1. Roll Forward Feature
Please note – the roll forward feature is only available for the Facility Environmental and Facility Plus subscriptions.
Facilities can “roll forward” or copy the previous year’s Higg FEM data to a new Higg FEM and share the new Higg FEM or FSLM assessment with previous connections. This feature saves time by automatically filling in data from the previous year’s assessment that does not need to be updated annually.
- Any data not relevant to the current year won’t be rolled forward to the new assessment. For example, the previous annual energy consumption data won’t be rolled forward because the energy consumption data is different each year.
- The roll forward feature is only available if there is a completed and posted module from the prior year (ie FEM2019 must be posted to access roll forward for FEM2020).
- This feature only appears the first time the new assessment is opened, if it is skipped it cannot be accessed again! Ensure you select it the first time if you wish to use it.
To use the roll forward feature:
- Open the FEM assessment for the first time from the FEM dashboard.
- Select “Yes” to roll forward the data.
- Select “Yes” to roll forward previous share connections, which automatically shares the FEM with all accounts that had a share connection with the previous year’s module.
2. 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.
- 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 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.
3. Complete the Online Assessment
There are two options to complete the Higg FEM, online on our Higg platform or using a downloadable Excel file. For guidance on using the Excel file, click here.
To access the online assessment, first go to the FEM dashboard where the following information is displayed:
- Available Actions: the actions you can do based on your current status
- Module status and verification information: your current module status and verification information if you start the verification
- Facility information: facility’s basic information
- Activity history: all the previous actions happened
- Result report: score, verification and GHG reports for your FEM data.
- View/edit or download the FEM: you can click “Edit FEM” to access your FEM online or you can download the FEM into an excel file for offline completion. CSV file download is only available for the Facility Plus subscription.
When you are ready to start the online assessment, click ‘View/Edit’.
When the assessment is opened, you will automatically start with the “Site Info & Permits” section. First complete the “Site Info Permits” section, then move on to complete the rest of the sections.
To navigate between the different sections, use the blue navigation bar on the left and click the section to jump to. To see the progress towards completion, refer to the completion rate at the top of the navigation bar. To see level achievement for each section of the tool, refer to the small bars beneath each section title.
You can click “Additional Filters” on the top bar to find out the unanswered questions.
To upload recommended or required support documentation, use the paperclip icon on the right side of each question box.
4. Use the Offline Excel (FEM 2022 and prior, not applicable to FEM 2023 or moving forward)
There are two options to complete the Higg FEM, online on our Higg platform or using a downloadable Excel file. For guidance on completing the online assessment, click here.
To use the offline Excel file, go to the FEM dashboard. There, click the Excel button to download the offline file.
This will download your current assessment into an excel file, including any data you have already completed in the online version of the FEM. The file may take a minute or two to download.
Once the file has successfully downloaded, the file will ask you to enable macros. Make sure to enable macros to allow the file to fully function.
Once macros are enabled, you can answer each question in the file. Make sure to save as you update module responses.
Once every question has been answered in the excel, save the file and fully close it. It will ask you to “Save the data for import”, make sure to select yes. This will ensure your responses are ready to import into the platform.
Then return to the platform and click ‘View/Edit FEM’ on the FEM dashboard.
Once you’re in the online assessment, click ‘Import Module’ in the blue navigation bar.
Once you have successfully uploaded the assessment and the completion rate is 100%, the FEM can be posted by using the ‘Submit/Post Assessment’ button in the left navigation bar. The platform will only allow you to post once the completion rate is 100%.
5. Facility Foundations
Facility Foundations is a set of foundational questions for businesses beginning to measure the environmental impact of their manufacturing. Facility Foundations does not include scoring or benchmarking, or additional results reports, however it can be verified.
If you have purchased the Facility Starter subscription, you will have access to Facility Foundations instead of the Higg FEM. To complete the Facility Foundations, go to the FEM tab and you will find the module there.
Click ‘View/Edit’ to start the module. Answer all the questions in the assessment, and when you have reached a 100% completion rate you will be able to post.
For full guidance Question by Question guidance for Facility Foundations, click here.
6. Post & Share
Post
Once the FEM completion rate is 100%, you can post the assessment. Make sure you have fully completed every question in the assessment before posting.
Then the assessment can be posted by using the ‘Submit/Post Assessment’ button in the left navigation bar. The platform will only allow you to post once the completion rate is 100%.
Share
If you are working with brand partners, you will need to share your FEM with them through the Higg platform. To do this, go to the FEM Modules page, and click Share Module.
Then select which module you want to share, and search for the correct brand account with their name or Higg ID, then select share. Once the brand accepts the share request, the module will be shared.
Accepting a Share Request
If a brand partner has requested a module, you can access that in the FEM Modules page under ‘Share Requests’. View the requested module and the account that has requested it, then approve or reject the request.
Bulk Sharing/Requesting Modules
1. To bulk manage modules, go to your modules page. Click ‘Share module’ to share your assessment with other accounts on our platform, or ‘Request/Accept modules’ to bulk request modules or accept multiple share requests.
2. Select the module type and click Upload a File.
3. Select which action you want to perform, and then upload a .CSV or .txt file. You can use the sample file to begin. You can use any of the following information: Account ID, Higg ID, Open Supply Hub ID, Custom Account ID, Social Credit, and Tax ID.
4. Once the system has processed the file you can review the suggested matches and select the correct accounts. Then click Request/Share/Acccept.
