Content uploaded by Virginie Cauderay
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Virginie Cauderay on Apr 16, 2024
Content may be subject to copyright.
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 1
TALKING ABOUT THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: FINDINGS FROM A
LITERATURE REVIEW ON LEVERAGING INFORMATION SYSTEMS
FOR REDUCING SCOPE 3 EMISSIONS
Completed Research Paper
Virginie Cauderay, Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, Germany,
virginie.cauderay@hpi.de
Thomas Haskamp, Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, Germany,
thomas.haskamp@hpi.de
Ina Sebastian, Center for Information Systems Research, MIT Sloan School of Management,
USA, isebasti@mit.edu
Falk Uebernickel, Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, Germany,
falk.uebernickel@hpi.de
Abstract
Not yet addressed due to their complexity and broadness, corporate scope 3 greenhouse gases emissions
are key to mitigating climate change. Previous research has produced some important contributions on
the potential of IS to be leveraged for the reduction of such emissions, yet the findings have not been
explicitly framed within the GHG Protocol framework. Our systematic literature review explores the
relationship between the current IS literature and the scope 3 framework. The analysis of our sample of
48 papers revealed 7 emerging themes characterised by three overarching dimensions: economics,
reporting and reduction. Based upon these findings, we derive an agenda highlighting future research
avenues at the intersection of IS and sustainability management.
Keywords: Greenhouse Gases, Supply Chain, Scope 3, GHG Protocol
1 Introduction
The scientific threshold of atmospheric CO2 concentration defining a safe operating space for society
has been exceeded since the 1990s (Rockström et al., 2009; Nooa.gov, 2023; Richardson et al., 2023).
Human-induced greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, the main driver of anthropogenic climate change
(IPCC, 2023), thus need to be massively and rapidly reduced. As the dominant producers of GHG
emissions, companies have long been regarded as part of the problem, with the solution yet lying in their
scope of action (Hart, 1995; Melville, 2010; Downie and Stubbs, 2013; Klaaßen and Stoll, 2021). To
report on their environmental impact, companies predominantly follow the GHG Protocol framework,
which delineates direct and indirect GHG emissions in 3 main categories. Known as scopes, these
categories each encompass additional subcategories. Scope 3 pertains to both the supplier- and
customer-related emissions arising from the supply chain. Divided into 15 subcategories, it is the
broadest of the three scopes. Accounting for a high share of organisational total emissions, scope 3
represents a significant opportunity for reduction (Greenhouse Gas Protocol, 2011). Consider Apple: in
2022, its scope 3 emissions amounted to 99.75% of its annual gross CO2e emissions (Apple Inc., 2022).
Traditional businesses are not exempt, with, for example, the scope 3 emissions of Geberit, a Swiss
sanitary manufacturer, amounting to 89% of its total CO2e emissions in 2022 (Geberit, 2022).
The need to reduce scope 3 emissions is evident, but the solutions are more salient for the other two
scopes (Busch, Johnson and Pioch, 2022; Hettler and Graf-Vlachy, 2023). Digitalisation has been
discussed to offer opportunities to reduce GHG emissions (Körner et al., 2023a; Kotlarsky, Oshri and
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 2
Sekulic, 2023). However, environmental initiatives may prove unsuccessful if based on unreliable or
incomplete data (Melville and Whisnant, 2014; Krasikov and Legner, 2023). For example, some tech
companies have been found to understate their scope 3 emissions by up to half (Klaaßen and Stoll,
2021). Such significant variations have been hypothesised to be caused by the external nature of the
required data, with data sources often incomplete or lacking harmonisation (Patchell, 2018; Krasikov
and Legner, 2023). Scholars have therefore emphasised the importance of organisational sensemaking
to acquire reliable and high-quality scope 3 data, a prerequisite for efficient emission reductions
processes (Downie and Stubbs, 2012; Melville, Saldanha and Rush, 2017; Klaaßen and Stoll, 2021).
Under the concepts of Green IT (Corbett, 2010), Green IS (Melville, 2010) and, more recently, Digital
Sustainability (Kotlarsky, Oshri and Sekulic, 2023), different research streams have investigated how
IS can contribute to mitigating the environmental crisis. Recent research has for example explored the
required organisational capabilities for the reduction of carbon emissions (Ning and Khuntia, 2023), the
architecture of digital carbon accounting systems (Körner et al., 2023a), environmental data sourcing
practices (Krasikov and Legner, 2023) and the design of IS for sustainable supply chains (Zampou et
al., 2022). While these being essential contributions on the role of IS for corporate GHG emissions
reduction, the current IS literature has, to our knowledge, not explicitly expressed its research from the
angle of the emissions scope framework. Intending to link current IS research with the latter, we posit
the following research question: what is the current body of knowledge in the IS and sustainability
management literature on how information systems are used to address scope 3 emissions reduction?
To answer our research question, we conduct a structured literature review following the approach of
Webster and Watson (2002). Our findings highlight the missing perspective of IS research on scope 3
data and its potential to support the measurement, reporting and reduction efforts of such emissions. We
further argue for the necessity of a multidisciplinary research effort, to bridge the gap between academic
discourses and practice. Based on the synthesis of our findings, we develop a research agenda to help
scholars navigate this topic. Our paper is structured as follows: we introduce some of the literature on
the application of IS in reducing corporate GHG emissions and introduce the GHG Protocol framework.
Next, we explain our research methodology and present our analysis of the reviewed sample of articles.
Lastly, we derive the research agenda and discuss the limitations of the study.
2 Related Work
In this section, we present the current understanding of the role of IS in the reduction of corporate GHG
emissions. We then introduce the GHG Protocol framework and explore the notion of scope 3 emissions.
2.1 Information Systems and GHG emission reduction
Shaped by the notions of Green IT, Green IS and Digital Sustainability, the understanding of the use of
IS for environmental purposes has been continuously evolving. The literature widely acknowledges its
theoretical potential as “a key enabler, assisting individuals, organisations, governments and society to
transform towards environmentally sustainable practices”(Loeser et al., 2017, p. 504).
The academic understanding of Green IT has fluctuated over the years (Sarkar and Young, 2009;
Dedrick, 2010; Sedera et al., 2017), spanning from a narrow focus on data centre efficiency and IT-
related energy costs (Watson et al., 2008; Erek et al., 2011) to larger sustainable corporate responsibility
concerns (Molla, 2008; Sarkar and Young, 2009). Highlighting the further-reaching nature of the
concept of sustainability, Erek et al. (2011) limited the conceptualisation of Green IT to the minimisation
of environmental impacts, defining it as “the systematic application of practices that enable the
minimization of the environmental impact of IT, maximise efficiency and allow for company-wide
emission reductions based on technology innovations” (Erek et al., 2011, p. 3). Corroborating this
approach by emphasising the environmental burden created by IT infrastructures through their GHG-
intensive electrical consumption, Muruguesan (2008) delineated the boundary of Green IT to design,
manufacture, use and dispose of IT with the least impact on the environment.
