An exploratory study on sustainable ICT capability in the travel and tourism industry: The case of a global distribution system provider

Abstract

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity today. Environmental values have spread globally and consumer beliefs are pressurizing firms in almost all industries to comply with green regulations. Sustainability has become such an important part of business strategy that almost every major company now has an executive with “sustainability” in their title. The travel and tourism industry produced 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010. Policy makers have responded with ambitious targets. The European Union aims to achieve a 60 percent reduction in transport sector emissions by 2050. This exploratory study draws on the sustainable ICT capability maturity framework (SICT-CMF) and the case of the Amadeus IT Group, a large travel and tourism industry corporate enterprise that specializes in IT solutions. The study investigates the current capability maturity level of sustainable ICT in the company. The findings suggest that the company is a market leader in terms of sustainability initiatives and that it demonstrates an “advanced” level of sustainability capability. We discuss the lessons learned from Amadeus’ experience.