Cascale’s Annual Environmental Tool Update Equips Manufacturers with Data-Driven Insights

Refreshed Higg FEM 2025 delivers data-driven insights, sharper emission metrics, and enhanced verification to accelerate industry-wide progress.

Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Oakland (CA) – November 6, 2025: Cascale has updated the latest Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM), ensuring the tool evolves with real-world needs of the consumer goods industry while driving measurable impact across global supply chains. Part of Cascale’s Higg Index, the Higg FEM is available on Worldly, the industry’s leading sustainability data insights platform.

The Higg FEM enables shared measurement of environmental performance across key impact areas — from water and waste to chemical and energy use. By providing consistent, science-based data, it helps manufacturers, brands, and retailers identify improvement opportunities, align expectations, and take informed action toward science-aligned goals.

“The updated Higg FEM gives manufacturers like ITL Group a sharper lens on environmental performance; one rooted in data, progress tracking, and collaboration,” said Jimmy Christopher, Senior Vice President, Group Sustainability & Innovation at ITL. “By using credible insights to guide action, we can move beyond compliance toward measurable progress that supports both business resilience and environmental goals.”

Developed through a collaborative process guided by the Higg FEM Strategic Council, Cascale members, and users worldwide, each update reflects the organization’s commitment to continuous improvement and industry-wide collaboration. Expanding beyond apparel, the Higg FEM remains the most comprehensive environmental assessment tool for consumer goods production, supporting textile, apparel, footwear, home furnishings, sporting, outdoor goods, bags, and luggage.

Key Updates in Higg FEM 2025

The Higg FEM 2025 introduces targeted refinements that enhance relevance and usability while minimizing disruption. Updates include:

• Adjusted cadence ensuring assessments submitted after April 30 maintain full value.
  

• Updated emission factors for greater accuracy in environmental impact calculations.
  

• New facility split types within Finished Product Processing for improved data usability.
  

• Streamlined Time Ordinance guidance tags for a more straightforward completion and verification process.
  

• Verification enhancements include simplified guidance, improved disclosures, and continued verification availability for all Level 1 questions, as detailed in Cascale’s Higg FEM Verification Scope Expansion Update.
  

“The Higg FEM continues to be a catalyst for industry-wide sustainability progress,” said Jeremy Lardeau, Higg Index senior vice president, at Cascale. “Aligned with our mission to combat climate change, this update demonstrates our commitment to continuous improvement, as we strive to empower organizations to make smarter, data-driven decisions.”

“Our collaboration with Cascale reflects a shared vision — to make sustainability data not just something the industry reports, but something it runs on,” said Scott Raskin, CEO, Worldly. “When data becomes intelligence that flows through both manufacturing and brand operations, real progress becomes part of the system itself.”

Additionally, platform enhancements introduced by Worldly help turn supplier data into decision-ready intelligence, including the Insights Hub dashboard to translate Higg FEM and Higg Facility Social & Labor (Higg FSLM) data into actionable insights.

For a complete list of Higg FEM 2025 updates, members and users can access the Higg FEM 2025 How to Higg Guide:

https://howtohigg.cascale.org/resources-library/higg-fem-2025-resources/?_gl=1*h5xdj9*_gcl_au*MTI2Mjk5MzY2OS4xNzYyNDYyMzk0