With time, the notion of Green IT started to blend into a wider reflection from which the notion of Green
IS emerged (Watson et al., 2008; Corbett, 2010). Researchers have defined Green IS as “the design and
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 3
implementation of information systems that contribute to sustainable business processes” (Watson et
al., 2008, p. 2) or, more broadly, as any IS supporting environmental-related organisational outcomes
(El-Gayar and Fritz, 2006; Zampou et al., 2022). Since the mid-nineties, a category of IS artefacts has
been researched and designed with the core goal of enhancing and accelerating the delivery of
environmental information. These so-called Environmental Management Information System (EMIS)
also include the subcategories of Energy and Carbon Management Systems (ECMS) and Carbon
Management Systems (CMS) (Corbett, 2013). Some scholars have highlighted the further-reaching
nature of IS, beyond simple systems, as IT-enabled affordances to environmental goals (Melville,
Saldanha and Rush, 2017; Ning and Khuntia, 2023). For example, multiple studies have discussed the
theoretical potential of IS in supporting the organisational sensemaking to acquire reliable
environmental data (Malhotra, Melville and Watson, 2013; Seidel, Recker and vom Brocke, 2013;
Melville and Whisnant, 2014; Gholami et al., 2016).
Building upon the foundation of Green IS and Green IT, Kotlarsky, Oshri and Sekulic (2023) recently
defined the further-reaching notion of digital sustainability as “the development and deployment of
digital resources and artifacts toward improving the environment, society, and economic welfare”
(p.938). They motivate this perspective by arguing that the physical version, i.e., the material waste, of
business solutions related to sustainability is now only created after the digital version. Therefore,
following Baskerville, Myers and Yoo (2020), they argue that an ontological reverse has happened at
the junction of sustainability and technology (Kotlarsky, Oshri and Sekulic, 2023).
Concept
Definition
Green IT
“The systematic application of practices that enable the minimization of the
environmental impact of IT, maximise efficiency and allow for company-wide
emission reductions based on technology innovations” (Erek et al., 2011 p. 3)
Green IS
“The design and implementation of information systems that contribute to
sustainable business processes” (Watson et al., 2008 p. 2)
Digital Sustainability
“The development and deployment of digital resources and artifacts toward
improving the environment, society, and economic welfare” (Kotlarsky, Oshri and
Sekulic, 2023 p. 938)
Table 1. Definition of central IS concepts relating to GHG emission reductions.
2.2 GHG protocol scope framework
The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (GPCS), subsequently supplemented by the GHG Protocol
Scope 3 Standard (GPS3S), was developed as a multi-stakeholder partnership between the private and
public sphere. Released in 2004, it is a voluntary and standardised framework to quantify and report
GHG emissions for companies of all sizes and industries. With the goal to improve the quality of the
reported corporate data, three emissions scopes are differentiated upon their source and directness to the
core business. For each of the three categories, a minimal boundary relating to which activities should
be included is defined (Greenhouse Gas Protocol, 2011). Mandatory to report under the GPCS, scope 1
refers to “direct emission from owned or controlled sources'', and scope 2 pertains to “indirect emissions
from the generation of purchased energy consumed by the reporting company” (Greenhouse Gas
Protocol, 2011, p. 5). Companies have shown to be assessing these two categories relatively reliably
(Busch, Johnson and Pioch, 2022), due to the internal nature of the required data (Patchell, 2018).
Scope 3 emissions are defined as “all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain”
(Greenhouse Gas Protocol, 2011, p. 5) and are divided into 15 subcategories that include both the
upstream, i.e., suppliers, and downstream, i.e., customer, supply chain. The importance of acquiring
reliable data to accurately assess scope 3 emissions has been broadly discussed in the literature, due to
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 4
companies seemingly understating such category of emissions (Klaaßen and Stoll, 2021). For each
category, different calculation methods are provided to assess emissions, with some more specific than
others. Which methods to use depends on the quality and availability of the data, as well as on the
relative size of the category compared to the rest of the supply chain (Greenhouse Gas Protocol, 2013).
The voluntary nature of scope 3 reporting under the GPCS has been hypothesised to hinder its
widespread adoption in practice (Hettler and Graf-Vlachy, 2023). Empirical research has shown a wide
disparity in the number of scope 3 categories included in the emissions assessments in practice (Downie
and Stubbs, 2012; Klaaßen and Stoll, 2021). As the required data is situated outside of the organisational
scope of control, companies often have to rely upon informal communication channels (Dahlmann and
Roehrich, 2019) or secondary data sources, such as third-party data providers (Busch, Johnson and
Pioch, 2022). The use of the latter has however been shown to lower the quality of the emissions
assessments (Downie and Stubbs, 2012; Hilpert, Kranz and Schumann, 2013). With a minority of
suppliers reporting their scope 3 data, sometimes reporting inconsistently across different
communication channels, companies dependent on this information are faced with incomplete or
inaccurate data (Klaaßen and Stoll, 2021) and heterogeneous data sources (Patchell, 2018).
Figure 1. Overview of scope 3 emissions categories.
3 Methodology: Structure Literature Review
We followed the established processes of a systematic literature review (Webster and Watson, 2002), a
methodology fit to gain an overview of an emerging topic. Due to the evolving nature and urgency
relating to the topic of climate change mitigation, we chose to conduct a critical review “to reveal
weaknesses, contradictions, controversies, or inconsistencies” (Paré et al., 2015, p. 189). Based on the
choice of the search terms, we selected what we considered to be a representative sample of articles on
the topic (Paré et al., 2015). We however do not claim to offer a comprehensive review of the literature
on this topic. The following section describes our search process and data analysis.
3.1 Search process
Positioning our research at the intersection of IS and sustainability management research, we combined
the four most relevant databases, namely AIS eLibrary, EBSCO Business Sources (EBSCOBS), Web of
Sciences (WOS), and Scopus. In line with recent reviews on corporate GHG emissions (Hettler and Graf-
Vlachy, 2023; Körner et al., 2023b) we searched the following set of strings: (“Scope 3” OR
“Emission*”) AND “Corporate” AND “Information System*” in the abstract of the four databases. We
explicitly restricted the search to scope 3 to include articles which specifically used the GHG Protocol
framework and focused on supply chain-related topics. We enhanced this restriction with the term
emission, allowing for a broader amount of potential different wording (e.g. GHG emission; e-waste
emission; carbon dioxide emission). The term corporate was used to avoid articles focusing on specific
products (Hettler and Graf-Vlachy, 2023), such as electric vehicles for example, and to relate to
organisations of a certain size. The term Information System* was used to restrict the scope of research
in the less specialised databases. This search process led to 0 hit in the AIS eLibrary, 185 in WOS, 15
in Scopus, and 64 in EBSCOBS. We iterated the search in the AIS eLibrary by removing the abstract
restriction field, yielding 117 hits. For all databases, we restricted the search to include articles published
between 2007, when Green IT was first conceptualised (Wang, Brooks and Sarker, 2015a) and 2023.
January 1st 2007 and June 1st 2023, date of the beginning of the search process, were used when the date
format required the month and day. Overall, our search yielded 381 articles across the four databases.
