Life Cycle Assessment: Sustainable Apparel Coalition launches its Higg PM Tool #72

2020/22/09

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and Higg Co have launched the Higg Module (Higg PM), a sustainability tool that assesses the environmental impact of manufactured products. The launch of Higg PM complements the core suite of tools on the Higg Index platform, called Higg.org. With the methodology developed by the SAC and the technology provided by Higg Co, the Higg PM reflects the work and expertise of more than 70 SAC member companies over nearly four years.

The Higg PM is a life cycle assessment tool that guides brands, retailers, and manufacturers in calculating product and supply chain performance in five categories of environmental impact: global warming potential, water scarcity, eutrophication, depletion of fossil fuel resources, and chemicals. The Higg PM will be published in two phases. The first edition, launched in September 2020, provides an assessment of products from “cradle to grave”, including the production of materials. It measures the impacts from the point of resource extraction to the assembly of the finished product. The second edition, which is currently under development and is expected to be launched in early 2021, will further expand assessments to include retail and packaging, distribution, product maintenance, service life, and end of use.

The Higg Index suite includes five tools that measure the management of social and environmental sustainability throughout the value chain. The tools take a holistic approach to measuring and monitoring sustainability performance rather than looking at siloed metrics. The use of the Higg Index tools helps companies understand and assess their impacts in order to improve sustainability management and performance practices from year to year.

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