The Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) 4.0 Technical Paper (the Paper), issued by the Sustainable Garment Coalition (SAC), an independent, impact-generating organization that unites roughly half of the apparel industry to enable good social and environmental impact at scale. In order to give users access to the content of the Higg FEM 4.0 ahead of its formal release in November 2023 and to help them get ready for it, the SAC has made the Paper, which is now accessible on the SAC website, public.

As a sustainability assessment tool that harmonizes how facilities gauge and assess their environmental performance year over year, the Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM) 4.0 will remain in use. In addition to enabling them to identify, prioritize, and scale sustainability actions, it fosters conversations amongst value chain partners to improve sustainability at every level of the global value chain.

The most recent iteration of the Higg FEM is based on member feedback gathered throughout the most recent iteration cycle, which also includes input from brands, retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and other global organizations. This work has involved examining tool feedback as well as the FEM framework, scoring mechanism, and question content.

Jeremy Lardeau, VP, Higg Index at the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, said that the release of this technical paper and the changes they have made to the Higg FEM are a huge milestone for the SAC and industry at large, and are a testament to their commitment to collaborate with experts and gather feedback in order to improve their tools to drive greater impact. They can only completely restructure the industry and contribute to the effort to address the climate catastrophe through these coordinated initiatives.

Delman Lee, Vice Chair at TAL Apparel, and SAC Board Chair, said that as a coalition for collective action that represents the majority of the apparel, footwear, and textile industry, the SAC has a critical role to play in advancing the sector and addressing the climate problem. Additionally, as a producer, they appreciate the publication of this technical document and are confident that the most recent Higg FEM version will be crucial in assisting us in achieving their climate targets.

The redesigned tool will be available on the Higg platform in November 2023 for facilities to work on their self-assessment for the performance year 2023, with content training scheduled throughout 2023 to give users a better understanding of the new standards for the Higg FEM.