In the first refinement step, we erased duplicates and papers that evidently lacked a connection to our
topic by screening the titles and reading the abstracts. This resulted in 56 hits from the original 381. In
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 5
the second step of the selection process, we move to read the entirety of the papers. During this phase,
we defined criteria for inclusion (Wolfswinkel, Furtmueller and Wilderom, 2013). We decided to
include papers relating directly to Green IT or Green IS, and those that had a direct or indirect connection
to the corporate scope 3 emissions spectrum, e.g., topics relating to the sustainable management of
supply chains. To ensure the quality of the literature, we only considered peer-reviewed papers written
in English and published in academic outlets ranked C or higher in the VHB-JourQual3 (VHB Online,
2022) or equivalent in the ABDC ranking (Australian Business Deans Council, 2022), as well as papers
published in the IS conferences proceedings. We excluded research-in-progress and papers focusing
explicitly on scope 1 and scope 2 topics. If a conference paper had turned into a journal paper, we only
considered the latter. This step led us to retain 39 papers. Following Webster and Watson (2002), we
conducted a backward and forward search, which added another nine papers. Ultimately, our analysis
sample consisted of 48 papers to review. A summary of our search process is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Literature Review Process.
3.2 Data analysis of the sampled papers
To analyse our sample, we created an Excel spreadsheet in which we defined each article based on 5
different categories: methodology, key concept researched, applied theoretical lens, research outcomes,
and emerging themes. To support the inductive qualitative analysis of our data, we used the ATLAS.ti
software and followed established coding guidelines for literature reviews (Wolfswinkel, Furtmueller
and Wilderom, 2013). We coded our data within the scope 3 framework as per the GHG Protocol
guidelines. We searched for theoretical lenses and emerging themes relating to (1) the scope 3 definition
of the supply chain and (2) the 15 scope 3 subcategories. The use of the scope 3 framework helped to
structure our analysis, yet it required specific attention to detail and a thorough understanding of the
GHG protocol guidelines. Due of a lack of general typology in the IS community, references to scope 3
categories were often hidden, and some interpretation from the authors was sometimes required. We
carefully reviewed our data, searching for commonalities and patterns within each category. Several key
themes emerged, providing insights on the relationship between IS and scope 3 GHG emission
reduction. We then structured our data following Gioia et al.’s (2013) methodology, as shown in Table
2. 1st order themes were attributed during the analysis, then consolidated into 2nd order themes from
which we ultimately derived three overarching dimensions to cluster our findings.
Quote from literature
1st Order Themes
2nd Order Themes
Dimensions
“In particular, nature is not simply a
set of resources to be owned and
Finitude of the
planet
Inclusion of
environmental
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 6
exploited but rather a shared resource
worthy of preserving and protecting”
(El-Idrissi and Corbett, 2016, p.30)
considerations in
business metrics
Economics
“There is a long way to go before
ecological responsibility and
sustainability become the dominant
paradigm in the business world,
where success is still largely assessed
in economic terms” (Chen et al.,
2008, p. 189)
Economics vs.
Environment
Perceived lack of
financial viability
of GHG reduction
digital initiatives
“Our case study offers meaningful
lessons and advice for IS leaders who
aim to implement EMISs that go
beyond fulfilling eco-sustainability
obligations” (Kranz et al., 2021, p.
236)
Mis-design of
EMIS
Potential of EMIS
and ECMS/CMS
Reporting
“(..) attention is back on tele-working
as a Green IS issue. Reducing the
need to travel to and from work every
day may not only lower emissions for
the worker involved, but also free up
the peak hour commute meaningless
emissions from everyone else on the
road” (Loos et al., 2011, p. 249)
Alternative ways
of working
Digital substitution
Reduction
Table 2. Example coding of emerging themes.
4 Results
In this section, we discuss the prevalent theoretical lenses within the sample to understand the theoretical
foundation behind the use of IS for environmental purposes, such as GHG emission reduction. We then
introduce the emerging themes arising from the analysis of the IS literature from the scope 3 perspective.
4.1 Prevalent theoretical lenses
In the reviewed sample, three recurrent theoretical lenses were identified. The resources-based-view
(RBV) (3/48 papers) advocates that firms develop certain skills, competencies, and assets that enhance
their long-term performances and create competitive advantages (Barney, 1991). Broadening the RBV,
the natural-resource-based view (NRBV) (8/48 papers) considers three interconnected strategies, i.e.,
pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development, which contribute to the
creation of competitive advantages in an environmentally-constrained economy (Hart, 1995). Both
theories identify the organisational consideration of the natural environment as a source of competitive
advantage, thus justifying investments in IS for relating initiatives. They yet differ in their fundamental
premise, the NRBV being built on the consideration of the physical boundaries imposed by the natural
environment (Hart, 1995). El-Gayard and Fritz (2006) mix both theories to hypothesise the leadership
position gained by the voluntary use of these systems beyond compliance purposes. In their study
defining the capabilities required to introduce and sustain the management of Green IT, Molla, Cooper
and Pittayachawan (2011) also uses a mix of both theories to define the organisational meaning of Green
IT. Thereupon, they develop the notion of G-Readiness, representing the ensuing firm-specific
capabilities across five components i.e., attitude, policy, practice, technology and governance.
In one of the early articles emphasising the relevance for the IS community to research environmental
problems, Elliot (2007) uses the NRBV to frame the strategic potential of resolving the problem of IT-
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 7
driven environmental degradation. Taking a more holistic perspective, Wang, Brooks and Sarker’s
(2015b) multi-theoretical model attempts to offer a comprehensive understanding of the motivation and
impact of the adoption of Green IS initiatives. They use the NRBV to clarify how the organisational
outcomes gained from these initiatives materialise as competitive advantages, depending on which of
the three strategies is implemented. Sustainable development requires a holistic redesign of the internal
process, harder to imitate by the competition. Product stewardship is argued to be reducing the negative
impact of IT production, while pollution prevention to improve firm performance through lower energy
consumption. The latter argument is, among others, based on Corbett’s (2010) hypothesis that
organisations with greater operational IT reliance are more likely to justify their investment with such
strategy, to reduce energy-related costs. By means of an event study method, Nishant, Teo and Goh
(2017) explore the impact of the adoption of different types of Green IT systems from the shareholders’
perspective. Their results suggest that the investment in systems supporting the three NRBV strategies,
namely ones providing information to support decision-making, is positively rewarded (Nishant, Teo
and Goh, 2017). Mahapatra, Schoenherr and Jayaram (2021) hypothesise that the NRBV offers a realistic
frame to understand the corporate motivation to engage in GHG emissions reduction. Similarly, Ning
and Khuntia (2023) attempt to nuance the integrated organisational consideration of IS arising from
these two theories by following the operant resource perspective. They motivate this approach by
highlighting the value stemming from the ongoing management and monitoring of IS to achieve
environmental goals, going beyond their passive nature for the sole fulfilment of requirements.
The institutional theory (6 out of 48 papers) theorised by DiMaggio and Powell (1983) has been used to
understand how institutional factors in the organisational environment can stimulate the adoption,
diffusion and formalisation of IS for environmental purposes (Chen, Boudreau and Watson, 2008;
Wang, Brooks and Sarker, 2015b). We analyse the relevant set of papers from the perspective of the
three isomorphic pressures, i.e., mimetic, normative, and coercive.
