Join us for our virtual learning series, ClimateCAP MBA Academy: Understanding the Business of Climate. Through this series we will talk with experts on topics across the climate x business continuum to prepare the business leaders of tomorrow—today’s MBA students— to anticipate and manage climate risks and opportunities in their careers.

Our speaker is Lewis Perkins, President of the Apparel Impact Institute, who will be in conversation with Wesley Longhofer, Executive Academic Director of Emory University’s Goizueta Business & Society Institute. Lewis and Wesley will be speaking on the topic “Activating Systems Change: Decarbonizing the Fashion Supply Chain.” They’ll cover topics such as incentivizing stakeholders across the value chain, operationalizing change beyond theory, and what it takes to shift the mindset of an industry.

About Lewis Perkins
A passionate advocate for “doing the right thing,” Lewis Perkins is the President of the Apparel Impact Institute (AII), an organization launched by leading brands and apparel sector industry associations to identify, fund, and scale programs to drive positive impact in the fashion sector. Previous to this Perkins was President of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII) where he launched the Institute’s Fashion Positive initiative, which engages designers, manufacturers, brands and influencers in creating Cradle to Cradle Certified TM materials and products with the circular economy in mind. Prior to joining the C2CPII, Perkins led sustainability for The Mohawk Group and consulted with corporations and organizations on their social and environmental programs.

He has served as an Ashoka Strategy Thought Partner, a member of the H&M Global Change Award Expert Panel, and a Design Mentor for both the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), as well as the IDEO & Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy “Circular Design Competition.” Perkins has also been a participant of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Consumption.

Perkins holds a Master of Business Administration with a focus on corporate social responsibility from Goizueta Business School at Emory University and a Bachelor of Arts from Washington & Lee University. In 2018, he was recognized by his undergraduate alma mater, with the Distinguished Alumni award.

About Wesley Longhofer
Wesley Longhofer is an associate professor of organization and management in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, where he also serves as the executive academic director of its Business & Society Institute. His research on climate change and the energy sector has been funded by the National Science Foundation and featured in the Washington Post and Nature Climate Change. His co-authored book, Super Polluters: Tackling the World’s Largest Sites of Climate-Disrupting Emissions, was published by Columbia University Press in 2020.

About ClimateCAP 
The ClimateCAP Initiative is working to prepare tomorrow’s business leaders—today’s MBA students—to understand and respond to the climate challenge by mainstreaming the climate conversation in business school. As a global partnership of 35+ business schools, founded and led by the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, ClimateCAP works to bring together MBA students, educators, and corporate leaders to build community and talk about the business implications of climate change. ClimateCAP’s signature programs include an annual in-person MBA Summit drawing 350+ students each year, an online MBA Academy learning series for students who want to get up to speed quickly, a highly selective 12-month MBA Fellowship for aspiring climate changemakers, and a curated selection of teaching and learning resources for students and educators. Find out more at: https://climatecap.org/.clima