contribution to the ecological transition of our country. Finally, a special space called 'Call4Startup al femminile' (Call4Women), will be dedicated to works of research and innovation carried out by start-ups – founded by women – which have joined the initiative.

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