Editorial: Special issue on empirical research on information systems addressing the challenges of environmental sustainability: an imperative for urgent action

Scientific evidence accepted by leading experts in the environmental domain attributes observable degradation of the natural environment on a global scale to human behaviour (IPCC, 2007; IPCC, 2014). Acknowledging the deteriorating state of the environment as one of the most critical challenges confronting the world, the governments of more than 190 countries have accepted the scientific evidence of this degradation and, by ratifying the United Nations Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, more than 130 countries to date have committed to take action (UNFCCC, 2016a). Business, government and society need to collaborate to achieve fundamental changes in current behaviours and prevailing practices in order to address the challenges of environmental sustainability (IPCC, 2007; Porter & Reinhardt, 2007; Stern, 2007; NIC, 2008; IPCC, 2014; UNFCCC, 2015). Although achievements are being made in specific areas, the gap between current emissions levels and the rate of improvement is widening. This gap will lead to ‘significantly greater climate risks, higher mitigation and adaptation costs and negative impacts on human health and sustainable development’ (UNCCS, 2015, p. 2). Greater effort is urgently required to address these challenges (UNFCCC, 2015; UNCCS, 2015). The information systems (IS) community has a critical contributory role in these global responses. Applications of technology, including information and communications technologies and systems, have been acknowledged as a key source of solutions to address the necessity for fundamental change to behaviours and practices (MEA, 2005; IPCC, 2007; Stern, 2007; NIC, 2008; UNFCCC, 2016b). As a discipline, IS is well placed to make significant contributions to this domain as IS ‘examines more than just the technological system, or just the social system, or even the two side by side; in addition, it investigates the phenomena that emerge when the two interact’ (Lee, 2001, p. iii). Therefore, interaction between technological and social systems to address one of the world’s most critical challenges is located at the core of the IS discipline. Consequently, this special issue aims to contribute to the development of relevant and rigorous research in this domain that demonstrates the applicability of IS as a source of empirical solutions to a range of environmental challenges. It seeks to promote the development of a diversity of environmentally sustainable practices; the application, testing and development of relevant theory; and the development of generalizable theory in use (Lee, 2010) informed by doi: 10.1111/isj.12150