Higg FEM: Deep Dive

Manufacturer Forum | Milan

Sustainable Apparel Coalition 1

What we’ll cover today:
• New module structure & applicabilities
• What to expect: FEM content

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Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM)

Performance improvement framework that incentivizes actions that achieve impact reductions

One facility site completes one Higg FEM per year

Translated into various languages (including Spanish)

Self-assessment first; A facility can choose to conduct verification of the assessment after posting

Measures impacts that are applicable to the facility completing the assessment (e.g. low vs. high water
risk)

Higg FEM results will show benchmark scores and quantitative performance

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2017-2018 Higg FEM Timeline

2017 2018

Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Non-member
Facility
Pre- 2017 Adoption Cadence 2017 Benchmarking / Verification continues
Registration until end of 2018
Facility Registration
Starts (SAC members Deadline to
& non-members) post all 2017
Modules:
May 31, 2018
New Brand Registration
higg.org Starts
launch!
All Other Accounts
Registration Starts

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 Higg.org Account Types and Structure
Account Types:
• Facility Account – factories/manufacturers; complete a Facility Module

• Brand Account – brands/retailers; complete a Brand Module

• Other Account – do not complete modules but can request modules (Sourcing
Agent/Converter, NGO, Service Provider, etc.)
New Higg.org Account Structure:
• All unique factories or brands are a separate accounts Account 1 Account 2 Account 3
(no hierarchy)
*Parent account tag *Parent account tag *Parent account tag
• Parent company is a tag/field shown in the account
• User can easily switch between multiple accounts with
one log in
User switches between accounts
• Allows for clean database, better search, and clean
benchmarking

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 Register by going to Higg.org and clicking
“Request Access” – your account will be
Higg.org Registration approved within 2-3 days

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FEM Structure

FEM is organized into 3 types

of sections:

1. Continuous Improvement Sections:

• Know your sources
• Know major drivers of use
• Baseline your performance
• Set targets and action plan
• Demonstrate reductions
• Demonstrate leading practice

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FEM Structure

2. Pollutant Limits
• Know your sources and volumes
• Know quality of pollutants (permit/standard)
• Control quality / take specific actions
• Demonstrate leading practice (best available
equipment, aspirational standard)

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FEM Structure

3. Management Sections
• Have qualified staff in place
• Adhere to the rules (regulations, laws, brand
requirements)
• Have long-term, holistic strategies and action
plans in place
• Take specific management actions (e.g.,
storage, handling, maintain equipment, etc)
• Demonstrate leading practice (e.g., engage
upstream and with community, innovation,
deep traceability)

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FEM Applicabilities

Applicabilities:
Qualifying questions will be asked at the beginning of the four sections
listed below to determine which questions are applicable to the facility
• Only scored on questions that are applicability to your facility

Is the facility a light or heavy water user + located in a water risk region?

Does the facility use domestic/industrial wastewater + is it treated onsite/offsite?

Does the facility have operations or production processes that emit air pollutants?

Does facility use chemicals in production processes or only in operations/tooling?

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Applicabilities Example: Water Section
Questions requiring answer:

High Water Low Water

Risk/Use Risk/Use
1. Select all water sources used by your facility X X
2. Has your facility set baselines for water use? If yes, select all water sources for which your X
facility has set a baseline.

3. Does your facility know what facility processes or operations use the most water? X

4. Has your facility set targets for reducing water use? If yes, select all sources of water for X
which your facility has set a reduction target.

5. Does your facility have an implementation plan to improve water use? X

6. Has your facility reduced water withdrawal, compared with your baseline? Select all water X
sources that have been reduced.

7. Has your facility implemented a water balance or another analysis to evaluate the X
traceability of water intake vs. usage (i.e. which processes) and output (i.e. to wastewater
treatment plant)?

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FEM Performance Level Sections

Must achieve Level 1

performance before moving on
to Level 2-3
Level 3
Leading
Practices
Level 2
Baselining,
Targets/Goals,
Level 1 Reductions
Understanding
& Tracking
Performance

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FEM Performance Level Sections
Must achieve Level 1 before moving on to Level 2-3

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Higg FEM Scoring

The scoring system of the Higg Index was designed to drive behavior changes. All points gained are intended to drive actions,
decisions and practices that lead to better sustainability outcomes.

 Module scoring will happen after you complete your module

Interpreting Final Scores:

Scores will be shown as percentages (%) of total points possible for your facility type. Because FEM now includes
applicability tests means that facilities will not all answer the same number of questions. By showing points in terms of
percentage, we enable more comparability between results.

• Each section is worth 100 points and is made up of three levels.

• Level 1 is worth 25% of the total possible points. (If applicability test stops at Level 1, then Level 1 is worth 100% of total
possible points)
• Level 2 is worth 50% of the total possible points.
• Level 3 is worth 25% of the total possible points.

More information on Higg FEM Scoring: Howtohigg.org > Higg Index Training > Higg FEM: Scoring and Applicabilities

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What we’ll cover today:
• New module structure & applicabilities
• What to expect: FEM content

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Facility Site Information

This section should be completed first before

moving on to other sections of the module.

