Green IS: an imperative and an opportunity for IT services

Although the IT sector has made significant contributions to the economic development of countries like India, research on the role of the IT industry for environmental sustainability is underexplored. This chapter explores how IT organisations could contribute to environmental sustainability while providing IT services to client organisations. With the case of a leading IT services organisation in India as an exemplar, we chart the evolution of the company’s sustainability practice into a multi-fold business strategy. Our findings show that sustainability initiatives in the company led to cost reductions, corporate reputation enhancement and green innovation capabilities in the long run. Green initiatives of the company reduced per capita electricity consumption by 55 percent over a 12-year period. We also found a further effect of the sustainability initiative on reputation enhancement, leading to higher global competitiveness in attracting global clients.