Cascale

Striving for continuous improvement in environmental and sustainable performance is critical for ensuring the longevity of the apparel industry. An apparel, footwear, and textile industry that does no undue environmental harm and has a beneficial impact on its stakeholders is the core vision of the Cascale, formerly Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC).

With that vision in mind, Cascale developed the Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM) to offer insights for manufacturers, brands, and retailers on the environmental performance of their individual facilities, empowering them to scale their sustainability improvements.

Higg FEM Version 4.0 (Higg FEM 2025)

The Higg FEM 2025 launched in November 2025. All facilities are required to report their 2025 performance under this new cadence. 

Key changes that you should be aware of in Higg FEM 2025

• Verification scope
  • The verification scope remains to cover all Level 1 questions.
• Cadence changes 
  • Posting the self-assessment by 30 April is now recommended rather than mandatory. Facilities can post their Higg FEM self-assessments throughout the year, and they are only able to un-post and re-post their module within 60 days of the initial posting. Verification must be closed by 31 December 2026.
• Emission factor changes
  • The Grid Emission Factors has been updated based on the IEA Annual Grid Emission Factor updating cycle.
• New facility type split for finished product processing category
  • New facility types:
    • Finished Product Processing (Product Printing, Product Painting, Embroidery & Embellishments, Buffing & Polishing, Moulding etc.)
    • Finished Product Processing (Product Dyeing, Product Laundering and Product Finishing)
  • Original:
    • Finished Product Processing (Product Printing, Product Painting, Product Dyeing, Product Laundering and Product Finishing, Embroidery & Embellishments)
• Improved person-day guidance for conducting verifications
  • The Verification Person Day Guidance is updated to include specific scenarios where a minimum number of person days is required for Verification (e.g. where two person days are required).
  • Verifier Bodies need to provide itemised information and costs regarding certain Verification aspects (e.g. number of person days, cost for travel disbursements, etc.) for all Higg FEM Verification proposals or quotations.
• Time ordinance categorisation update
  • The “time ordinance” categorisation has been simplified for some questions.

Looking for more support? We are an approved Trainer Body and can run Higg FEM V4.0 training to you. Find out more on our training page.

Benefits of employing Higg FEM include:

• Measure and quantify the sustainability impacts of a facility
• Reduce redundancy in measuring and reporting sustainability performance
• Drive business value through reducing risk and uncovering efficiencies
• Create a common means and language to communicate sustainability to stakeholders

Higg FEM Verification provides facilities with a clearer understanding of their environmental impact, enabling them to identify and prioritise opportunities for improved performance.

Higg FEM Version 4.0 facilities are evaluated for environmental performance in seven aspects:

• Environmental management systems
• Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions
• Water use
• Wastewater
• Emissions to air (if applicable)
• Waste management
• Chemical management

Such verification is required only once annually, removing excessive administrative work for facilities.