Dara O'Rourke

Associate Professor
Ph.D.  Energy and Resources    UC Berkeley, 1999
BS   Mechanical Engineering    MIT, 1989

130B Giannini Hall
Berkeley, California 94720
orourke@nature.berkeley.edu
office: 510-643-3110   lab: 510-643-5510   fax:  510-643-2504

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My research focuses on global production networks and supply chains. I study their environmental, social, and health impacts, evaluate current systems of regulation, and consider new strategies for democratic governance.

I am currently studying changes in key industrial production networks, methods for preventing pollution and workplace health problems, and systems of monitoring multinational supply chains. The research explores three interconnected dynamics: (1) current changes in the organization and control of specific production networks; (2) the life cycle impacts of these production networks on workers, communities, and the environment; and (3) systems of regulation over these production networks. The goal is to analyze what works and under what conditions, and use this analysis to effectively regulate impacts on workers, communities, and the environment.

I am also developing new information systems to inform consumers of the social, environmental, and health impacts of particular products and companies.

Conduct comparative research on the changing organization and impacts of the global forest products, oil, footwear, garment, electronics, and coffee industries.

Analyze recent innovations in community participation in environmental monitoring, such as through "bucket brigades" and other low-tech air monitoring systems.

Conduct research on local and transnational advocacy network strategies for monitoring and regulation of "sweatshops."

Analyze what particular firms are doing in terms of internal supply chain management and industrial ecology strategies for reducing environmental and social impacts of production.

Build capacity in China, Indonesia, and Central America to support worker and NGO participation in monitoring and influencing the environmental and health impacts of industry.

Explore the realm of consumer information with three primary goals: (1) to analyze and improve the quality of information that is available to consumers on the social, environmental, and health impacts of products and companies; (2) to research the impacts of this information on consumer behavior; and (3) to develop tools to deliver better information to consumers in the most credible and user-friendly way possible.

O’Rourke, Dara (2006), “Multi-stakeholder Regulation: Privatizing or Socializing Global Labor Standards?” World Development, vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 899–918.

O’Rourke, Dara (2005), “Market Movements: Nongovernmental Strategies to Influence Global Production and Consumption” Journal of Industrial Ecology, vol. 9, no. 1-2.

O’Rourke, Dara (2004), Community-Driven Regulation: Balancing Development and the Environment in Vietnam, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

O’Rourke, Dara and Eungkyoon Lee (2004), “Mandatory Planning for Environmental Innovation: Evaluating Regulatory Mechanisms for Toxics Use Reduction,” Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, vol. 47, no. 2, March.

O’Rourke, Dara (2004), “Transition Environments: Ecological and Social Challenges to Post-Socialist Industrial Development,” in R. Peet and M. Watts (eds.) Liberation Ecologies, London: Routledge, pp.: 244-270.

O’Rourke, Dara (2004), “Community Monitoring and Corporate Accountability,” in A. Kuper (ed.) The Impact of Corporations on Global Governance, a report of the Empire and Democracy Project, New York: Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs.

O’Rourke, Dara (2004), Opportunities and Obstacles for Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in Developing Countries, policy paper prepared for the Corporate Social Responsibility Practice, Washington, D.C.: The World Bank Group.

O’Rourke, Dara and Garrett Brown (2003), “Experiments in Transforming the Global Workplace: Incentives and Impediments to Improving Workplace Conditions in China,” International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, vol. 9, no. 4, October/December, pp. 378-385.