Mimetic pressure is considered to be a standard organisational answer to uncertainty (DiMaggio and
Powell, 1983), such as the implied economic paradigm shift that the utilisation of IS for environmental
purposes has been argued to represent (Chen et al., 2009; Wang, Brooks and Sarker, 2015b). The
organisational adoption of such practices has been discussed to be legitimised either when mimicking
the industry leader (Chen, Boudreau and Watson, 2008) or the competition, when considered as more
successful than the industrial norm (Chen, Boudreau and Watson, 2008; Marett, Otondo and Taylor,
2013; Wang, Brooks and Sarker, 2015b). Using the three NRBV strategies as constructs to frame the
measure of their empirical study, Chen et al.'s (2009) results highlight the organisational precaution of
adopting such systems. They show that their adoption is more likely led by the perception of a favourable
outcome rather than by the number of actual adoptions in the industry. Marett, Otondo and Taylor (2013)
show that such an effect seems to be reinforced in highly regulated and competitive industries where
cost-efficiency is paramount and services are homogeneous, as customers are easier to lose to the
competition. Referring to the professionalisation (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983) of upper management
within specific industries (Wang, Brooks and Sarker, 2015b), the literature makes a similar argument
for the impact of normative pressure as for the mimetic one. They discuss the integration of the industrial
norm to lead towards the equalisation of the competition. Namely, it phases out the competitive
advantage of the leading player and push other organisations to follow it, to avoid losing their legitimacy
or market share (Marett, Otondo and Taylor, 2013; Wang, Brooks and Sarker, 2015b).
Lastly, coercive isomorphism is broadly defined as the pressure exerted on organisations by other
organisations, upon which they are dependent (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983). In such trading
relationships, key stakeholders have been hypothesised to acquire their power from their resources-
dominant role (Chen et al., 2009; Wang, Brooks and Sarker, 2015b). Chen et al.’s results de (2009)
demonstrate two sources of effective coercive pressure for the adoption of Green IS, regulatory bodies
and supply chain partners. Such pressure shaped through regulatory bodies has been shown to guide
behaviours on the organisational level (Chen et al., 2009; Sarkar and Young, 2009). From an
environmental data perspective, coercive isomorphism can further be understood as the organisational
answer to mandated regulatory standards (Chen, Boudreau and Watson, 2008; Chen et al., 2009) shaping
the sensemaking of the data-sourcing processes (Krasikov and Legner, 2023).
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 8
4.2 Emerging themes
Dimensions
Emerging Themes (incl. examples references)
Economics
Perceived lack of financial viability of digital initiatives for GHG reduction (Sarkar &
Young, 2009; Dedrick, 2010; Corbett, 2010; Seidel, Recker and vom Brocke, 2013; Hilpert et
al., 2013; Hedman & Henningsson, 2016; Nishant, Teo and Goh, 2017)
Inclusion of environmental considerations in business metrics (Elliot, 2007; Chaabane et
al., 2008; El-Idrissi & Corbett, 2016; Nishant et al., 2017; Mahapatra, Schoenherr and
Jayaram, 2021; Ning & Khuntia, 2023)
Reporting
Environmental data literacy (Seidel, Recker and vom Brocke, 2013; Patchell, 2018;
Dahlmann & Roehrich, 2019; Zampou et al., 2022; Hettler & Graf-Vlachy, 2023; Krasikov &
Legner, 2023)
Practical and theoretical variations (Downie & Stubbs, 2012; Downie & Stubbs, 2013;
Klaaßen & Stoll, 2021; Zampou et al., 2022; Hettler & Graf-Vlachy, 2023)
Potential of EMIS and ECMS/CMS (El-Gayar & Fritz, 2006; Corbett, 2010; Loos et al.,
2011; Melville & Whisnant, 2014; Dahlmann & Roehrich, 2019; Kranz et al., 2021; Zampou
et al., 2022; Ning & Khuntia, 2023)
Reduction
Minimising hardware overconsumption (Elliot, 2007; Murugesan, 2008; Molla, 2008;
Corbett, 2010; Molla, Cooper and Pittayachawan, 2011; Nishant, Teo and Goh, 2017)
Digital substitution (Chen, Boudreau and Watson, 2008; Watson et al., 2008; Chen et al.,
2009; Wang, Brooks and Sarker, 2015b)
Table 3. Dimensions and emerging themes.
4.2.1 Economics dimension
In the Economics dimension, research focused on the organisational challenges of assessing the financial
viability of digital initiatives for GHG reduction and the need to develop and embed new sets of metrics
in the prevalent approach to measure economic value.
Perceived lack of financial viability of digital initiatives for GHG reduction. While intrinsic
motivation supports organisations to implement environmental initiatives (Seidel, Recker and vom
Brocke, 2013), the main hurdle to proactively reduce GHG emission has been conjectured to be financial
(Mahapatra, Schoenherr and Jayaram, 2021). Aligning traditional economic interests to environmental
objectives is difficult (Corbett, 2010; El Idrissi and Corbett, 2016; Mahapatra, Schoenherr and Jayaram,
2021) as benefits from an eco-centric paradigm shift emerge with a longer time horizon than traditional
performance expectations (Chen, Boudreau and Watson, 2008). The NRBV yet argues that following the
pollution prevention strategy will reduce compliance and liabilities costs (Wang, Brooks and Sarker,
2015b). Scholars have discussed the potential of reducing operational costs in the supply chain through
such initiatives, using the example of road transportation companies (scope 3.4 & 3.9) (Watson et al.,
2008; Dedrick, 2010; Hilpert, Kranz and Schumann, 2013; Marett, Otondo and Taylor, 2013). In their
empirical study in the long-haul trucking industry (scope 3.4 & 3.9), Marett, Otondo and Taylor (2013)
show that in highly competitive industries with price-sensitive customers, operational cost decreases
take priority over GHG emission reduction in the decision of furthering the use of certain technology.
Similarly, researchers showed that the organisational value of telecommuting and videoconferencing
was rather reflected in their productivity benefits, disregarding their potential for the reduction of GHG
emissions from employee commuting (scope 3.6) or business travel (scope 3.7) (Nishant, Teo and Goh,
2017). Often unwilling to abandon the perceived operational efficiency to meet environmental concerns,
firms are likely to demote environmental goals over financial ones (Chen, Boudreau and Watson, 2008;
Corbett, 2010; Dedrick, 2010; Mahapatra, Schoenherr and Jayaram, 2021). Sarkar and Young (2009)
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 9
identify the need for a “convincing cost model (..) emphasising the long-term benefits of pursuing Green
IT” (p. 12) to be one of the main drivers on the managerial level to conduct such initiatives, required to
be congruent with their organisational agenda (Hedman and Henningsson, 2016). Nishant, Teo and Goh
(2017) further demonstrate that financial stakeholders seem to value organisational environmental-
related initiatives with major strategic imperatives, yet disregard these focusing on structural
improvements, such as relating to the IT infrastructure.
Inclusion of environmental considerations in business metrics. The global economic system has not
yet embedded the physical boundaries of the natural environment at its core. Companies continue to
assesses economic success based on traditional business outcomes terms (e.g., Chen, Boudreau and
Watson, 2008; Erek et al., 2011; Molla, Cooper and Pittayachawan, 2011; El Idrissi and Corbett, 2016;
Nishant, Teo and Goh, 2017). Economic concerns are prioritised over the ones relating to the natural
environment (Erek et al., 2011; El Idrissi and Corbett, 2016; Mahapatra, Schoenherr and Jayaram, 2021).
Nishant, Teo and Goh (2017) show the positive reaction from shareholders to GHG reduction initiatives
that signal short-term and immediate economic value. Elliot (2007) corroborates this perspective by
emphasising the need for a broader focus than short-term financial returns to initiate and scale change.
