Skip Navigation | ANU Home | Search ANU | National Europe Centre Home

Karen Hussey

Karen was appointed as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Europe Centre in October 2004 to undertake a 3-year GRDC-funded project. Karen is also currently completing her doctorate from the University of Melbourne, which explores the EU and Australia’s engagement in global environmental governance. Prior to that she completed a Masters of Economics (European Economics and Public Affairs) from the Dublin European Institute, at University College Dublin, National University of Ireland.

Details of Karen’s postdoctoral research project follow:

Project Title:	Environmental Management Systems in Agriculture: A Comparative Analysis of Initiatives in the European Union and Australia
Funded by:	Externally funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC)
Duration:	3 years

Description: The environmental impact of agricultural production has led governments in Australia and the European Union to experiment with new tools of environmental management. Significant initiatives are underway to combine efficiency in production with improved environmental outcomes and there has been a shift away from command-and-control style instruments to more flexible, market based instruments, otherwise known as New Environmental Policy Instruments (NEPIs). This study focuses on the use of voluntary agreements, particularly environmental management systems (EMS), to achieve environmental outcomes in the agricultural sector. The study will compare the key agencies that have emerged in Australia and the European Union and the incentives behind the adoption of voluntary agreements across agricultural sectors in Europe and Australia. For instance, the trend towards harmonization of accreditation standards has serious implications for exporters and has led to many industry-led initiatives in environmental management. Finally, the study will furnish new data on the successful implementation of EMS in different settings as well as test theories about possibilities for introducing innovative practices and the incremental character of change.