470 Copyright © 2015, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 23 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8473-7.ch023 The Role of a Sustainability Informatics Framework in Transportation Systems ABSTRACT This article develops a Sustainability Informatics Framework, a framework that connects Information Technology with sustainability and is based on the Belief-Action-Outcome and Energy Informatics frameworks. The triple-bottom line (People, Planet, and Proft) is adopted as a criterion for measuring sustainability and three sustainability indices are frst formulated and then visualized using Sustainability Dashboards. This framework is then used to analyze transportation systems. This leads to the develop- ment of research propositions that can expand the role of the Information Systems discipline to research on areas of sustainable nation building. INTRODUCTION Information Technology (IT) is at times a disrup- tive technology that contributes to reshaping of industries and redistribution of power within orga- nizations and even societies. IT-enabled processes lead not only to organizational efficiencies, but also to new products, markets, and means of interaction and communication. Amid the dramatic changes that are associated with IT are many contempo- rary challenges, for one, heightened attention to corporate social responsibility (Porter & Kramer, 2006). Yet operating an organization that is both profitable and responsible is no small task. At the heart of the corporate social respon- sibility is sustainability, or “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland, 1987: p. 43). Business scholars call for organizations to embrace sustainability, not as an addendum, but as an integrated component to strategy and operations. However, they also recognize that “without a framework to give direction to pollution prevention, product stew- Lin Jia Auburn University, USA Barry Cumbie University of Southern Mississippi, USA Chetan S. Sankar Auburn University, USA Jian Yu Beijing Forestry University, China