This document discusses green information systems (Green IS) and how they can contribute to climate change solutions. It defines Green IS as the development of information systems that provide digital infrastructure for sustainable business processes. Examples include systems that monitor emissions to better manage them, dynamically route vehicles to reduce energy use, and provide consumers information to make green choices. The document advocates for both top-down and bottom-up approaches, and highlights a local community aquaponics garden project supported by modern ICT. Research is presented on how education can shift attitudes from climate change denial to recognizing individual agency to address the problem. The SIGGreen mission and resources for Green IS are outlined.

1. What is Green IS,
and how can it
contribute to climate
change solutions?
Catherine Dwyer, Pace University, US
Helen Hasan, University of Wollongong, AU
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2. Dr Catherine Dwyer,
Pace University
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3. Dr Helen Hasan, University of Wollongong
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4. What is IS?
• Information and communications technologies (ICT) are
driving a continuing evolution of innovation for all human
activities, transforming the ways we do things, at home, at
work and in the larger society.
• The field of Information Systems (IS) studies the design,
development, implementation, use and impact of ‘information
systems’, which are complex socio-technical artefacts defined
as “integrated and cooperating sets of people, processes,
software, and information technologies to support individual,
organizational, or societal goals” (Watson)
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5. What is Green IS?
• Development of information systems that provide the digital
infrastructure for sustainable business processes.
Examples:
• Monitor emissions and waste products to manage them more
effectively.
• Dynamically route of vehicles to avoid traffic and minimize energy
consumption.
• Support distributed teamwork with telecommuting, collaborative
work systems, group document management, and cooperative
knowledge management.
• Provide information to consumers so they can make green
choices more conveniently and effectively.
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6. Top Down v Bottom Up
• We are often advised to “think global and act local” when it
comes to environmental issues.
• There is a need for authoritative institution at international,
national and state level to set directions, agendas and provide
resources for climate change solutions.
• However the big picture is too complex to implement
solutions that work at the macro level
• Local solutions to local problems are needed but only succeed
if there is local buy-in and cooperation between local
stakeholders.
• This is messy but can be supported by modern ICT
• Example of a community aquaponics garden for aged care 6

7. Opening of the Garden
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8. Energy Informatics Framework
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9. Virtual Collaboration
• What do we do when we collaborate? Hold meetings, create
and share documents, access information, make plans and
decisions, conduct projects, write reports.
• ICT/IS tools help us to do these things in new ways that are
more environmentally responsible e.g. we don’t have to be co-
located or use as much paper
• Our Green IS community SIGGreen has been exploring ways
we can use different online tools to lower our environmental
foot print e.g. we have held virtual workshops, set up several
wikis, published papers online etc.
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10. Virtual Introductions
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11. Research on Attitudes and Behavior
• Climate change is an urgent problem
• Use of fossil fuels is a large contributor to green house
gas emissions (GHGE)
• Individual energy consumption choices are related to
GHGE
• Non-economic methods are needed to encourage
voluntary reduction in energy consumption
• The Relationship Between Energy Literacy and
Environmental Sustainability, Low Carbon Economy, 2011
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12. Designed Energy Literacy Course
• Develop conceptual fluency with the economic and social
components of energy use
• Topics include differences between fossil fuels,
renewable energy alter-natives, and the link between
consumption decisions and environmental impact
• Subjects: 188 students from eight sections of
Introduction to Computing course (pre- and post-course
survey)
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13. Three Attitudes Emerged
• Denial - Individual denies climate change is
“real,” and has no intention to change
consumption behavior
• Agency - Individual recognizes climate change as
an urgent issue, believes their own actions can
contribute to a solution
• Anxiety - Individual expresses concern that
climate change/energy shortages will lead to
chaos and global destruction
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14. Attitude Analysis
Pre NEP ERB Post NEP ERB
Denial -0.402*** -0.286*** Denial -0.166* -0.037
Agency 0.446*** 0.226** Agency 0.466*** 0.294***
Anxiety 0.204** 0.163* Anxiety 0.313*** 0.344***
* p <0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001
NEP – measures of pro-environmental attitudes
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ERB – measures of pro-environmental behaviors

15. ‘Fear tactics’ interfere with
behavioral changes
• Subjects expressed
anxiety about
sustainability, but did
not do things like
recycle
• Anxiety blocks
change in behavior
• ‘Global catastrophe’
themes in climate
discussion may be
hurting more than
helping
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16. Agency Anxiety
• I think that everyone • I fear that we as a
needs to take country will not
responsibility for their conserve our resources
own actions. The world and the majority of
them will be used up
depends on it. before I die.
• We must be able to • The planet will die.
conserve resources that
we have today and
learn to use new ones.
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17. Findings
• Discussions of sustainability with disaster
themes can trigger anxiety that interferes with
the goal of encouraging sustainability. In
contrast, materials that focused on the
pragmatic necessity and concrete benefits had a
more positive impact on promoting pro-
environmental behavior
• Need to create programs that mitigate the
negative effect of anxiety provoking discussions
on pro-environmental behavior 17

18. Design and Aesthetics
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Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Facility, Phoenix, Arizona, 1993

19. SIGGreen Mission
• Information systems research can make an
important contribution to knowledge at the
nexus of information, organizations, and the
natural environment; to the development of
innovative environmental strategies; to the
creation and evaluation of systems that break
new ground in environmental responsibility; and,
ultimately, to the improvement of the natural
environment.
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20. Green IS Resources
• Watson, Richard; Boudreau, Marie-Claude (2011-08-16).
Energy Informatics. Green ePress.
• SIGGreen site: http://siggreen.wikispaces.com/
Twitter: @AIS_SIGGreen
• Videos of SIGGreen Workshop Presentations (2012):
SIGGreen Workshop - Barcelona, Spain - June 2012
• Catherine Dwyer
Twitter: @ProfCDwyer
http://csis.pace.edu/~dwyer
• Helen Hasan
Twitter: @bottlingfog 20
Blog: http://bottlingfog.wordpress.com/