FEM Glossary 2023

An inventory of emissions to air is a detailed list of the emissions and their sources, it should include the following information for each emission source:

• the pollutants known or likely to be present;
• the quantity emitted (if known or estimated);
• the location of, for example, the stack, vent etc.;
• any control devices (e.g. abatement equipment) installed;
• frequency of monitoring; and
•  whether the particular emission is legally regulated.

Biomass is biological material from living or recently living organism. Sustainable biomass sources are:

• Energy crops that do not compete with food crops for land; high yield crops grown specifically for energy applications.

• Agricultural residues: residues from agriculture harvesting or processing, such as wheat straw or rice husk.

• Sustainably-harvested wood and forest residues.

• Waste wood

A management system is a set of interrelated elements used to establish policy and objectives and to achieve those objectives.

An environmental management system must consist of:

a. Environmental Policy

b. Planning: environmental risk assessment, setting objectives and targets

c. Implementation and operation: operational procedures; adequate training; documentation and its control

d. Checking: monitoring and measurement, audit and inspections

e. Management Review

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases. The primary human activity affecting the amount and rate of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. The most common GHG, regulated under the Kyoto Protocol and are usually accounted in GHG inventories, are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).

A site’s GHG emissions, sometimes called ‘carbon footprint,’ refer to the amount of GHG emitted to the atmosphere as a result of the site’s activities, whether from energy use, refrigerant use and wastewater treatment or other. The scope of measuring and tracking of a site’s GHG emissions is defined by different international accounting standards like the ISO14064, GHG Protocol – A Corporate and Accounting Standard (Revised Edition), etc. Local GHG accounting requirements and standards may be available.

These wastes may include scrap generated during the production or leftover / unused.

Some example of material waste in Apparel, Textiles, and Footwear industry (not exhaustive) are:

• Leather (synthetic or natural)

• Glass

• Fabric (Cotton or Nylon or blended)

• Polyurethane Foams (laminated or unlaminated)

• Lining materials

• Rubber

• EVA

• Lining materials

• Mixed material waste.

Requires the waste to be re-processed so as to obtain a product, material or substance whether for the original or other purposes. It does not include energy recovery and the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or for backfilling operation. For example:

• Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastic and reprocessing the material into useful products, sometimes completely different in form from their original state. For instance, this could mean melting down soft drink bottles and then casting them as plastic chairs and tables.
• Plastic used for playground surfaces or traffic cones
• Padding/stuffing used for furniture, mattresses, blankets, toys

Recycled Process Water: treated effluent used again in main process

Reused Water: treated effluent used in other areas except recycled water such as toilets or landscaping

Recycled water is the reuse of wastewater that has been treated to remove solids and certain impurities to meet water quality standards associated with the designated application.

This relates to energy generated by a renewable source (i.e. source which is not depleted or used up as it is naturally replenished. Renewable sources can either be managed so that they last forever, or so that their supply is not significantly impacted.

Unlike fossil fuels, most renewable energy sources do not release carbon dioxide and other air pollutants as by-products into the atmosphere. As the amount of fossil fuel resources on Earth decreases, it is becoming increasingly important to find and utilize renewable energy sources. Examples include: solar, biofuels, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, tidal and wave.

Means checking, cleaning or repairing recovery operations, by which products or components of products that have become waste are prepared so that they can be re-used without any other preprocessing whether for the original or other purposes. For example:

• Chemical supplier can reuse the chemical container for filling them up with the same chemical
• Fabric leftover can be reused in another factory
• Rechargeable batteries can be reused many times

Standard Minute Value, or SMV, is the time value arrived at for a task based on the average rate of output which qualified workers will naturally achieve without over exertion provided that they know and adhere to the specified method and provided that they are motivated to apply themselves to their work. (ILO)

Note that SMV is often used interchangeably with Standard Allowed Minute, or SAM.

A formal target here refers to a quantified performance requirement of the site’s annual utility use of a particular utility source. A formal target must:

1) include a definite start date (i.e., “baseline”) of target, the measurement unit, and the baseline consumption (i.e. m3/year at 2010 baseline)

2) include an end date of the target, meaning the intended completion of the required reductions; and

3) include an exact reduction quantity, expressed as a number (e.g. reduce by 1 million m3) or a percentage (e.g. reduce by 5%).

4) be relevant to reducing the site’s utility use (e.g. focuses on the most significant utility uses at the site)

An individual qualified to verify Higg Index FEM scores for all facilities. Must be used to verify facilities where Level 1, 2 and Level 3 chemical management sections apply.

The set of criteria for which individuals and the companies they work for are vetted against to determine provisional acceptance or denial as an Cascale approved verifier.

An individual qualified to verify Higg Index FEM scores for all facilities that are applicable to only Level 1 chemical management section questions. Except when facilities are classified as not using chemicals in production.

An external party to help with scale and expertise to manage the day to day operations of the program. Cascale and members will be involved in overseeing the overall health of the program, providing strategic guidance, and building enhancements.

The step-by-step guide and set of requirements for verifiers conducting either off-site or on-site verification.

Required training for Verifiers to become eligible to conduct Verification.

A waste inventory records information of all waste stream generated on-site, it could include information on:

• nature of the waste (hazardous/non‐hazardous);
• its source (e.g. process, area);
• the physical form of the waste (solid, liquid etc.);
• formal classification code (if applicable);
• specific handling/ storage arrangements;
• the quantity of waste disposed of/treated;
• the disposal/treatment method (biological, chemical, physical),
• including any on‐site treatment;
• details of waste contractors used; and
• disposal/treatment route (recycled, landfill, incineration)

Wastewater quality may be measured using many factors, such as suspended solids, reduced biological oxygen demand (BOD) or chemical oxygen demand (COD), metals content, oil/grease content, temperature, pH, etc.

Wastewater quality can be improved through reducing strength/concentration of contamination at the source of generation and should be considered top priority, before targeting to reduce wastewater volume.

Wastewater treatment volume and quality are tightly linked.  It is important to not focus solely on one without understanding how it affects the others.  For instance, if you decrease your wastewater discharge volume, you may inadvertently create wastewater quality that is untreatable (on-site or off-site) and have a net-negative impact. Wastewater generation should be compared between fixed periods so that unusual patterns in generation can be identified.

A formal target here refers to a quantified performance requirement of the site’s wastewater discharge quality. A formal target must:

1) include a definite start date (i.e., “baseline”) of target and the performance level (at least COD, BOD, TSS, temperature, and pH) at baseline date;

2) include an end date of the target, meaning the intended completion of the required reductions/ improvements; and

3) include an exact reduction quantity or extent, expressed in an absolute number or a percentage.

4) be relevant to improving the site’s wastewater discharge quality.

Formal targets in this instance may be absolute or normalized.

Absolute = total volume of wastewater discharged regardless of variables (facility size, process volumes, production hours, raw material usage, etc.)

Normalized = volume of wastewater discharged relative to some relevant variable (e.g., volume of wastewater discharged per unit of production)