Higg Partners with Apparel Impact Institute, Offering Customized Carbon Reduction Strategies for Apparel Brands and Manufacturers

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SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Higg, the sustainability insights platform for the consumer goods industry, has partnered with the Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) to launch a new measurable carbon management program for manufacturing facilities. The Carbon Leadership Program, led by Aii's strategic partner RESET Carbon, developed a new carbon assessment as a collective effort to reduce global supply chain carbon emissions. Higg will serve as the technology partner hosting the assessment.

Once manufacturers complete the assessment, they receive a potential carbon reduction score, which helps brands prioritize manufacturing partners with the highest potential for improvement.  As an optional second step, with the support of a dedicated engineer, nominated manufacturers will receive personalized strategies, training, and tools to help set and achieve their carbon targets. On a monthly basis thereafter, manufacturers share assessment data via the Higg platform to help engineers and brands understand progress and identify future areas of improvement.

"The industry has long lacked a standard and pragmatic approach for manufacturing facilities to determine and achieve their carbon reduction potential," said Kurt Kipka, VP of Aii. "When RESET Carbon proposed an in-depth facility questionnaire for creating curated action plans alongside the support of an engineer, we knew it was the perfect solution. Now, our brand partners can confidently nominate, and in some cases, sponsor manufacturing suppliers to help them set or confirm attainable reduction goals."

"American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) is a longtime supporter of Higg, Aii and RESET Carbon. We view these organizations working together as a significant step for the retail industry and more importantly for climate change. Carbon Tech Assessment provides AEO the opportunity to develop more meaningful, impactful relationships with our partners while also prioritizing the suppliers we connect with," said Michelle Tarry, Senior Director, Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability at AEO. "This enables AEO to move the conversation beyond introductory topics like energy efficiency to specific remedies, such as coal phase-out and renewable energy. With this data now available on the Higg platform, AEO will be able to reach suppliers faster and implement solutions more efficiently."

Given that the "Scope 3" area of global supply chains create the most emissions, it's critical that apparel brands and their suppliers share data to collaborate on carbon reduction plans. As brands work to measure their full impact, they'll be prepared to set science based targets, which are gaining importance in combating climate change.     

"At C&A, we understand the enormous risks climate change poses to our industry and the communities where we source from. Having had the privilege to pilot the Carbon Tech Assessment, we're excited by the Aii and Higg integration. We look forward to using Higg's platform to collect environmental data more efficiently, helping us support our suppliers by setting science backed climate goals and action plans as well as building practical knowledge on the implementation together," said Eunice Cheung, Senior Project Officer - Supply Chain Environmental Stewardship at C&A.

"We're committed to providing businesses actionable data and insights on their carbon impact so they can evaluate emissions and make strategic decisions and changes to improve performance," said Jason Kibbey, CEO, Higg. "Offering this carbon assessment on Higg's platform allows brands access to even more data in one place, delivering a comprehensive view of their environmental impact."

Brands are encouraged to nominate their apparel and footwear supply chain manufacturers to participate in the program. To learn more, read this blog post. 

About Higg
Higg is the sustainability insights platform for consumer goods businesses – delivering software and services for measuring, managing, and sharing supply chain performance data.

From materials to products, from facilities to stores, from emissions to working conditions, Higg unlocks a complete view of a business's social and environmental impact.

Built on the leading framework for sustainability measurement, Higg is trusted by global brands, retailers, and manufacturers to provide the single source of ESG intelligence they need to accelerate business and industry transformation.

Launched in 2019 as a public-benefit corporation, Higg is the exclusive licensee of the Higg Index, the industry-leading value chain measurement methodology developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. www.higg.com

About Aii
Aii identifies, funds, scales and measures proven quality solutions to accelerate positive impact in the fashion industry. Aii looks for scalable solutions and best practices that can be applied to the entire value chain. By improving upon the environmental footprint of the current industrial model the key to unlocking the future will involve new innovations of materials, manufacturing and business models. Learn more: www.apparelimpact.org

About RESET Carbon

RESET has been operating since 2009. We have conducted over 300 projects in 11 countries across Asia. We currently have a team of 30 people based in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Germany, Vietnam and India. Our mission is focused on supporting companies make meaningful reductions in their environmental footprint in their operations and supply chains. We build long term collaborative partnerships with our customers, setting and implementing ambitious environmental targets, and scaling these up over time.

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SOURCE Higg