Use this checklist before posting your Higg FEM 2025 assessment. A complete, accurate submission reduces verifier follow-up and speeds up your verification result.
Note: This checklist is based on commonly missed questions from Higg FEM 2024 and is therefore not exhaustive, please refer to the Higg FEM 2025 guidance for full details on each question.
1 Verify your Site Information Profile (SIP) first
□ Operating days reflect actual production days for the reporting year — not a default of 365.
This value is the denominator in every intensity calculation across Energy, Water, and Waste.
□ Full-time employee count matches HR records for the reporting year.
Inconsistencies affect training count checks.
□ Production volume is entered with correct units for each facility type selected.
For multi-product facilities, confirm each product type is represented.
Ref IDs: sipoperatingdays, sipfulltimeemployees, sipfacilityannualprodvol, sipfacilitytype
2 Confirm every selected source has a quantity if you are claiming to track it
□ Energy: every fuel type and electricity source tracked has a quantity entered in the correct units.
Check especially: diesel for generators, LPG for cafeterias, forklifts and on-site vehicles.
□ Water: every water source selected has a corresponding volume and supporting documentation.
Municipal, groundwater, and rainwater sources must each have separate quantities.
□ Waste: every non-hazardous and hazardous waste stream has a quantity, estimations are documented.
Each sub-question (wstsourceeach) and quantity fields are consistently the most missed.
□ Chemicals: commodity chemicals and spot cleaners are listed with quantities where required.
Check wstsourcehprodchemdrumquant if your facility uses chemical drums.
Ref IDs: wstsourcenhtextilequant, wstsourcenhcartonsquant, wstsourcehprodchemdrumquant,
ensourcequantvehicleenvehiclediesel, wattrackdomwatsourcemunicipalbluequant
3 Review all outlier flags before posting
□ All yellow outlier flags have been reviewed on the platform.
Yellow flags are outliers to confirm. Red validations block posting entirely.
□ Root causes have been corrected, not just the flagged value.
Most energy and water flags are caused by wrong SIP values, not wrong consumption data.
□ Any confirmed-accurate values have a comment explaining why.
Adding a brief comment when dismissing a flag creates a clear audit trail.
4 Re-read your applicability questions
□ chemminimal: confirm your answer reflects all chemicals used on-site.
This was the highest-inaccuracy question in the Chemicals section FEM 2024. If you use production, operations, or spot cleaner chemicals, answer No. The amount does not matter.
□ chemtype: all chemical use types are correctly selected (production, operations, maintenance, spot
cleaners).
□ Facility type and process: sipfacilitytype and sipfacilityprocessapparel are accurate.
Misclassification can hide required questions or show inapplicable ones. If you rolled forward data from a prior year, re-read these answers.
5 Confirm every Yes answer has documentation
□ Every Yes answer with a suggested upload has a file uploaded that is current and relevant.
Suggested uploads are optional for self-assessment but will be checked during verification.
□ Leak monitoring record exists and covers the reporting year.
Ref IDs: watmonitorleaksfile, watmonitorleaksdesc
□ Employee training: attendance record, frequency documentation, and materials are uploaded.
Ref IDs: emstrainingfile, emstrainingcount, emstrainingfreq
□ Air source inventory document exists listing all point and fugitive sources.
Ref IDs: airsourceinventfile, airsourceinventinfo
□ Permit status file is current and documents active permits.
Ref IDs: emspermitstatusfile
□ Stormwater prevention plan is uploaded if applicable.
Ref IDs: wwstormwaterpreventupload
□ Waste handling training records exist with attendance and topics covered.
Ref IDs: wsthtrainupload, wsthtraintopics
6 EMS: verify the system, not just the practice
□ Data quality management system is documented with written SOPs, defined roles, and QA review records.
Ref ID: emsdataqualitymanagementsystem: informal data collection practices are not sufficient.
□ Regulations tracking system includes a legal register listing applicable laws and permit requirements.
Ref IDs: emsregulationsystem, emsregulationsystemtopics, emsregulationsystemplanfile
□ Environmental strategy covers all seven modules over a defined multi-year period.
Ref IDs: emsstrategy, emsstrategytopics, emsstrategyfile: a sustainability report or goals list does not meet this requirement unless structured as a strategy with defined actions.
□ Environmental policy is a written, management-approved document. Ref ID: emsenvpolicydoc
□ Equipment maintenance records exist for environmental equipment. Ref ID: emsequipmaintainfile
□ Operational impacts assessment is documented. Ref ID: emsopsimpactfile
Edit window reminder
You have 60 days from your first posting date to unpost and make corrections. After 60 days, unposting
requires a formal request. Changes are only permitted for confirmed inaccuracies in quantitative data. Brand
partners set their own deadlines — confirm requirements with your brand contacts.
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