Why IS Research on Env. Sustainability is Needed

Smart meters are cool, cutting edge, and promising. But they are also complex socio-technical systems.
So getting the service design right is critical (interface, business model, technical functionality, integration, etc.).
Here’s a passage from a response to the smart meter ordinance in California that was drafted by Jared Blumenfeld (Director, San Francisco DOE) and Ed Harrington (GM, [...]

ICT & Environment – Supply & Demand Considerations

OECD Working Party on the Information Economy released “Measuring the Relationship Between ICT and the Environment” (2009).  The report contains a useful framework for asking important questions from supply (producer) and demand (in use) perspectives concerning positive and negative environmental impacts (click on diagram to see larger version).

Sustainability as Driver of Innovation

My forthcoming article in MIS Quarterly explains how innovative application of information systems is critical to 

changing beliefs and attitudes about the environment, e.g., via eco-visualization;
enabling new business processes and activities that support environmental sustainability, e.g., energy demand response; 
measuring the impact of organizational eco-actions on economic and environmental performance, e.g., carbon tracking software.

An article in HBS this [...]

IS Innovation for Environmental Sustainability

Information systems can play a critical role in shaping beliefs about the environment, in enabling and transforming sustainable processes and practices in organizations, and in improving environmental and economic performance. I make this case in a framework that draws on Coleman’s (1986) work exploring how micro actions link macro phenomena. 

From the paper:
In contrast, few studies [...]