Jennifer DuBuisson, senior director of sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co., has spent her career working at the intersection of business and impact. Now, she’s bringing her expertise forward as she joins the 18th class of the Aspen Institute’s First Movers Fellowship, a leadership program for corporate social intrapreneurs driving change from within their companies.
Since joining LS&Co., Jennifer has played a central role in shaping the company’s sustainability strategy — guiding work that spans climate, water, nature, supply chain and regulatory engagement. But as the sustainability landscape grows increasingly complex, she sees both risk and opportunity for the apparel industry.
“Strategies are only meaningful if we can implement them effectively,” Jennifer said. “Right now, we’re experiencing a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape that risks creating a fragmented, duplicative approach to product‑level data and disclosures across our industry.”
It’s this challenge that Jennifer hopes to tackle through her Aspen fellowship project.
Through Aspen’s First Movers Fellowship, Jennifer will join a global cohort of leaders from across industries who are grappling with similarly complex systems challenges. The program is designed to help participants strengthen leadership skills, deepen their ability to influence change within large organizations and build communities of practice that extend well beyond the fellowship year.
As a First Mover Fellow, Jennifer will focus on exploring a critical opportunity for the apparel and footwear industry to lead where no sector yet has: building an equitable, collaborative emissions data exchange. By evolving a current manufacturer and brand tool into a shared platform for brands and retailers, Jennifer believes the industry could reduce future fragmentation and duplication, while also improving data accuracy and transparency through the exchange of emissions data across the supply chain. Ultimately, the goal is to unlock collective progress toward shared climate goals.
“Today, the shift toward multiple retailers, organizations and jurisdictions requiring granular, product‑level disclosures risks is sending us backward if we don’t find ways to align,” said Jennifer. “My goal is to help prevent that fragmentation and instead move toward a more streamlined data exchange where brands also benefit by obtaining data from retailers that otherwise is based on assumptions.”
Jennifer joins a long line of LS&Co. leaders selected for the Aspen Institute’s First Movers Fellowship, reinforcing the company’s legacy of profits through principles and values-driven leadership.
“It’s an honor to be joining this cohort,” she said. “We’re tackling some complicated challenges, and it’s a privilege to have the opportunity to do that and learn alongside such talented leaders.”
