An approach to sustainability for information systems

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a set of guiding sustainability principles for the information systems function in organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use principles taken from sustainability approaches to define a set of principles and a sustainability maturity model.

Findings

The principles include awareness, alternatives to economic perspectives, systems approaches, minimise wastage, consider the future, avoid fads, link sustainability to IT governance frameworks.

Research limitations/implications

The paper calls for a new line of research investigating the contribution that IS can make to the sustainability issue.

Practical implications

The principles and maturity model can be used by practitioners to embed sustainability processes into their organisations.

Originality/value

The issue of sustainability and IS is still in its infancy as a research topic. The authors define a basic set of sustainability principles and raise a number of governance issues related to sustainability.

Citation

Standing, C. and Jackson, P. (2007), "An approach to sustainability for information systems", Journal of Systems and Information Technology, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 167-176. https://doi.org/10.1108/13287260710839247