Higg FEM FAQ | About Targets & Baselines

As part of the Higg Index toolkit, Higg FEM 4.0 is a leading assessment tool for environmental performance in the consumer goods industry. It provides manufacturers, brands,and retailers with information about the environmental performance of their respective facilities, enabling them to scale sustainability improvements. Today, the editor will take you to learn about the issues related to goals and baselines in Higg FEM.

What is a baseline?

It is important to understand the starting point in order to demonstrate improvement or reduction in environmental impact. Baseline "is the starting point or benchmark that a factory can use to compare with the situation over a period of time.

For example, if your factory consumed 80 cubic meters of water per 10000 meters of fabric produced in 2016, you will be able to compare your performance with this quantity in the coming years. In this example, '80 cubic meters of water consumption per 10000 meters of fabric produced in 2016' is an example of a standardized baseline.

Data validation is a crucial first step. Before setting a baseline, the data needs to be stable and reliable.

What can I do for you?

Use stable data: If your factory experiences significant structural changes, such as acquisitions or product type changes, you should choose a baseline after these changes are completed.

Standardization: If you choose a standardized baseline, it will be standardized based on the annual production units entered in the site information section. For example, if you choose annual production in meters, your baseline will be standardized based on meters.

Verified data: Baseline data should be accurate and verifiable. The validated energy datafrom Higg FEM is an acceptable baseline data source. The baseline data validated through the internal audit process is also acceptable.

If you plan to set performance improvement goals, the baseline year and baseline performance level (such as annual energy use, emissions per unit, etc.) should remain unchanged.

Why is the current benchmark only limited to five years?

Any performance based on a baseline of more than 5 years is not conducive to the continuous improvement of the factory, which is not conducive to reducing the industry's impact on the environment.

Should the target year be more than 3 years away from the reporting year?

The target year should be at least one year after the current reporting year.

Is standardization mandatory for establishing target baselines?

Although it is recommended to do so, factories can choose to set baselines based on absolute or standardized values.

If the SBTi target of the factory is set as an absolute target and the Higg FEM target is set as a standardized target, will there be any problems?

No, this is not a problem for FEM, but once the reverse calculation is standardized or absolutized, they should be readjusted.

Due to so many updates in FEM 4.0, should factories redefine their benchmarks?

The benchmark is determined by the facility itself. As a general rule of best practice, benchmarks should be established at least 1-5 years from the reporting year, but it is not recommended to adjust benchmarks every year.

What restrictions should factories consider when establishing/setting baseline years?

In the new FEM, Higg implemented a rule that the baseline should not exceed five yearsof the reporting year. Therefore, when completing the 2023 assessment, your baseline should not be earlier than 2018. Any time before that year is no longer an option, you need to change the baseline. Higg also does not recommend adjusting the baseline once a year.

In previous FEM, the factory set a baseline for the entire entity without distinguishing facility types. Can the same baseline be established for internal laundry and clothing assembly facilities?

For FEM 4.0, factories need to divide baselines by facility type. This is a newly introduced requirement.

Gasoline does not belong to the production energy of factories, but it belongs to the energy of vehicles owned and controlled by companies. So why didn't gasoline appear on Q9 to indicate the baseline setting?

Baseline is used for production purposes, not vehicles. The vehicle's purpose has not been marked as a facility type, therefore it cannot be attached to the baseline.

If the factory reports production volume by "piece", can other units such as "SMV" be used to set targets?

Factories can use SMV (Sample Manufacturing Version) for internal goal setting, but automatic evaluation of goal improvement and baseline and baseline improvements will be based on mandatory measurement units, such as pcs or kg, depending on facility type. Therefore, factories are encouraged to use mandatory measurement units in goal setting.