• Information entered into this section will help

categorize the factory for comparative analytics.
This information will be used as filters in the
results dashboards so it’s critical that the data
submitted is as accurate as possible.
• Country
• Industry Sector
• Facility Type
• Facility Process
• Material Types
• Operating Days
• Total number employees
• Production Volume

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Permits

The Permits section is not scored and covers:

• Operating license*
• Environmental violations
• Records in IPE database (China only)
• Environmental permits

*NOTE: While the permits section is not scored, a valid operating

license is required to score any points in the Higg FEM.
• If you answer "No" to “Does your factory site have a valid
operating license?”, you will score zero for the entire module.
• Facilities located in China should upload their Environmental
Impact Assessment under “Other environmental permits” (last
question)

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Energy / GHG

The Higg Energy and GHG section requires you to:

• Track all energy and fuel sources and report quantity
used in the last calendar year
• Identify which factors contribute most to energy use on
site (e.g., machines, processes, or operations that use
the most energy)
• Set a normalized baseline for energy use, such as “80
MJ per unit of production in 2016”
• Set normalized targets for energy reduction, such as
“Reduce energy used per unit of production by 70% in
2020.”
• Set an action plan with specific actions and strategies to
achieve energy reduction targets
• Demonstrate energy reductions against the baseline,
such as “Last year we used 60 MJ per unit of production
which is a 25% annual reduction.”

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GHG Emissions

• Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions will be auto-calculated in Higg

FEM using the following information (coming soon)

• Energy sources; fuel combustion (Energy Question 1)

• Air Emissions; direct emissions from non-combustion

sources such as refrigerants (Air Question 3)

• Emissions factors based on best publically available

data

• Detail overview of GHG calculations

forthcoming (February-March)

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Water Use

The Higg Water section requires you to:

• Track all water sources and report quantity used in
the last calendar year
• Identify which factors require the most water use on
site (e.g., machines, processes, or operations that use
the most water)
• Set a normalized baseline for water use, such as “20
cubic meters per unit of production in 2016”
• Set normalized targets for water reduction, such as
“Reduce water used per unit of production by 70% in
2020”
• Set an action plan with specific actions and strategies
to achieve water reduction targets
• Demonstrate water reductions against the baseline
such as “Last year we used 15 cubic meters per unit of
production which is a 25% annual reduction.”

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Waste
The Higg Waste section requires you to:
• Track all hazardous and non-hazardous waste streams
• Report the volume generated and disposal method for all
waste streams
• Segregate, properly store, and train workers to handle all
hazardous and non-hazardous waste streams
• Forbid open burning and dumping of waste on-site and
properly control any onsite incineration
• Set normalized baselines for waste generated and disposal
methods (e.g., landfilled 80% of domestic waste in 2016)
• Set normalized targets for waste reductions and improvements
to disposal methods
• Set an action plan with specific actions and strategies to achieve
waste reduction targets
• Demonstrate waste reductions against the baseline such as
“Last year we generated 16 kgs of domestic waste per unit of
production which is a 20% annual reduction since 2016.”
• Leading practice: Divert at least 90 percent of all discarded
materials from landfills, incinerators and the environment
• Leading practice: Upcycle waste by transforming waste
materials into new materials or products

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Wastewater

The Higg Wastewater section requires you to:

• Track quantity of wastewater generated from industrial

and/or domestic operations (not applicable for factories with
only domestic wastewater)

• Report all wastewater quality parameters that were found to

not meet permits or industry standard(s), such as
the ZDHC Wastewater Guideline, in the most recent quality
test

• Report name and quality results from the offsite

wastewater treatment plant (if applicable)

• Describe backup process if regular treatment fails (if

applicable)

• Ensure proper sludge disposal (if applicable)

• Report whether your site reuses and/or recycles process

wastewater as process water (if applicable)

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Air Emissions
The Higg Air Emissions section requires you to:

• Track quantity of emissions from facility operations and

refrigeration

• If you use refrigerants on-site you will be asked to

specify which refrigerants are used. These refrigerants
will factor into your GHG emission calculations.

• Track quantity of emissions from production processes

• List control devices / abatement processes and monitoring

frequency for operating and refrigeration emissions.

• List control devices / abatement processes and monitoring

frequency for production emissions.

• Specify achievements of advanced performance in

Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulfur Oxides (SOx) and
Particulate Matter (PM)

• Specify whether your facility has a process for modernizing

equipment to improve air emissions.

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Chemicals Management
The chemicals management section will ask about basic and
advanced practices in the following areas:

• Chemicals management policies, compliance procedures,

and commitments

• Employee training and communication

• Chemical procurement and purchasing practices

• Chemical handling, use, and storage practices

• Chemical inventory management

• Emergency Response Plan (ERP), accidents and spills

remediation plan

• Product quality and integrity

• Chemicals and process innovation

The Higg Chemicals Management section is the result of a joint effort

between the SAC, the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), and the
Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) program to
converge their chemicals tools into one common assessment.

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Unit Conversions and Auto-Calculations
Higg FEM Dashboards

Confidential – NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION

Higg Index Training & Support: Howtohigg.org

Support: https://howtohigg.org/request

Review frequently asked questions

on Higg.org and Higg FEM

Review training guides, videos, and

webinars on using the Higg.org
platform and the Higg FEM

Review Higg FEM question-level

technical and verification guidance
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 Thank you

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