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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. New Tools for Environmental Protection: Education, Information, and Voluntary Measures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10401.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. New Tools for Environmental Protection: Education, Information, and Voluntary Measures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10401.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2002. New Tools for Environmental Protection: Education, Information, and Voluntary Measures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10401.
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New Tools for Environmental Protection Education, Information, and Voluntary Measures Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change Thomas Dietz and Paul C. Stern, Editors Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, DC i

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS • 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. • Washington, DC 20418 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Insti- tute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. The study was supported by Purchase Orders 9W-3489-NANX and 1W-2501-NANX from the Environmental Protection Agency to the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project. Suggested citation: National Research Council (2002) New Tools for Environmental Protection: Education, Information, and Voluntary Measures. Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change. T. Dietz and P.C. Stern, eds. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dietz, Thomas. New tools for environmental protection : education, information, and voluntary measures / Thomas Dietz and Paul C. Stern, editors. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-309-08422-9 (pbk.) 1. Environmental education--United States—Congresses. 2. Environmental policy—United States—Congresses. 3. Environmental protection—United States—Congresses. I. Stern, Paul C., 1944- II. Title. GE70 .D54 2002 333.7'2'071--dc21 2002005548 Additional copies of this report are available from National Academy Press, 2101 Consti- tution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20418 Call (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area) This report is also available online at http://www.nap.edu Printed in the United States of America Copyright 2002 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

National Academy of Sciences National Academy of Engineering Institute of Medicine National Research Council The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

COMMITTEE ON THE HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF GLOBAL CHANGE THOMAS DIETZ (Chair), Department of Environmental Science and Policy, and Department of Sociology and Anthropology, George Mason University BARBARA ENTWISLE, Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina MYRON GUTMANN, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan RONALD MITCHELL, Department of Political Sciences, University of Oregon EMILIO MORAN, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University M. GRANGER MORGAN, Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University EDWARD PARSON, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Environment and Natural Resources Program, Harvard University ALAN RANDALL, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, Ohio State University PETER J. RICHERSON, Division of Environmental Studies, University of California, Davis MARK R. ROSENZWEIG, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania STEPHEN H. SCHNEIDER, Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University SUSAN STONICH, Department of Anthropology and Environmental Studies Program, University of California, Santa Barbara ELKE U. WEBER, Department of Psychology, Columbia University THOMAS J. WILBANKS, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN CHARLES KENNEL (Ex Officio, Chair-Committee on Global Change Research), Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego ORAN R. YOUNG (Ex Officio, Liasion to International Human Dimensions Program), Institute of Arctic Studies, Dartmouth College PAUL C. STERN, Study Director DEBORAH M. JOHNSON, Senior Project Assistant v

Preface T here has been increasing concern among environmental protection offi- cials in the federal government about the problem of diminishing returns from regulation. Many believe that the quick environmental fixes from command-and-control regulation mainly have been achieved and that the balance of pollution sources is shifting from large “point sources” to more diffuse sources that are more difficult and expensive to regulate. In addition, changes in the political climate have made it increasingly difficult to use command-and-control regulations. Consequently, there has been a search for alternatives to regulation, including a shift to market-based approaches such as tradable emissions permits, to informational approaches, and to voluntary measures. The Office of Environmental Education of the U.S. Environmental Protec- tion Agency (EPA), responding to these concerns, asked the National Research Council (NRC) to organize a workshop to examine these issues. At the work- shop, held November 29-30, 2000, participants examined the belief that changed conditions call for increased use of alternatives to regulation and economic measures. They also presented and discussed scientific evidence on the efficacy of education, information, and voluntary measures for achieving environmental protection objectives. The chapters of this volume include revised versions of presentations at the workshop, comments from discussants, and overviews of the issues by the editors and other workshop participants. Since its birth in 1989, the Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change of the NRC has recognized the importance of understanding the indi- vidual and organizational behaviors responsible for environmental degradation both in order to anticipate environmental outcomes and to inform policy decisions intended to improve those outcomes. A previous committee effort, Environmen- tally Significant Consumption: Research Directions (NRC, 1997), examined the determinants of some of those behaviors. This volume examines some of the policy tools that are being used to change them. vii

