Sarah E. Light, JD

About Sarah

Sarah E. Light is a professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research examines issues at the intersection of environmental law, corporate sustainability, and business innovation. Her articles have addressed the ways in which laws that structure corporations and the marketplace should be considered forms of environmental law; how private actions by business firms, such as the adoption of a private carbon fee, or lending and underwriting decisions by banks and insurance companies, can be forms of private environmental governance; and how to address concerns about greenwashing consistent with the First Amendment. Her articles have appeared in the Stanford Law Review, the Columbia Law Review, the Duke Law Journal, the UCLA Law Review, and the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, among others. Professor Light has received numerous teaching awards for MBA and undergraduate teaching, including the Teaching Excellence Award. Prior to joining the Wharton faculty, Professor Light served for 10 years as an assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, including four years as chief of the environmental protection unit. Professor Light earned her JD from Yale Law School, an MPhil in politics from Oxford University where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and an AB from Harvard College.