How can digital systems be designed during major events to ensure long-term environmental sustainability?

Host: Welcome to A.I.S. Insights — powered by Living Knowledge. I'm Anna Ivy Summers. Today, we examine a study titled "Green IS Affordances for Sustainable Mega-Events: A Conceptual Model for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics," presented at the International Conference on Information Systems in 2026. The study is authored by David M. Herold, Nils-Ole Hohenstein, Maria Kaya, Łukasz Marzantowicz, Martin Göbel, and Christoph Buck. It conceptualizes how digital infrastructures can enable environmental sustainability across both event delivery and long-term urban operations. Joining me is our analyst, Alex Ian Sutherland. Alex, welcome.

Expert: Hello, Anna. It is great to be here.

Host: Alex, let's start with the core challenge. Mega-events like the Olympic Games demand vast amounts of energy, water, materials, and transport. Why has digital infrastructure often fallen short when it comes to long-term sustainability in these settings?

Expert: Mega-events operate under tight spatial and temporal constraints, with fixed and unmovable operational deadlines. Historically, information systems for these events are designed strictly for short-term delivery—handling ticketing, venue logistics, and crowd management for a few concentrated weeks. Once the event concludes, these systems are frequently decommissioned or fragmented, leaving minimal ongoing digital utility for the host region. In the case of Brisbane 2032, which encompasses a distributed corridor of two hundred kilometers and dozens of venues, achieving net sustainability goals requires digital capabilities that extend far beyond Games time, yet current systems are rarely structured for that multi-decade horizon.

Host: How does the study address this gap conceptually?

Expert: The authors draw on affordance theory and Green Information Systems research. Rather than evaluating technology in the abstract, affordance theory analyzes the specific action possibilities that a system provides to particular actors in specific settings. Because a mega-event involves diverse stakeholder groups—ranging from venue managers and logistics coordinators to public planners and future city residents—the study develops a framework to map how digital infrastructure enables sustainability actions across pre-Games planning, operational delivery, and post-Games legacy.

Host: What are the primary categories of sustainability affordances outlined in the model?

Expert: The model distinguishes four categories. First, structural affordances occur during the pre-Games phase, using digital twins and carbon-integrated building information modeling to evaluate energy performance and track embodied carbon before construction is locked in. Second, operational affordances support real-time interventions during the event, such as Internet of Things sensor networks, automated building management, and dynamic mobility platforms to manage resource consumption and crowd transit. Third, governance affordances span the entire lifecycle, providing carbon accounting platforms, supply chain tracking, and open data systems for independent verification.

Host: The final category is legacy affordances. How does the study conceptualize those?

Expert: This is where the study introduces the concept of temporally deferred sustainability affordances. These represent digital capabilities intentionally built today to be actualized by future actors in an evolving urban environment. The study breaks this into physical legacy, such as sensor networks integrated into municipal smart-city platforms; institutional legacy, which includes shared emissions data standards adopted by regional government; and behavioral legacy, where transit management platforms establish lasting shifts in public mobility habits.

Host: What actualization conditions does the study identify as necessary to realize these benefits?

Expert: The authors point out that technical availability alone does not guarantee execution. Realizing these affordances requires cross-venue data integration, clear organizational decision rights that prevent commercial demands from overriding sustainability interventions, common data standards across independent contractors, and open architectural standards that facilitate institutional transfer after the event ends.

Host: Looking at the business implications, what should technology partners and project planners take away from this?

Expert: For public authorities and event organizers, it reframes procurement and capital allocation. An integrated carbon accounting or asset-monitoring system that requires higher initial investment can provide superior long-term value if it is designed for municipal reuse post-2032. For technology vendors, the framework highlights that technical functionality must be paired with interoperability, open APIs, and governance protocols that balance commercial confidentiality with external audit requirements.

Host: In essence, infrastructure decisions made years before an event determine whether long-term sustainability targets are achievable in practice. Alex, thank you for walking us through the study.

Expert: You are welcome, Anna.

Host: And thank you to our listeners. Join us next time on A.I.S. Insights — powered by Living Knowledge.