Sustainable Information Systems and Green Metrics

Sustainability information is needed at both the macro and micro levels, it will require a multi-level approach that provides information and metrics that can drive high-level strategic corporate/regional sustainability plans, to low-level actions such as improving the energy efficiency of an office worker. This chapter provides an overview of multi-level sustainable information, and introduces the wider context of sustainability frameworks, principles, and tools. The information requirements of Green and Sustainable practices are examined at multiple levels including organisation (regional sustainability plan, greenhouse gases emission reporting), business function (data centre energy efficiency), product/service (life cycle assessment), and individual (commute tracking). The chapter also examines how the sustainability capability of an organisation can be examined to determine its effectiveness.