NTT DATA launches Antarctic sustainability drive with Swan

NTT DATA has launched a global sustainability initiative called Intact, intelligent action., with Antarctica as its first focus.

The programme will begin with an expedition led by polar explorer Robert Swan.

A dozen employees from the technology services group will join Swan's 2041 Leadership on the Edge voyage in Antarctica aboard the Magellan Explorer. The trip is scheduled to run from 25 November to 2 December and will bring together the NTT DATA team with more than 60 business and community leaders.

The project is intended to help organisations turn sustainability pledges into practical measures. It will combine awareness, technology and stewardship in places considered environmentally vulnerable.

The Antarctic chapter is centred on direct exposure to the region and its climate pressures. Participants will use the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands as a setting for discussions on leadership, climate policy, sustainability and innovation.

Sustainability push

The effort sits within NTT DATA's broader sustainability framework, "Planet. Prosperity. People." That framework guides its operations, client work and research on environmental, social and economic issues.

Its wider programme includes work on IT practices across company operations and data centres, research into business and environmental challenges, backing for Swan's Undaunted: South Pole 2023 expedition, a Smart Rainforest initiative in Australia's Daintree Rainforest, and support for Swan's Ice Station broadcasts from Antarctica. Those broadcasts reached an estimated 2.1 million young people in more than 25 countries.

David Costa, chief sustainability business officer and head of sustainability innovation at NTT DATA, outlined the company's rationale for the new initiative.

"This effort -- Intact, intelligent action. -- is about helping accelerate the move from sustainability commitments to actions that support the planet," said David Costa, chief sustainability business officer and head of sustainability innovation at NTT DATA. "We want people to experience and understand places that need protecting, then consider how technology, responsible choices and collaboration can help preserve them. Our goal is to inspire lasting awareness and action that helps protect these places for future generations."

Antarctic link

NTT DATA began working with Swan in 2022 and named him its sustainability ambassador in 2025. The latest expedition also marks 40 years since Swan led a 900-mile unsupported walk to the South Pole in 1986.

Three years later, Swan led a different team to the North Pole, becoming the first person to walk to both poles. Since 2003, he has led more than 20 ship-based expeditions to Antarctica, and this forthcoming voyage will be the last he personally organises and leads.

Swan is expected to remain active in environmental advocacy and other expeditions, including further work with NTT DATA. The collaboration reflects a shared focus on protecting Antarctica as a place for science and peace.

Symbolic flag

A central feature of Intact, intelligent action. is an open-frame flag made from small materials contributed by people around the world. The object is designed to draw attention to the landscape itself rather than claim possession of it.

In Antarctica, participants will raise the frame on the ice so that it surrounds the view, then remove it as a sign of their commitment to leaving the continent intact. It is then intended to travel to other fragile locations as the initiative expands.

The concept and design of the initiative were developed with creative direction from Pep Torres of Stereonoise, including the name, participatory concept and the flag.

Long campaign

Swan has spent decades linking exploration with environmental campaigning. His work has included land and ocean expeditions to promote renewable energy, demonstrate sustainable technologies and argue for stronger protection of Antarctica.

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1995 for services to environmental education, sustainability and polar exploration. In 2017, he received a NOVUS Award for work related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

To address emissions tied to the upcoming voyage, Swan is making a substantial donation per participant to support rainforest regeneration in Australia.

"My fascination with Antarctica began with the great polar explorers, and protecting it became my life's mission when Jacques Cousteau personally challenged me to ask people to have the good sense to save this continent," said Robert Swan OBE. "The Heroic Age of polar exploration ended a century ago, yet an even greater challenge lies ahead: protecting the last great wilderness on Earth and learning to live sustainably on this planet we share. If our generation keeps Antarctica intact, that will be a legacy worthy of those who came before us and a gift to every generation that follows."