Key Information for FEM Completion
Before starting the Higg FEM, please review the key information and completion rules below:
- The FEM must be completed in English. This is to ensure that all users that you share with can access the data.
- You must reach 100% completion before you can post the FEM.
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Levels: the Higg FEM questions are broken down into levels.
- Level 1 – Awareness and understanding of sources and systems
- Level 2 – Setting baselines, targets, and tracking improvements
- Level 3 – Leading aspirational practices
- Level 2 and 3 questions in each section will only be unlocked once all level 1 questions have been answered with ‘yes’ or ‘partial yes’, to ensure that basic practices, such as compliance and tracking, are established before moving on to more advanced practices.
- RefIDs: Each question in the FEM has a unique identifier, called a Reference ID or RefID. These are located on the right side of each question box and are helpful when requesting support for a specific question in the assessment.
- Tooltips: Below some questions, there are short text boxes containing helpful information for answering the related question. Click View Guidance ^ to unfold the guidance available for the respective question. For each question, there is additional guidance available, accessible via the link in the text box.
The Roll Forward Feature
The Roll Forward option for FEM and FSLM applies to facilities that are beginning a new assessment (NS status) and have completed and posted an assessment previously on Worldly. When you begin your new assessment, you will be prompted to roll forward all qualitative questions and pre-populate these questions in the new assessments. We map by refID of the question so this will exclude new or removed questions year-over-year.
There is a limited roll-forward option available for the questions that overlap with last year’s assessment. Before you start your assessment, you are prompted with the question of whether you want to roll over data from the previous year, and if you want to share your assessment with the same users as you shared last year’s assessment.
The limitations are:
- The facility must have posted an assessment of the same type before.
- Only qualitative questions are rolled forward.
- Only questions that are the same as the previous version/year can be rolled forward.
The FEM Homepage
Entering the Higg FEM-tool on the Worldly platform takes you to the FEM dashboard, this is the FEM mainpage. In the black horizontal ribbon, you can navigate between the FEM dashboard, Modules and Benchmarking.
- From the FEM dashboard, there are multiple options available to you, explained below.
- Modules: go here to share your posted FEM-module with other Worldly-users, or view or accept any received FEM-modules.
- Benchmarking: go here to compare your score to peers. Only available after the April 30th deadline.
In the white ribbon just below, you can navigate between your different modules: switch between FEM2023 and FEM2022 by clicking on the year. Click on Overview or Assessment to navigate between the FEM questionnaire and dashboard overview.
Once the Self Assessment is posted, the tab "Scores" becomes available with 3 subtabs: “Verification” and “Scores”. If you click the Scores tab, three more page options will unfold: Scores, GHG emissions, and Areas of Opportunity report.
Once Verification is Completed, the tab "Verification" becomes available with 2 subtabs: Verification Notification and Flagged Questions.
The FEM Dashboard
Actions. The actions that you can take based on the current assessment status, see below the different assessment statuses.
- View/Edit FEM
- Share Assessment
- Select Verifier Body
- Change Verifier Body
- Submit/Post Assessment
Actions available after posting and during verification process:
- View FEM
- Reopen/Unpost Assessment (possible till April 30th deadline)
- Request edit
- Review Verification
- Dispute Verification
- Finalize Verified Assessment
- Finalize + Post Module
Downloads. Downloads available during assessment completion or after posting and verification.
- Data Downloads [see CSV Data Analytics section below]
- Certificate PDF
- Attachments
- Higg FEM Communications Toolkit
Assessment. Status, progress and the Identification number (ID) of your assessment. The different statuses of the assessment are:
- NS - Not started
- ASI - Assessment Initiated
- ASC - Assessment Completed
- VRP - Verification In Progress
- VRQ - Verification Quality Check
- VRC - Verification Completed
- VRF - Verification Finalized
Verification. Progress and details of the verification process of the Higg FEM self-assessment.
Results. Once the FEM assessment is completed and posted, the scores will be communicated here as well as the total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions of the facility calculated based on the assessment. See Understand FEM Results section.
Account. Account details of the facility.
Activity History. Activity history of all past activities regarding the assessment.
When you are ready to start the online assessment, click View/Edit FEM or click Assessment in the white ribbon.
The FEM Assessment
The first section that has to be filled out is the Site Info & Permits section. This section has to be completed first before moving on with the rest of the assessment. Based on the answers provided in this section, questions will in other sections will unfold that are applicable to your facilities’ operations.
To navigate between the different sections, use the navigation bar on the left and click the section to jump to. At the top of the navigation pane you can see the overall completion rate. The bar below each section title indicates the completion rate of that respective section.
The assessment can be filtered on:
- Answered questions
- Unanswered questions
- Topics
The Assessment is automatically saved, indicated by the “Saved” icon in the top bar.
For some questions, evidence is required and can be uploaded to the platform. For these questions the tool prompts to upload a file.
Access Module Data
To access module data and results reports, first please confirm that the FEM has been submitted and posted. Once it is posted, you can access the results reports from the FEM dashboard, as well as the CSV download for offline data analytics.
