Can Immersive Systems Help Address Sustainability Goals? Insights from Research in Information Systems

Several developments in recent years have highlighted the urgent need for an increase in sustainable behavior. In an effort to systematically achieve global human well-being and create a more sustainable and equal world by 2030, the United Nations passed the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. In this chapter, we discuss several different approaches for Information Systems (IS) to contribute to these goals. We present ideas and first results from different research approaches in which we analyze how immersive systems, in particular, are capable of addressing challenges regarding awareness, motivation, information transfer, and educating citizens to act in a sustainable manner. We conclude that the main features of immersive systems are particularly suited to approach challenges related to sustainable behavior and attitude change. With this chapter, we hope to inspire further research efforts on how IS can make a contribution to a more sustainable world.