Renewed iteration of Higg BRM unveiled

Cascale – formerly Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) – has unveiled the latest version of its Higg Brand and Retail Module (BRM) as part of its evolving Higg Index suite of tools.

The Higg BRM is a framework designed to help brands and retailers evaluate, assess and improve environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, assessing 11 critical impact areas in value chains to “foster a holistic approach to sustainability”.

The “minor” update, according to Cascale, includes a more refined guidance, new social metrics, and a framework “designed to keep pace with rapidly evolving sustainability landscapes”.

One of its new features involves updated benchmarking capabilities that “provide a holistic view of a company’s performance, spotlight emerging trends, and uncover opportunities for continuous improvement”.

While this may be the case, Cascale noted that the Higg BRM would remain consistent and comparable with previous versions, continuing to allow for year-over-year tracking while aiming to help organisations “respond to unique challenges that users face to facilitate significant, sustainable change”.

Cascale, which rebranded from SAC earlier this year, came under scrutiny for its Higg Index back in 2022, when a Norwegian watchdog concluded that it found its services misleading, alleging that the index appeared to have broken guidelines under the country’s Marketing Control Act.

After pressing pause on the use of the tool, Cascale revealed that it would be releasing various updates to its offerings provided under the Higg Index banner, which it said aimed to better “substantiate product level claims with trusted and credible data”.