Skip to main content Skip to footer unit links
← Back to all capstone projects
2013 Spring | Business & Sustainability, Policy & Regulation

Environmental Policy Needs Both the Carrot and the Stick

Student(s):

Laura Shields

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Carolyn Gangmark, Cathy Buller

Partner(s):

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10

Faculty advisor(s):

Elizabeth Bryant, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, University of Washington

During my internship, I helped compile useful information available for sports facility operators looking to improve the sustainability of their practices. I was interested in seeing how informational resources could help improve the quality of existing mechanisms of environmental policy. I conducted independent research on bottom-up and top-down models of environmental policy to determine the effectiveness of information-hub models in terms of achieving higher rates of compliance. Through my research, I established the value of the information-hub model in achieving environmental goals and ultimately determined that current mechanisms would be more effective if they were supplemented with technical assistance.