General FEM FAQ
- Why did the price of Higg FEM change?
- How can I access Higg FEM 4.0 this year?
- When should I buy Higg FEM 4.0 this year?
- Since scores are not comparable, how is that going to be displayed on the Analytics tool?
- Worldly training videos suggest that FEM 2023 has more questions. Per calculations, FEM 2022 has total 96 questions, while FEM 2023 has 191 questions. Our supplier's FEM 2023 indicates 160 answered and 120 unanswered. Can you help explain the variance?
- Can you kindly provide us a Reference Index (refID) Template for FEM 4.0 that maps a comparison between reference IDs against older versions of the FEM?
FEM: Targets & Baselines
- Considering the new 5 year baseline requirement for the 2023 FEM, would 2018 be the maximum baseline year this year? Will the baseline need to be changed to 2019 for FEM 2024?
- Given that we didn't set up baselines or targets for domestic and production separately for 2023, what should we do to meet the requirements for next April 2024?
- Could the baseline for an energy source for domestic use include another option 'per manhour,' and the Baseline for production use include the option 'per SAM'? It is the same for the target question.
- On previous FEMs, we set baselines for the entire entity, not differentiating between facility types. Can we establish the same baseline for in-house laundry and garment assembly facilities?
- Is normalization compulsory for establishing target baselines?
- We cannot find our baseline year (2017) for selection. Can we change the baseline to a year available among the options?
Site Info & Permit
- If an operating license is not legally required in my facility, how can I respond to the question about the operating license?
- What is the annual volume referring to in Higg FEM 4.0? Is it referring to production volume or shipped volume?
- In case a facility chooses both Finished Product Assembler and Finished Product Processing, will the energy and water section require such facilities to report the data separately for both?
- What will be the facility type as per the Site info section of Higg FEM 4.0 for the Leather goods manufacturer facility?
- Can a label manufacturing facility, using pieces/pair as unit of measurement, continue to use the same unit of measurement and report in Higg FEM 4.0 as they have multiple items with different sizes and material GSM.
- If a facility has only cut-sew and in-house garment laundry, what is the facility type they should choose in the Site Info & Permits section?
EMS
- In the EMS section, there are one or more Upstream Suppliers using the HIGG index or other Environmental Programs Level 3 question. The guideline shows Material Suppliers, Fabric Suppliers, and Chemical Suppliers. What is the meaning of "one or more"?
- As per guidelines, the HIGG Index is not compulsory for upstream suppliers and they can engage alternatives (ISO, LWG, or BEPI, Etc.). Since an alternative Environmental Assessment is added to the question, is FEM 4.0 not mandatory for Upstream Suppliers?
- Does Higg FEM expect soil/groundwater sampling to be conducted annually, semi-annually, monthly, or case by case as necessary?
- Does a facility need to secure a renewable source certificate for Biomass like Palm shell?
- How can a factory demonstrate that it has not caused soil or groundwater pollution? Is it necessary to provide relevant test reports, or is conducting internal audits sufficient as evidence?
- How to differentiate training for employees on environmental awareness and company environmental strategy from the program to build awareness of the facility's environmental performance among employees?
Energy
- Regarding GHG-related questions namely Scope 1, 2, and 3, is the facility supposed to do accredited 3rd party GHG Verification aligned with ISO 14064 or GHG standard Corporate Accounting and Reporting or VERA or GOLD? Or other?
- What is EAC (Energy Attribute Certificate)? Is it a new requirement in HIGG FEM 4.0? Kindly explain what it is and what the facility needs to do to fulfill this requirement.
- Are steam flow metre readings sufficient to provide records for steam? As internal transmitting and not by a third party.
- What are the country electricity emission factors used in Higg FEM2023? What are the data sources?
- Regarding Biomass Source, we are considering developing a Country Specific Certification. What are the criteria that would allow a country specific certification to be accepted by FEM?
- A facility with a heat boiler (high-temperature oil) and steam boiler (steam) operated by an outsourcing company uses Biomass and Coal. In such scenarios, does the factory need to list all energy sources or only list steam and heat?
Water
- The question says that facilities are classified as "with low water use" if they use less than 35m3 and "high water use" if more than 35m3 is used per day. If a facility uses exactly 35m3 per operating day, where should they belong to?
- Regarding target setting questions for blue water, grey water, and whether a facility has reduced their absolute water use: If a facility responds “No” to some of the questions does this mean the facility is unable to advance to level 2?
- Regarding target setting questions for blue water, grey water, and a facility's reduced absolute water use; Do meters for domestic vs. industrial water uses need to be separated? If so, is there a time deadline that facilities need to meet?
- Regarding target setting questions for blue water, grey water, and whether a facility has reduced their absolute water use: What is the reportable quantity that is being asked or suggested to be recorded?
- Regarding the question for Water Balance; "List down the highest water use processes or operations at your facility (from highest to lowest) that account for 80% of your water use" Is domestic water included in this consideration?
- What is your definition of rejected water?
Wastewater
- If the factory has a wet process, and they’re using ZDHC guidelines to test and are compliant to ZDHC, but the guideline is only used as internal reference and test report is not submitted on ZDHC gateway, will the factory achieve full points for Q21-Q23?
- Is 2nd-party or 3rd-party BOD 5 testing OK for facilities if there is no In-house lab for such? Or is an in-house lab mandatory?
- If the factory doesn’t have a wet process (ex: the factory only has domestic wastewater), and only reports according to legal requirements, will the questions of level 2 be opened or not?
- For Wastewater tests, can facilities registered in ZDHC Gateway use this data as input into the FEM module directly?
- In case of water discharge measurement, is it mandatory to measure using instruments or can measurement be done by calculation estimates?
- What is the frequency of this test?
Air Emissions
- Is it necessary to do the analysis for all machines or can we just analyze a percentage of them. To illustrate: If we have 100 machines of the same brand, can we analyze just for 10 machines only or does analysis have to be performed on all 100 machines?
- What is the difference between GHG and air emissions?
- For air emissions, how often should we test all parameters?
- For air emissions, should we test according to all parameters in level 2 on questions 8 and 9 (particulate matter, NOx, Sox, etc) or only a few of the parameters?
- "How do I differentiate the questions: (a) what specific refrigerant do you use in your facility, and (b) what types of refrigerants do you use in your facility"?
- What does a unique source identifier refer to in an air emission inventory?
Waste
- Regarding the question, "Does your facility segregate textile waste on material composition?" Are raw textile scrap, film scrap, lamination waste, seam tape, falling under the same category?
- When normalizing baselines and targets, is a facility always required to base units in kg or metres OR can any unit be selected as preferred?
- Help to define "textile waste".
- Explain the 'offsite incineration without energy recovery for recyclables' method for handling waste.
- In the waste section, there are disposal method options that are favorable and unfavorable, please explain.
- Please explain the various methods to handle waste.
Chemicals
- What is a commodity chemical?
- What is the difference between 'Empty chemical drums and containers (without proper cleaning)' and 'Empty containers (cleaning, sanitizing, pesticides, etc.)'?
- Is it obligatory to have an action plan to obtain missing information from the chemical inventory list and chemical supplier records, considering the factory will review and update this information from the MSDS before repurchasing?
- What should the transparency policy or procedure contents regarding chemical products, chemical waste, and wastewater with stakeholders cover?
- How are chemical sub-storage areas defined?