Some studies further discuss the need to reframe the traditional understanding of business performances
to include environmental and societal impacts (Chaabane et al., 2008; El Idrissi and Corbett, 2016). For
example, Ning and Khuntia (2023) shift their research prism to include the improvement of
environmental performances, namely the decrease in GHG emissions, not solely focusing on economic
value. Chaabane et al. (2008) propose an empirical decision-based model which integrates the financial
cost of CO2 emissions arising from transportation activities in the supply chain (scope 3.4 & 3.9).
4.2.2 Reporting dimension
In the Reporting dimension, research focused on assessing organisational environmental data literacy,
highlighting practical and theoretical variations due to current data acquisition and reporting practices,
and the role that IS could potentially play to solve these challenges.
Environmental data literacy. IS has been hypothesised to support the sensemaking of complex
environmental issues on the organisational level by offering organisational sensemaking affordances
(Seidel, Recker and vom Brocke, 2013). This process is posited to be driven by the so-called information
democratisation function affordance, referring to the “dissemination and interaction about
sustainability related information from both internal sources” (Seidel, Recker and vom Brocke, 2013,
p. 1282). Additionally, based on the operant resource perspective, Ning and Khuntia (2023)
conceptualise three levels of environmental capabilities intending to show a pathway to enhance green
performances by improving the quality of information. Krasikov and Legner (2023) define a three-step
approach for environmental data measurement practices, i.e. sensemaking, data collection, and data
reconciliation. The literature yet recognises the complexity of acquiring high-quality scope 3 data from
the value chain (Patchell, 2018; Zampou et al., 2022; Hettler and Graf-Vlachy, 2023). For example,
Zampou et al. (2022) show the original sources of data for distribution activities (scope 3.4 & 3.9) to
vary between companies and often being of poor quality. They further argue that the complexity of
gathering supplier data increases due to the organisational reluctance to share such information, as it
could be used against them in future selection processes. Dahlmann and Roehrich (2019) define three
categories of corporate engagement between stakeholders i.e., basic, transactional, and collaborative,
based on the management of their internal and external scope 3 information-related processes.
Practical and theoretical variations. The lack of standardisation of reporting guidelines for scope 3
emissions assessment has been identified as a key factor leading to inaccurate data reporting (Downie
and Stubbs, 2013), highlighting a regulatory gap (Hettler and Graf-Vlachy, 2023). One central factor
driving large variations lies in the current GHG Protocol guidelines recommending to use of the most
suitable calculation methods, depending upon the availability and quality of the data of each category
(Klaaßen and Stoll, 2021; Zampou et al., 2022). Within the sample of Australian companies use in
Downie and Stubbs’ (2013) research, one of the most cited reasons to exclude scope 3 categories from
emissions assessments is the inability to convert the activity units to GHG emission equivalent. Downie
and Stubbs (2012) also show variations in emissions assessments up to 3 times higher or lower when
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 10
comparing the results of multiple scientific-based conversion data, for flights (scope 3.6), taxis (scope
3.6 /3.7), and paper waste (scope 3.12). Similarly, Hilpert et al. (2013) show a 30% difference in
emission assessment when comparing the data from their developed carbon tracker artefact to measure
GHG emissions from road transportation and the average fuel consumption as specified by the
manufacturer (scope 3.4 & 3.9).
Potential of EMIS and ECMS/CMS. Scope 3 data gathering mechanisms have been described as
informal, through spreadsheets, emails, or phone calls, or more formal by means of dedicated software
or binding contractual clauses for environmental data performance requests (Corbett, 2010; Melville
and Whisnant, 2014; Dahlmann and Roehrich, 2019). Melville, Saldanha and Rush’s (2017) results
demonstrate the lack of accuracy in informal spreadsheet-based systems and encourage the introduction
of formal, specialised systems. However, Loos et al. (2011) argue that environmental-related IS have
not been designed “(..) for reducing or even avoiding corporate environmental damage. Instead, these
systems are used (...) deal with already existing environmental impacts” (p. 247). Focusing primarily
on regulatory needs and environmental compliance goals, EMIS and ECMS/CMS designs overlooked
the need to integrate with other systems, thus creating stand-alone systems with little proactive
organisational value (El-Gayar and Fritz, 2006; Loos et al., 2011; Corbett, 2013; Zampou et al., 2022).
Framed within the NRBV theoretical lens, the core reason for companies to voluntary adopt such systems
has been discussed to be the potential creation of a competitive advantage. By achieving a leadership
position, an organisation might be able to anticipate and pre-empt certain regulatory actions (El-Gayar
and Fritz, 2006). From the operant resource perspective, Ning and Khuntia (2023) argue for moving
from a passive to an active use of these systems to leverage their full potential. For example, Kranz et
al.'s (2021) case study illustrates how the new capacity for cross-collaboration arising from an EMIS
facilitated a surge in environmental awareness throughout the organisation, culminating in strategic
changes in the raw material sourcing processes (scope 3.1). Aiming to advance the understanding of the
design requirements needed for ECMS targeting a sustainable supply chain (scope 3.4 & 3.9), Zampou
et al.’s (2022) iterate their design to ultimately use the scope 3 GHG protocol guidelines for the
calculation of the GHG emissions KPIs. This outcome corroborates Melville and Whisnant’s (2014)
argument to include ECMS-quality guidelines in environmental standards.
4.2.3 Reduction dimension
In the Reduction dimension, research focused on highlighting solutions for the reduction of GHG
emissions across the supply chain. The most prevalent solutions studied were the minimisation of IT
hardware consumption and the digital substitution of certain organisational processes.
Minimising hardware overconsumption. The negative impact of IT has been highlighted by
environmental groups and intergovernmental bodies since the early 2000s (Elliot, 2007). The
environmental risk of hardware ending up in landfills has been flagged to be as high as the induced
health risk due to hazardous waste (Elliot, 2007; Chen, Boudreau and Watson, 2008). This disposal
problem is being further amplified by the often short-lived nature of hardware and their high-frequency
replacements, impacting GHG emissions directly and indirectly (Murugesan, 2008). Studies have thus
explored environmentally conscious IT sourcing practices (scope 3.1) in the form of renewed IT
procurement policies (Molla, 2008; Sarkar and Young, 2009; Erek et al., 2011; Molla, Cooper and
Pittayachawan, 2011; Molla and Abareshi, 2012). These can include thorough social and environmental
concerns in the vendor's evaluation (Molla, 2008; Erek et al., 2011). A better management of the-end-
of-life of IT hardware (scope 3.12) by influencing its overall lifecycle, from production to reuse, has
been highlighted as essential (Molla, 2008; Murugesan, 2008). Supplier-related solutions examined in
the literature encompass take-back programs (Elliot, 2007; Corbett, 2010; Nishant, Teo and Goh, 2017),
the introduction of less-toxic computer components (Elliot, 2007; Murugesan, 2008; Corbett, 2010), as
well as improved and more efficient hardware design (Elliot, 2007). Another often-stated solution is
recycling programs (Molla, 2008; Wang, Brooks and Sarker, 2015b), with some studies yet warning
about the underlying practice of hazardous waste exportation to developing countries, which the 1992
Basel Convention seemed to have not resolved (Elliot, 2007).
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 11
Digital substitution. Certain material properties of IS, such as file-sharing and communication features,
have been argued to provide the foundation for the emergence of delocalisation affordances, rendering
tasks and outputs independent from their physical location (Seidel, Recker and vom Brocke, 2013).
