The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) has published a technical report on the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) 4.0, giving users the most important information about the new version of the tool, which will be released in November 2023.
The Higg FEM is a facility-related tool that assesses an operation across multiple dimensions such as energy and greenhouse gas emissions, water use and effluent, waste management and chemicals, and aims to standardize how supply chain operations measure and evaluate their environmental performance year-on-year.
“The release of this technical report and the changes we’ve made to the Higg FEM is a major milestone for SAC and the industry at large, and is a testament to our commitment to work with experts and seek feedback to improve our tools and create a better… to achieve greater impact. It is only through this concerted effort that we can radically transform the industry and do our part to address the climate crisis,” commented Jeremy Lardeau, VP, Higg Index of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, in a press release.
Higg MSI 2022 under fire
SAC’s product-centric tool, the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (Higg MSI), has come under criticism this year. It enables designers and product developers to holistically evaluate and understand the effects of millions of possible manufacturing variants. However, in June this year, the Norwegian Consumer Authority (NCA) criticized Higg partners H&M and Norrøna Sport AS for using the tool for marketing purposes and decided to ban its use in Norway.
Other criticisms are that synthetic products are preferred, that the underlying data is part of the paid content and is therefore not freely available, and that the analysis of the environmental impact of a material does not cover the entire life cycle of an article. SAC and technology partner Higg Co released a new version of the Higg MSI in August this year, providing more accurate and detailed information and enabling in-depth material assessment.
The latest version of the Higg FEM is based on member feedback collected during the last release cycle. This includes feedback from brands, retailers, manufacturing companies, service providers and other international organizations. The update takes into account feedback on the tools, as well as the FEM framework, the assessment methodology and the content of the questions, among other things.
“As a collective action coalition representing half of the apparel, footwear and textile sector, SAC plays a critical role in advancing the industry and tackling the climate crisis. And as a manufacturer, we welcome the release of this technical report and believe that the latest version of the Higg FEM will help us achieve our climate goals,” said Delman Lee, TAL Apparel Vice President and SAC Board Chairman.
Higg FEM update highlights:
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition highlighted the key changes in Higg FEM 4.0 in the press release, including the addition of questions on:
- Phasing out coal and other fossil fuels and adopting renewable energy and science-based targets,
- Sewage sludge management, aligned with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) guideline,
- Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions calculations according to the GHG Protocol,
- Groundwater management and use, including tracking consumption and complying with statutory limits for groundwater abstraction.
In addition, the categorization of refrigerant gases has been improved to accurately calculate GHG emissions from potential leaks. Facilities that manufacture end products and textiles in the same factory must track and report their energy and water consumption data separately.
“The new requirements for the Higg FEM will be implemented from 2023 and the updated tool will be published on the Higg platform in November 2023 to allow farms to work on their self-assessment for the 2023 performance year, with training on the 2023 performance year Content is planned to give users a better understanding of the tool,” the coalition concludes.
The full technical report is now available on the SAC website.