Please visit the FEM 4.0 resources page for guidance on the available downloads to support your understanding and use.
Scopes in Higg FEM Assessments: Definitions and Exceptions
The FEM is a facility-level assessment that is designed to be completed by a single business entity or manufacturing unit. It is understood that there may be complexities in defining this globally therefore, the following definitions and exceptions apply when determining the facility scope for the completion of a single FEM.
● The FEM shall cover the entire facility which is defined as all onsite business activities of a legal business entity as defined by the scope of the applicable business license/operating permit in the facility’s country of operation. This includes all owned and operated onsite processes, equipment, and areas (e.g., facilities cannot exclude specific operations or facility areas from the FEM).
● One (1) Higg FEM is required for each legal business entity as defined by the applicable business license/operating permit except in the following circumstance:
- Where multiple manufacturing units (facilities) are located at the same premises with different business licenses, however, the facilities are fully owned and operated by a single legal business entity, one (1) FEM can be completed.
- Note: If the separate facilities are not legally owned/operated by a single parent business entity with a valid operating license, which includes ownership of all facilities, separate FEMs must be completed for each facility.
- Where a material or component supplier of the facility with a separate business license is located at the same premises and supplies 100% of its materials/services to the facility, its operations can be included in the facility’s FEM.
- Note: If the material or component supplier provides materials or services to other facilities, it must not be included in the facility’s FEM scope and would require a separate FEM.
● Facilities located at two separate physical locations (i.e., different legal addresses) must complete one (1) FEM per location regardless of ownership (e.g., if two facilities are located at different physical locations, but their operations are covered under one (1) parent business license, separate FEMs are still required.)
How do I download the FEM Toolkit?
In order to download the FEM toolkit, the assessment must meet the following criteria:
- The assessment status must be Finalized (VRF)
- The Verification Body must be a 3rd-party VB
- The verification process must have been conducted on-site.
If you encounter any issues with downloading the toolkit, please don't hesitate to reach out to our Support team at https://support.worldly.io for assistance.
Completing the FEM Assessment for Facilities that do not have a License to Operate
Completing the FEM Assessment for Facilities that do not have a License to Operate
If a license or permit is not currently in possession, there is a legitimate course of action as long as verifiable documentation attests that the facility/production process is not legally obligated to have one to operate.
Applicability and Assessment Sections:
When navigating through the assessment process, each section begins with applicability questions. These questions aid in determining the specific parts of the section that need completion to tailor the assessment accurately to individual operations.
Licensing Exemption:
The absence of a license or permit should not be a cause for concern if adequate evidence substantiates that the facility or production process falls within the boundaries of legal exemption. Proper documentation must be furnished to validate this claim, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.
Further Insight:
For a comprehensive understanding of the contents of the Facility Environmental Module (FEM) and its associated scoring, pertinent information can be accessed through the following links:
- Scoring System Guidance:
- Content Guidance:
Multiple Facilities Under One Ownership, Each with Individual Business Licenses at a Single Location
According to the FEM HowtoHigg Guide:
“One (1) Higg FEM is required for each legal business entity, as defined by the applicable business license or operating permit, except in the following circumstance:
- If multiple manufacturing units (facilities) are located on the same premises and operate under different business licenses, but are fully owned and operated by a single legal business entity, then one (1) FEM can be completed for all these facilities.”
How to Apply This in the Worldly Platform:
From the facility account in the Worldly platform, users must decide on one Business License Name (e.g., the Parent Company Name) to represent all their separate organizations under the same parent entity. This selected name will serve as the identifier for their Worldly account. Within the Site Info and Permit section, under Permits of the Higg FEM module, users should report all relevant business licenses.
Optional Approach:
In such cases, where users are eligible to complete a single FEM, they also have the option to submit separate Higg FEMs for each facility if they prefer. The decision to complete one FEM or multiple FEMs is entirely at their discretion.
FEM for Textile Facilities
The Facility Environmental Module (FEM) has been primarily tailored for industries such as apparel, footwear, hard goods, furniture, and home textiles. Hence, it is essential to acknowledge that not all questions within the FEM may be directly pertinent to textile production facilities.
While the FEM's core target industries differ from textiles, it is crucial to recognize that several aspects of the assessment can still yield valuable insights for textile production. Key environmental considerations, such as water and air pollution, waste management, and more, continue to hold significant relevance for textile facilities.
For textile facility users seeking a detailed understanding of the FEM, its comprehensive set of questions, and the intricate scoring system, howtohigg.com serves as an invaluable resource.
When is the deadline for purchasing the FEM (self-assessment) module?
According to the standard FEM cadence timeline, the prior year's FEM module remains available for purchase until October 31st and for verification up to December 31st of the current year. The current year's FEM becomes available for purchase from November 1st. The 2-month overlap allows users a buffer to complete their assessment of the prior year before starting on the new one. It is fully at the user's discretion when they might prefer to purchase and start on the new one.