Defined as an information technology swap (Chen, Boudreau and Watson, 2008, p.191), telecommuting
offers the possibility to substitute the physical components of interaction to an alternative artefact such
as emails or data exchange. Drawing upon the pollution prevention strategy from the NRBV, the
literature suggests the implementation of such solutions to offer a competitive advantage. The potential
of imitation of such initiatives by the competition is made harder by the influence of firm-specific factors
(Corbett, 2010), such as the internal commitment of employees for example (Wang, Brooks and Sarker,
2015b). The practice of telecommuting has been argued to be an efficient solution to reduce the
emissions arising from the employee’s commute to and from work (scope 3.7) (Chen, Boudreau and
Watson, 2008; Chen et al., 2009; Loos et al., 2011; Molla and Abareshi, 2012; Seidel, Recker and vom
Brocke, 2013; Nishant, Teo and Goh, 2017). The substitution of business travel (scope 3.6) with video-
conferencing has similar impacts (Molla, 2008; Watson et al., 2008; Chen et al., 2009; Molla and
Abareshi, 2012; Seidel, Recker and vom Brocke, 2013).
5 Research Agenda
Our review aimed to clarify how IS are currently leveraged to reduce scope 3 emissions. As shown on
Figure 3, research has primarily focused on the application of IS in specific categories of the scope 3
supply chain. The transportation and distribution (scope 3.4 & 3.9) categories being the most represented
ones in our sample. Our analysis also revealed the application of IS to be variating from one category to
another. In the procurement (scope 3.1) and transportation and distribution (scope 3.4 & 3.9) categories,
IS are currently considered as a lever to enhance processes transparency by improving the organisational
capabilities to measure GHG emissions, a pre-requisite for their reduction. The application of IS in
business travel (scope 3.6) and employee’s commute (scope 3.7) allow for more direct GHG emission
reduction potential through digital substitution. The prevalent theoretical lenses highlighted the different
mechanisms through which an organisation might gain a competitive advantage when actively using IS
for reducing its GHG emission, beyond a sole reporting purpose. However, our analysis also emphasises
the central influences played by economical concerns and the required benefits gains associated to the
use of IS. Ultimately, we identified three key theoretical lenses and seven emerging themes categorised
in three dimensions. Thereupon, we propose an agenda for guiding future research exploring the role of
IS in the reduction of scope 3 GHG emissions. We refer to digital reduction initiatives, to be understood
as IT- or IS-enabled initiatives aiming specifically at the reduction of GHG emissions, which we
consider an essential organisational lever.
Figure 3. Deriving of research avenues and examples of research question
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 12
5.1 Application of IS to solve the missing perspective on scope 3 data
One central insight from our review is the significant gap in organisational sensemaking of scope 3
emission data. For example, Zampou et al.’s (2022) research points to low quality and availability of
upstream data. But whereas the literature has widely discussed the importance of companies acquiring
the capability to assess the environmental impact accurately, the IS perspective on scope 3 data is
missing. IS has yet been identified as having the core competency required to handle scope 3 emission
data's requirements, including large datasets and merging from different data streams (Gholami et al.,
2016). We argue that IS research has a crucial role to improve organisational sensemaking and offer two
research avenues from a data perspective.
The literature has examined the design and implementation requirements of environmental systems, but
only few studies have focused on the data requirements and processes (Krasikov and Legner, 2023).
Similarly, our review highlights that many aspects of the supply chain, as defined by the scope 3
framework, remain unexplored. Of the 15 scope 3 categories, only six were described in the literature.
Therefore, from an intra-organisational perspective, we suggest expanding the research breadth to
acquire a thorough understanding of each scope 3 category’s data requirements, considering both the
organisational and industry levels. Gathering such knowledge would initially require a rather qualitative
approaches, such as through interviews for example. Research designs could build on Körner et al.’s
(2023b) corporate carbon risk management requirement taxonomy or on Zampou et al.’s (2022) research
with a Design Science Research approach. From a quantitative perspective, researchers could collect
different company-specific scope 3 data and explore which calculation methods, emission factors and
type of primary data can be coupled for the most accurate assessment. Another promising direction in
this area is the perspective of the twin transition model. For example, research on the application of
digital solutions, such as sensors or IoT, for the acquisition of reliable primary data and moving away
from context-independent and generic manufacturer specifications, could be framed from both the
perspective of the upstream and downstream supply chain.
Our literature review emphasised the complexity of acquiring external scope 3 data due to the multiple
stakeholders involved in the process, leading, among others, to heterogeneous data sources. As such,
knowledge on how organisations gather and share emissions data is scarce in the literature. From an
inter-organisational perspective, we thus suggest IS research to understand the upstream and
downstream data flows between the different stakeholders. To better understand these connections,
multi-organisational case studies or network approaches could be used, rather than the prevalent singular
organisational focus.
5.2 IS as a catalyst for GHG emissions reduction
The European Union has highlighted the central role played by digital reduction initiatives for mitigating
climate change (Muench et al., 2022). While the IPCC corroborates this perspective, it also warns
against potential negative trade-offs reducing the mitigation efforts, such as an increase in e-waste
(IPCC, 2022, p. 11). Our literature review identifies theoretical and empirical gaps in understanding
how companies can leverage digital technologies to reduce GHG emissions, primarily in the scope 3
realm of action. Researchers have mentioned multiple times the use of IS as a substitute to GHG-
intensive organisational activities, but such initiatives are often demoted. Their adoption and value from
an organisational perspective have thus remained unexplored.
Building upon the concept of digital sustainability (Kotlarsky, Oshri and Sekulic, 2023), we propose
that future studies would benefit from a system-wide perspective and a multidisciplinary academic
context (Elliot, 2007; El Idrissi and Corbett, 2016; Seidel et al., 2017). Similar to Wang, Brooks and
Sarker (2015a), our literature review highlights that much of the research conducted on environmental
digital initiatives has been framed within a (natural)-resource-based or institutional lens, which has
created a strong theoretical foundation in the field. Future research might benefit from adopting
alternative theoretical lenses, such as started by Ning and Khuntia (2023). They framed their research
from the operant resource perspective, creating a novel understanding of the value of investing in digital
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 13
capabilities for green performances, simultaneously shifting the performance prism from economic to
environmental value.
The realm of circular economy opens an additional wide range of research opportunities for reduction
digital initiatives. Both from an energetic and raw material perspective, our planet is bounded by finite
resources, and thus reducing scope 3 emissions requires reducing consumption. Sedera et al. (2017)
identified materials recycling and product longevity as key green digital practices, which focus on ”how
technology itself can be redesigned so that it harms the environment less” (p. 28). Research on
improving material flows through digital tracking to increase the potential of reuse and recycling of
material could be a promising avenue. Design principles of such an artefact could be defined from a
Design Science Approach for example. In addition, researching the paradigm shift of an alternative
conceptualisation of the organisational ownership, by moving towards the leasing of hardware could be
an interesting path to explore.
Lastly, from a governance perspective, engaging with policy makers and policy advisers from a
governance perspective has been argued to be an important lever for reducing GHG emission, with yet
little IS research focusing on this topic (Seidel et al., 2017). In that context, the newly introduced
European Union Corporate Sustainability Reporting Law (2023) and the American Inflation Reduction
Act (2022) are examples of new policy-driven pressures, which are likely to have an impact on upcoming
organisational behaviours and processes. While the former has been built as a binding regulation, the
latter has been structured through tax incentives. Examining the impact of these two structurally
different policy instruments on the organisational strategies guiding GHG emission reduction would
provide valuable insights. This could be achieved through in a multi-case study approach for example.
