Higg Index verification support for facility data your brand customers can rely on.

What it is

What is the Higg Index and what is it used for?

The Higg Index is a suite of sustainability tools owned by Cascale, the organisation formerly called the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. It includes the Higg Facility Tools, among them the Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM), and the Higg Brand & Retail Module for brands and retailers. Cascale also runs Higg FEM verification, in which an independent verifier checks a facility's module against Cascale's verification protocol.

Brands use verified facility modules to compare suppliers and to report on their supply chain. For a facility, the value depends on whether every answer is backed by data and records that a verifier can follow, and whether the data improves year on year.

Current version. Cascale publishes and revises the Higg FEM Verification Protocol and a Verifier Field Guide, as well as guidance on Level 2 and Level 3 verification. The module year and protocol version that apply to your facility are confirmed at the start of the programme.

Who it is for

Who needs Higg Index verification?

Facilities come to Sterling for the Higg Index from three starting points:

• A brand customer asks for a verified Higg FEM. Your facility is on the brand's list and has a deadline for posting and verification.
• Your last verification changed your answers. The verifier could not follow the data behind your claims, and the verified score fell.
• You supply several brands. Each asks for the same module, and one set of data and records serves them all.

A verified module rewards facilities that measure what they claim. The work is in the data, not in the form.

Requirements

What does the Higg Index involve?

Cascale's own pages name the tools and the verification route listed below; the questions inside each module change with the module year and are worked through with your team.

• Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM): the facility-level environmental module completed by the facility.
• Higg FEM verification: independent verification of the posted module under Cascale's verification protocol.
• Higg Facility Tools: the wider set of facility tools of which the Higg FEM is part.
• Higg Brand & Retail Module: the module for brands and retailers, updated by Cascale.

Your engagement

What your Higg Index engagement includes

One team takes you from the first data review to a verification your brand customers can use, under one all-inclusive proposal.

• Scope, data review and plan

  Facilities, modules and brand deadlines in scope, with owners and dates agreed before work starts.

• Environmental controls and records

  Data collection, procedures and records for each area the module asks about, built with your facility team.

• Effivity ISO & GRC software

  Your environmental data and records run in Effivity from day one, included with the engagement at no additional cost.

• Training for everyone

  Internal auditor training, as applicable to your standard, and preferential Sterling Academy access, including complimentary awareness training for your people as part of the engagement.

• Review before posting

  Each answer checked against its evidence before the module is posted.

• Verification readiness and support

  Preparation for the verifier's visit and support through any follow-up.

Verification is carried out by an independent verifier; Sterling does not verify, certify or score any Higg module.

Often combined with

Standards organisations pair with Higg Index

• amfori BSCIamfori BSCI audit preparation for producers: gap assessment across the 13 performance areas, remediation, worker-facing evidence and support from Sterling.
• Better Cotton (BCI)Better Cotton (BCI) Chain of Custody certification for textile suppliers: stock and claim controls, reconciled records, training and audit readiness.
• BRCGS Packaging MaterialsBRCGS Packaging Materials certification explained: Issue 7, GFSI recognition, who asks for it and how Sterling prepares packaging sites for the audit.
• EN 71 / ASTM F963EN 71 and ASTM F963 toy safety compliance for manufacturers: product and market mapping, material control, test planning and records that keep lots conforming.
• GOTSGOTS certification for organic textiles: what the Global Organic Textile Standard covers, who asks for it and how Sterling prepares your site for audit.
• IECQ QC 080000IECQ QC 080000 certification for electronics suppliers: identify, control, quantify and report hazardous substances, with gap analysis and audit readiness.