viii PREFACE We believe the result of our project is a rich series of contributions that review what we know about the potential importance and effectiveness of educa- tion, information, and voluntary measures in environmental protection; brings together what have been somewhat disparate literatures; and points directions for the future. We hope this volume achieves several goals. First, we hope it provides a sound grounding in what we have learned about the effectiveness of the “new” tools, both individually and in combination with other policy instru- ments. Second, we hope it provides a broad state-of-the-art review and shows connections and gaps in knowledge that may not have been obvious in the past. Third, for researchers and those funding research, we believe it conveys a sense of what has been learned and indicates priorities for future work. Finally, al- though not a management handbook, we hope it provides some guidance to those who design and manage policies and programs that employ education, informa- tion, and voluntary approaches. On behalf of the committee, I wish to thank the EPA for its support of this project and Ginger Keho of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Education for having the foresight to envision this project. The committee’s gratitude goes to Brian Tobachnick, who managed the logistics of the project during its early stages; to Cecilia Rossiter, who provided additional organizational help at early stages; and to Deborah M. Johnson, who carried it the rest of the way. We also owe a debt to Laura Penny, who did the copy editing, and to Kirsten Sampson Snyder and Yvonne Wise, who managed the review and editorial processes. I wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of the papers in this volume: Clint J. Andrews, Rutgers University; Richard N.L. Andrews, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Lynton K. Caldwell, Indiana University, Bloomington; Doug McKenzie-Mohr, McKenzie-Mohr As- sociates, Ontario, Canada; James Meadowcroft, The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom; Joanne Nigg, University of Delaware; Stuart Oskamp, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California; Paul Sabatier, University of California, Davis; Lynnette Zelezny, California State University, Fresno. Although the individuals listed provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Barbara Entwisle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to whom we are most grateful. Appointed by the NRC, she was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution. Thomas Dietz, Chair Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change

Contents PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 1 Exploring New Tools for Environmental Protection 3 Thomas Dietz and Paul C. Stern 2 Changes in Pollution and the Implications for Policy 17 David W. Rejeski and James Salzman PART II: INFORMATION AND EDUCATION FOR INDIVIDUALS, 43 HOUSEHOLDS, AND COMMUNITIES Introduction 45 3 Marketing Household Energy Conservation: The Message and 49 the Reality Loren Lutzenhiser 4 Knowledge, Information, and Household Recycling: Examining 67 the Knowledge-Deficit Model of Behavior Change P. Wesley Schultz 5 Promoting “Green” Consumer Behavior with Eco-Labels 83 John Thøgersen ix

x CONTENTS 6 The Public Health Perspective for Communicating 105 Environmental Issues Thomas W. Valente and Darleen V. Schuster 7 Understanding Individual and Social Characteristics in the 125 Promotion of Household Disaster Preparedness Dennis S. Mileti and Lori A. Peek 8 Lessons from Analogous Public Education Campaigns 141 Mark R. Rosenzweig 9 Perspectives on Environmental Education in the United States 147 John Ramsey and Harold R. Hungerford 10 A Model of Community-Based Environmental Education 161 Elaine Andrews, Mark Stevens, and Greg Wise 11 Community Environmental Policy Capacity and Effective 183 Environmental Protection Daniel Press and Alan Balch 12 Changing Behavior in Households and Communities: 201 What Have We Learned? Paul C. Stern PART III: VOLUNTARY MEASURES IN THE PRIVATE 213 SECTOR Introduction 215 13 Government-Sponsored Voluntary Programs for Firms: 219 An Initial Survey Janice Mazurek 14 Industry Codes of Practice: Emergence and Evolution 235 Jennifer Nash 15 Harnessing the “Power of Information”: Environmental Right 253 to Know as a Driver of Sound Environmental Policy Jeanne Herb, Susan Helms, and Michael J. Jensen

CONTENTS xi 16 Challenges in Evaluating Voluntary Environmental Programs 263 Kathryn Harrison 17 Assessing the Credibility of Voluntary Codes: A Theoretical 283 Framework Franco Furger 18 Factors in Firms and Industries Affecting the Outcomes of 303 Voluntary Measures Aseem Prakash 19 The Policy Context for Flexible, Negotiated, and Voluntary 311 Measures Alan Randall 20 Understanding Voluntary Measures 319 Thomas Dietz PART IV: CONCLUSION 335 21 New Tools for Environmental Protection: What We Know 337 and Need to Know Thomas J. Wilbanks and Paul C. Stern ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS 349

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Many people believe that environmental regulation has passed a point of diminishing returns: the quick fixes have been achieved and the main sources of pollution are shifting from large "point sources" to more diffuse sources that are more difficult and expensive to regulate. The political climate has also changed in the United States since the 1970s in ways that provide impetus to seek alternatives to regulation.

This book examines the potential of some of these "new tools" that emphasize education, information, and voluntary measures. Contributors summarize what we know about the effectiveness of these tools, both individually and in combination with regulatory and economic policy instruments. They also extract practical lessons from this knowledge and consider what is needed to make these tools more effective.

The book will be of interest to environmental policy practitioners and to researchers and students concerned with applying social and behavioral sciences knowledge to improve environmental quality.

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