Additionally, while potentially complex to access due to the sensitivity of such data, the acquisition of
key organisational metrics, such as internal GHG emission reduction goal and performances over time,
is likely to offer interesting insights in longitudinal case study. Such approaches would additionally
contribute to the call from Gholami et al. (2016) and Kotlarsky et al. (2023) to root the research in a
more practice-oriented perspective to steer this research stream towards a solution-driven and best-
practice discourses.
6 Conclusion and Limitations
To understand the body of knowledge on the current organisational use of IS for reducing scope 3 GHG
emissions, we conducted a structured literature review with a sample of 48 papers at the intersection of
IS and sustainability management research. We looked for synergies between IS research findings and
the 15 scope 3 categories defined per the GHG protocol guidelines. Our analysis reinforced the argument
of the central role that IS can play in the reduction of corporate GHG emissions. Based on prevalent
theoretical lenses and emerging themes, we proposed a research agenda to further the research at the
intersection of IS and GHG emission reduction. We highlight areas for future research both from an
intra- and inter-organisational perspective, including the potential of IS relating to scope 3 data and as a
catalyst for digital reduction initiatives.
This study has several limitations. First, the non-exhaustiveness of our sample might limit our findings.
Some papers might have been overlooked due to the only recently offered common taxonomy relating
to the GHG protocol framework by Körner et al. (2023b) in the field of IS. Secondly, climate change is
a broad and complex topic, which evolving nature might lead to different analyses and interpretation of
the findings. Due to the complexity of the scope 3 guidelines, some interpretation was sometimes
required by the authors. Lastly, we prioritised research focusing on the organisational perspective and
did not sample research on the individual level as we believed this would have excessively expanded
our scope of research.
References
ABDC (2022). ABDC Journal Quality List. URL: https://abdc.edu.au/abdc-journal-quality-list/ (visited
on October 1, 2023).
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 14
Apple Inc (2022). Environmental Progress Report. URL:
https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Progress_Report_2022.pdf (visited
on October 30, 2023).
Barney, J. (1991) “Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage,” Journal of management,
17(1), pp. 99–120.
Baskerville, R.L., Myers, M.D. and Yoo, Y. (2020) “Digital first: The ontological reversal and new
challenges for information systems research,” MIS Quarterly, 44(2), pp. 509–523.
Busch, T., Johnson, M. and Pioch, T. (2022) “Corporate carbon performance data: Quo vadis?,” Journal
of Industrial Ecology, 26(1), pp. 350–363.
Chaabane, A., Ramudhin, A., Paquet, M. and Benkaddour, M.A. (2008) “An Integrated Logistics Model
for Environmental Conscious Supply Chain Network Design,” in Fourteenth Americas Conference
on Information Systems. (AMCIS 2008).
Chen, A.J., Watson, R.T., Boudreau, M.-C. and Karahanna, E. (2009) “Organizational Adoption of
Green IS & IT: An Institutional Perspective,” in Thirtieth International Conference on Information
Systems. (ICIS 2009).
Chen, A.J.W., Boudreau, M. and Watson, R.T. (2008) “Information systems and ecological
sustainability,” Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 10(3), pp. 186–201.
Corbett, J. (2010) “Unearthing the Value of Green IT,” in Thirty-First International Conference on
Information Systems. (ICIS 2010).
Corbett, J. (2013) “Designing and Using Carbon Management Systems to Promote Ecologically
Responsible Behaviors,” Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 14(7), p. 2.
Dahlmann, F. and Roehrich, J.K. (2019) “Sustainable supply chain management and partner engagement
to manage climate change information,” Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(8), pp. 1632–
1647.
Dedrick, J. (2010) “Green IS: Concepts and issues for information systems research,” Communications
of the Association for Information Systems, 27(1), p. 11.
DiMaggio, P.J. and Powell, W.W. (1983) “The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and
Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields,” American sociological review, 48(2), pp. 147–160.
Downie, J. and Stubbs, W. (2012) “Corporate carbon strategies and greenhouse gas emission
assessments: The implications of scope 3 emission factor selection,” Business Strategy and the
Environment, 21(6), pp. 412–422.
Downie, J. and Stubbs, W. (2013) “Evaluation of Australian companies’ scope 3 greenhouse gas
emissions assessments,” Journal of cleaner production, 56, pp. 156–163.
El Idrissi, S.C. and Corbett, J. (2016) “Green IS Research: A Modernity Perspective,” Communications
of the Association for Information Systems, 38(1), p. 30.
El-Gayar, O. and Fritz, B. (2006) “Environmental Management Information Systems (EMIS) for
Sustainable Development: A Conceptual Overview,” Communication of the Association for
Information Systems, 17(1), p. 34.
Elliot, S. (2007) “Environmentally Sustainable ICT: A Critical Topic for IS Research?,” in Eleventh
Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems. (PACIS 2007).
Erek, K., Loeser, F., Schmidt, N.-H., Zarnekow, R. and Kolbe, L.M. (2011) “Green It Strategies: A Case
Study-Based Framework For Aligning Green It With Competitive Environmental Strategies,” in
Fifteteenth Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems. (PACIS 2011).
Gholami, R., Watson, R.T., Molla, A., Hasan, H. and Bjorn-Andersen, N. (2016) “Information Systems
Solutions for Environmental Sustainability: How Can We Do More?,” Journal of the Association for
Information Systems, 17(8), pp. 521–536.
Geberit (2022). Annual Report 2022. URL: https://reports.geberit.com/annual-
report/2022/sustainability/key-figures-sustainability/environment.html (visited October 30, 2023).
Gioia, D.A., Corley, K.G. and Hamilton, A.L. (2013) “Seeking Qualitative Rigor in Inductive Research:
Notes on the Gioia Methodology,” Organizational Research Methods, 16(1), pp. 15–31.
Greenhouse Gas Protocol (2011). Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard
Supplement to the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. URL:
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 15
https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/Corporate-Value-Chain-Accounting-Reporing-
Standard_041613_2.pdf.
Greenhouse Gas Protocol (2013). Technical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions Supplement
to the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting & Reporting Standard (version 1.0). URL:
https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/Scope3_Calculation_Guidance_0.pdf.
Hart, S.L. (1995) “A Natural-Resource-Based View of the Firm,” Academy of management review.
Academy of Management, 20(4), pp. 986–1014.
Hedman, J. and Henningsson, S. (2016) “Developing ecological sustainability: a green IS response
model,” Info. Sys. Jour., 26(3), pp. 259–287.
Hettler, M. and Graf-Vlachy, L. (2023) “Corporate scope 3 carbon emission reporting as an enabler of
supply chain decarbonization: A systematic review and comprehensive research agenda,” Business
Strategy and the Environment, 33(2), pp. 263–282.
Hilpert, H., Kranz, J. and Schumann, M. (2013) “Leveraging Green IS in Logistics,” Business &
Information Systems Engineering, 5(5), pp. 315–325.
IPCC (2022). Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. URL:
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/
IPCC (2023). AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023.URL: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/
Klaaßen, L. and Stoll, C. (2021) “Harmonizing Corporate Carbon Footprints,” Nature Communications,
12(1), p. 6149.
