NTT DATA Launches ‘Intact, intelligent action.’ to Protect Fragile Places and Advance Sustainability Commitments

Global initiative will combine awareness, technology and stewardship to support fragile places around the world. Program will help translate sustainability commitments into practical actions. In the initiative’s first chapter, NTT DATA employees will join Antarctic expedition led by Robert Swan, OBE, on the 40th anniversary of his first South Pole expedition.

NTT DATA, a global leader in AI, digital business and technology services, today announced “Intact, intelligent action.” This global initiative is designed to help people and organizations translate sustainability commitments into meaningful action. The effort combines awareness, technology and stewardship in support of some of the world’s most treasured yet fragile places. Antarctica will be the first chapter.

From November 25 to December 2, 2026, a dozen NTT DATA employees will join polar explorer Robert Swan and his 2041 Leadership on the Edge expedition aboard the Magellan Explorer. With the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands as their classroom, the NTT DATA team and more than 60 other business and community leaders will explore leadership under pressure, climate policy, sustainability and innovation with a focus on putting commitments into action. NTT DATA began working with Swan in 2022 and named him as the company’s Sustainability Ambassador in 2025.

The expedition marks a 40-year milestone for Swan. In 1986, he led a team on a 900-mile unsupported walk to the South Pole. Three years later, he led a different team to the North Pole, becoming the first person in history to walk to both Poles. Since 2003, he has led more than 20 ship-based expeditions to Antarctica, and the November effort will be the last that he personally organizes and leads. Swan will remain active in environmental advocacy and other types of expeditions, including continued collaboration with NTT DATA.

Sustainability Framework: Planet. Prosperity. People.

NTT DATA’s new initiative grows out of the company’s core strategic sustainability framework: “Planet. Prosperity. People.” This framework guides the company’s operations, innovation, sustainability solutions and client engagement to create positive outcomes for the environment, the economy and society.

Around the world, NTT DATA’s efforts include more sustainable IT practices across company operations and data centers; research and innovation focused on business, social, and environmental challenges; sponsorship of Swan’s Undaunted: South Pole 2023 expedition; enabling a Smart Rainforest initiative in Australia’s Daintree Rainforest; and support for Swan’s 2025 “Ice Station” broadcasts from Antarctica, which reached an estimated 2.1 million young people in more than 25 countries.

“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, 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.”

Focusing Attention on Fragile Places

A distinctive symbol will connect each chapter of Intact, intelligent action. The initiative is creating an open-frame flag woven from small, meaningful materials contributed by people around the world. Rather than marking human ownership, the frame will focus attention on the place itself and our shared responsibility to preserve it.

In Antarctica, expeditioners will raise the “flag” on the ice to frame the landscape, then remove it to symbolize a commitment to keeping the continent intact. The frame will later travel to other locations as the Intact initiative expands, creating a common symbol across places facing different environmental challenges. To learn more, visit Intact, intelligent action.

A Lifetime of Advocacy

Since walking to both poles in the 1980s, Swan has led land- and ocean-based expeditions worldwide to demonstrate sustainable technologies, promote renewable energy and advocate for preserving Antarctica as a reserve land for science and peace. In 1995, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Swan an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his contributions to environmental education, sustainability and polar exploration. In 2017, he received a NOVUS Award for contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Hear and learn more from Robert Swan at ThinIce.earth.

To help address emissions associated with the upcoming expedition, 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,” Swan said. “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.”

"Intact, intelligent action." was developed with creative direction from Pep Torres of Stereonoise, including the initiative’s name, design, participatory concept and open-frame flag.

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA is a $30+ billion business and technology services leader, serving 75% of the Fortune Global 100. We accelerate client success and positively impact society through responsible innovation. We are one of the world’s leading AI and digital infrastructure providers, with capabilities in enterprise-scale AI, cloud, security, connectivity, data centers and application services. Our consulting and industry solutions help organizations and society move confidently and sustainably into the digital future. NTT DATA has experts in more than 70 countries and is part of NTT Group, which invests over $3 billion annually in R&D.

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