Nicole Darnall researches how incentives can encourage organizations and individuals to be more sustainable in areas such as purchasing, consumption, and production. Her research assesses non-regulatory sustainability governance approaches: voluntary programs, strategic alliances, certifications, and information-based initiatives. Her work investigates whether the absence of state coercion, combined with appropriate incentives, can encourage organizations and individuals to be more environmentally sustainable. In recent years, she has spent considerable time understanding issues related to sustainable purchasing and consumption.

Nicole Darnall is associate dean and professor of management and public policy at Arizona State University's School of Sustainability and Co-founder of ASU’s Sustainable Purchasing Research Initiative.

Professor Darnall is a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow, an Economic and Social Research Council and Social Science Research Council Collaborative Visiting Fellow, an Erasmus Mundus International Scholar, a Social Science Research Council Abe Fellow.