Körner, M.-F., Schober, M., Ströher, T. and Strüker, J. (2023a) “Digital carbon accounting for
accelerating decarbonization: Characteristics of IS-enabled system architectures,” in Twenty-ninth
Americas Conference on Information Systems. (AMCIS 2023).
Körner, M.-F., Michaelis, A., Spazierer, S. and Strüker, J. (2023b) “Accelerating Sustainability in
companies: A taxonomy of information systems for corporate carbon risk management,” in Thirty-
first European Conference on Information Systems. (ECIS 2023).
Kotlarsky, J., Oshri, I. and Sekulic, N. (2023) “Digital Sustainability in Information Systems Research:
Conceptual Foundations and Future Directions,” Journal of the Association for Information Systems,
24(4), pp. 936–952.
Kranz, J., Fiedler, M., Seidler, A., Strunk, K. and Ixmeier, A. (2021) “Unexpected Benefits from a
Shadow Environmental Management Information System,” MIS Quarterly Executive, 20(3), pp.
235–256.
Krasikov, P. and Legner, C. (2023) “Introducing a Data Perspective to Sustainability: How Companies
Develop Data Sourcing Practices for Sustainability Initiatives,” Communications of the Association
for Information Systems, 53(1), p. 5.
Loeser, F., Recker, J., vom Brocke, J., Molla, A. and Zarnekow, R. (2017) “How IT executives create
organizational benefits by translating environmental strategies into Green IS initiatives:
Organizational benefits of Green IS strategies and practices,” Information Systems Journal, 27(4),
pp. 503–553.
Loos, P., Nebel, W., Marx Gómez, J., Hasan, H., Watson, R.T., vom Brocke, J., Seidel, S. and Recker,
J. (2011) “Green IT: A Matter of Business and Information Systems Engineering?,”
Wirtschaftsinformatik, 53, pp. 239–247.
Mahapatra, S.K., Schoenherr, T. and Jayaram, J. (2021) “An Assessment of Factors Contributing to
Firms’ Carbon Footprint Reduction Efforts,” International Journal of Production Economics, 235,
p. 108073.
Malhotra, A., Melville, N.P. and Watson, R.T. (2013) “Spurring Impactful Research on Information
Systems for Environmental Sustainability,” MIS Quarterly, 37(4), pp. 1265–1274.
Marett, K., Otondo, R.F. and Taylor, G.S. (2013) “Assessing the Effects of Benefits and Institutional
Influences on the Continued Use of Environmentally Munificent Bypass Systems in Long-Haul
Trucking,” MIS Quarterly, 37(4), pp. 1301–1312.
Melville, B.N.P. (2010) “Information Systems Innovation for Environmental Sustainability,” MIS
Quaterly, 34(01), pp. 1–21.
Melville, N.P., Saldanha, T.J.V. and Rush, D.E. (2017) “Systems enabling low-carbon operations: The
salience of accuracy,” Journal of cleaner production, 166, pp. 1074–1083.
Information Systems & Scope 3
Thirty-Second European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2024), Paphos, Cyprus 16
Melville, N.P. and Whisnant, R. (2014) “Energy and Carbon Management Systems,” Journal of
Industrial Ecology, 18(6), pp. 920–930.
Molla, A. (2008) “GITAM: A Model for the Adoption of Green IT,” in Nineteenth Australasian
Conference on Information Systems. (ACIS 2008).
Molla, A. and Abareshi, A. (2012) “Organizational Green Motivations for Information Technology:
Empirical Study,” Journal of Computer Information Systems, 52(3), pp. 92–102.
Molla, A., Cooper, V. and Pittayachawan, S. (2011) “The Green IT Readiness (G-Readiness) of
Organizations: An Exploratory Analysis of a Construct and Instrument,” Communications of the
Association for Information Systems, 29(4), pp. 67–96.
Murugesan, S. (2008) “Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices,” IT professional, 10(1), pp. 24–
33.
Ning, X. and Khuntia, J. (2023) “The Hierarchy of Green Information Systems Capability in
Organizations to Enhance and Ensure Green Performance: An Operant Resources Perspective,”
Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 53(1), p. 3.
Nishant, R., Teo, T.S.H. and Goh, M. (2017) “Do Shareholders Value Green Information Technology
Announcements?,” Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 18(8), p. 3.
Nooa.gov. (2023). URL: https://gml.noaa.gov/webdata/ccgg/trends/co2/co2_annmean_mlo.txt. (visited
November 1, 2023).
Paré, G., Trudel, M.-C., Jaana, M. and Kitsiou, S. (2015) “Synthesizing information systems knowledge:
A typology of literature reviews,” Information & Management, 52(2), pp. 183–199.
Patchell, J. (2018) “Can the implications of the GHG Protocol’s scope 3 standard be realized?,” Journal
of cleaner production, 185, pp. 941–958.
Richardson, K., Steffen, W., Lucht, W., Bendtsen, J., Cornell, S.E., Donges, J.F., ... and Rockström, J.
(2023) “Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries,” Science advances, 9(37), p. eadh2458.
Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, Å., Chapin, F., III, S., E., L., ... and Foley, J. (2009)
“Planetary boundaries: Exploring the safe operating space for humanity,” Ecology and Society, 14(2),
p. 32.
Sarkar, P. and Young, L. (2009) “Managerial attitudes towards Green IT: An explorative study of policy
drivers,” in Thirteenth Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems.
Sedera, D., Lokuge, S., Tushi, B. and Tan, F. (2017) “Multi-disciplinary Green IT Archival Analysis:
A Pathway for Future Studies,” Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 41(1),
p. 28.
Seidel, S., Bharati, P., Fridgen, G., Watson, R.T. and Albizri, A. (2017) “The Sustainability Imperative
in Information Systems Research,” Communications of the Association for Information Systems:,
40(3).
Seidel, S., Recker, J. and vom Brocke, J. (2013) “Sensemaking and Sustainable Practicing: Functional
Affordances of Information Systems in Green Transformations,” MIS Quarterly, 37(4), pp. 1275–
1299.
VHB Online. (2022). Tables for download. URL: https://vhbonline.org/en/vhb4you/vhb-jourqual/vhb-
jourqual-3/tables-for-download (visited on September 30, 2023).
Wang, X., Brooks, S. and Sarker, S. (2015a) “A review of green IS research and directions for future
studies,” Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 37(1), pp. 395–429.
Wang, X., Brooks, S. and Sarker, S. (2015b) “Understanding Green IS Initiatives: A Multi- theoretical
Framework,” Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 37(1), p. 32.
Watson, R.T., Boudreau, M.-C., Chen, A. and Huber, M. (2008) “Green IS: Building sustainable
business practices,” Information Systems, 17, p. 17.
Webster, J. and Watson, R.T. (2002) “Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature
Review,” MIS Quarterly, 26(2), pp. xiii–xxiii.
Wolfswinkel, J.F., Furtmueller, E. and Wilderom, C.P.M. (2013) “Using grounded theory as a method
for rigorously reviewing literature,” European Journal of Information Systems, 22(1), pp. 45–55.
Zampou, E., Mourtos, I., Pramatari, K. and Seidel, S. (2022) “A Design Theory for Energy and Carbon
Management Systems in the Supply Chain,” Journal of the Association for Information Systems,
23(1), pp. 329–371.
