As part of Kohl’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, it is an annual requirement for their supply chain partners to complete the Higg facility modules.

The Higg FEM (Facility Environmental Module)  is an industry-leading sustainability assessment tool that standardizes how facilities measure and evaluate their environmental sustainability performance.

The Higg FSLM (Facility Social & Labor Module) measures the social impact of manufacturing across areas such as wages, working hours, health and safety, and employee treatment. 

Kohl’s has communicated each facility’s specific Higg requirements for the 2022-2023 reporting cycle.  Based on the facility’s requirements this year, each facility will need to purchase one of the below Higg Facility subscription options, plus verification (if required):

• Facility Environmental Subscription – this subscription includes access to the standard Higg FEM 2022 self-assessment.
  • Facilities that are required by Kohl’s to complete ONLY Higg FEM 2022 should choose this option. 
• Facility Plus Subscription – this subscription includes access to the standard Higg FEM 2022 self-assessment and the Higg FSLM self-assessment; this option also includes access to FEM Communication Toolkit, benchmarking, and CSV exports.
  • Facilities that are required by Kohl’s to complete BOTH Higg FEM 2022 and FSLM* should choose this option. 

Be sure to add verification to your subscription, if verification is required. 

*SLCP via FFC or Betterwork – Facilities engaged  in the ILO’s Better Work program OR that have chosen an Accredited Host other than Higg (i.e. FFC) for SLCP completion, do not need to purchase Plus.  Instead they should purchase the Higg Environmental subscripton and then  transfer their verified SLCP to the Higg platform, at a small transfer fee. The transfer process is outlined under Step 6 in the “Getting Started” section below.

Purchase Deadline

Kohl’s is requesting that all their facilities purchase a 2022 facility subscription by December 31, 2022.

You must complete the purchase process on the Higg platform to access the Higg FEM 2022 self-assessment.

Kohl’s encourages you to take advantage of the special Higg early bird promotions:

• Facility Environmental – $50 off the cost of the subscription ($429 $379).
• Facility Plus – $100 off the cost of the subscription ($629 $529).

Posting Deadlines

• April 30, 2023 – all Higg FEM self-assessments must be posted and shared with Kohl’s
• October 31, 2023 – all verified Higg FEM self-assessments must be posted and shared with Kohl’s
• October 31, 2023 – all Higg FSLM self-assessments must be posted and shared with Kohl’s

Higg.org

• November 5, 2022 – Higg FEM 2022 self-assessment is accessible; Higg verification available to purchase
• January 1, 2023 – Higg FEM 2022 verification is accessible
• April 30, 2023 – Higg FEM 2022 self-assessment can no longer be unposted (once posted)
• October 31, 2023 – Higg FEM 2022 and verification is no longer available for purchase
• December 31, 2023 – Higg FEM 2022 reporting cycle ends; Last day to post both self and verified Higg FEM 2022

STEP 1: (IMPORTANT) Make sure to add info@higg.com to your company email’s safe email sender list, otherwise you risk not receiving the ongoing communications due to email firewalls. If you do not receive an email from Higg by December 31, 2021, please check your spam folder. 

STEP 2: LOGIN OR CREATE A HIGG ACCOUNT
Facilities that already have active Higg accounts can log into Higg.org. First-time Higg users should start here to learn how to create an account on Higg.org. 

STEP 3: PURCHASE A HIGG FACILITY SUBSCRIPTION 
Once logged in, purchase the Higg Facility Subscription from the Higg subscriptions page to access the Higg facility modules that you need to complete and share with Kohl’s this year. Facilities that have been asked to complete verification this year will need to purchase verification along with the subscription.

For more information about Higg’s facility subscription model, please refer to the PDF here and the subscription details page on HowtoHigg.

STEP 4: (IMPORTANT)  SHARE HIGG FACILITY MODULE(S) WITH Kohl’s
Accept the module share requests sent by Kohl’s Private Label Brands.

If you do not see a pending share request from Kohl’s Private Label Brands in your modules page, under Modules Requested, you should click the Share Module button and initiate the module share with Kohl’s Private Label Brands.

Sharing Details
Account Name: Kohl’s Private Label Brands
Higg ID: 4131

STEP 5: COMPLETE AND POST HIGG SELF-ASSESSMENT(S) WITH Kohl’s
Complete 100% of the applicable questions and post the module. Facilities that have completed the Higg FEM in previous years can use the roll forward feature to easily copy data to the new self-assessment.

STEP 6: VERIFY HIGG SELF-ASSESSMENTS (if required)*
Verification of the self-assessment ensures that facilities have accurately completed all parts of the Higg Facility module – giving the self-assessment data the credibility and accuracy required to share publicly.

• Please note that ELEVATE is the brand’s preferred verifying body.

*FEM Verification is only applicable for some facilities. You should have received a communication from Kohl’s specifying this requirement. If you are unsure about your facility’s 2022 Higg module verification requirements, please reach out to stefanie.kato@higg.com or factory.compliance@kohls.com.

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SLCP Transfer Details (for non-Higg assessments only) – Facilities engaged in the ILO’s Better Work program or that have chosen an Accredited Host other than Higg for SLCP completion, can transfer their verified SLCP to the Higg platform. Kohl’s has determined that this transfer meets the FSLM completion requirement.

Follow these special instructions to transfer a verified FSLM from SCLP: The transfer price is $199.

1. Go to FSLM and select “Link SLCP Account”
2. Log in to SLCP Gateway
3. Go to verified assessment you want to transfer and select “Overview of my SLCP assessment”
4. Find “Share with another accredited host” and choose “Sustainable Apparel Coalition (Live)”
5. Return to FSLM and select “Transfer SLCP assessment”
6. Purchase the transfer ($199).
7. See your transferred assessment in FSLM

Kohl’s Resources

Coming soon!

Higg’s training website, HowtoHigg.org, contains all of the information and guidance facilities need to help them at every stage of the module completion process. You will find an overview of the module, how to prepare, step by step instructions for how to complete and guidance on understanding results and the verification process.

• Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM)
• Higg Facility Social and Labor Module (FSLM)
• Training Events
  • Check out the Higg Events Resources page to view past webinar recordings and register to attend upcoming training and office hour sessions through our Higg Training Events Calendar.
• Customer Support
• Submit questions about Higg accounts, modules, and subscriptions to the Higg Support Team.

Who is Higg?

Higg is the sustainability insights platform, helping consumer goods businesses take responsibility for their entire impact – from materials to products, from factories to stores, across energy, waste, water, and working conditions. 

By making both data collection and performance analysis easier, we help brands and manufacturers make better environmental, social and governance decisions – across all parts of their business. 

Spun out of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition in 2019, Higg is the exclusive licensee of the Higg Index, a suite of tools for the standardized measurement of supply chain sustainability.

What is the Higg Index?

The Higg Index is a suite of tools developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), for the standardized measurement of supply chain sustainability, used by the footwear, apparel, textile, and other industries. Together, these tools are used to assess the environmental and social performance of both value chains and products. Each tool focuses on measuring a different parameter.