What is the most effective mix of policy tools for achieving environmental improvements? Are governments leaving behind the “hard” law of legislation and regulation in favor of “soft” instruments like environmental management systems and voluntary disclosure agreements? A case study of pollutant release and transfer registries, an environmental policy designed as a soft law tool, reveals that hard uses may go hand in hand with soft uses of a policy. Results of the analysis demonstrate that policy tools may be used in various fashions simultaneously. These findings support the contention that governments are going “hybrid,” rather than soft, finding both hard and soft uses for a broad range of policy tools.