Sustainability tech platform Higg marks two years

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. – Higg, a sustainability technology platform that enables consumer goods companies to measure, manage, and share the social and environmental impacts of their value chain, today celebrates its second year since forming as a public benefit company.

After quickly becoming the apparel industry go-to for sustainability measurement, Higg is rapidly moving into new verticals, with its network of primary impact data that helps businesses understand and improve the sustainability of their entire operations.

Following a spin out from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition in 2019 and a Series A funding round, Higg invested in on-platform analytics, began offering licensed API access, and announced partnerships offering complementary assessments and data. The company is focused on developing a comprehensive platform for sustainability insights for responsible consumer goods businesses, beginning with fashion.

These technology investments have helped Higg realize significant markers of success: since 2019, manufacturer environmental scores have improved nearly 20%; Higg has broadened its reach from 20,000+ users to more than 45,000, including tens of thousands of manufacturers; and more than 500 fashion brands have committed to using its brand and retail tool. Users are completing their assessments faster, and nearly half of users have shared their results with more than one value chain partner, effectively improving transparency within the value chain. Higg has also seen financial progress and team expansion, building out its leadership team with former executives from Nike Inc. and Microsoft, and growing from 20 employees in 2019 to 73 team members today. Building the future of production with a sustainability technology platform remains the focus.

“As a tech company we’re able to innovate, move fast, and scale quickly to help bring solutions to our urgent climate situation,” says Higg Chief Executive Officer, Jason Kibbey. “The clock is ticking and consumer goods industries need to make more than small, independent measures to reduce their overall impact. It is time to bring holistic insights to industries, and the kinds of tools that can identify data-driven solutions within the complexity of global value chains and add up to change at scale.”

Higg delivers deep data and analytics about the social and environmental impacts of businesses’ value chain operations. By utilizing its tools and services, companies can meet environmental goals faster, mitigate value chain risks, and deliver on customer expectations. “It took 10 years and significant external pressure for the fashion industry to get where it is today, finally using data to assess and address its footprint. All consumer goods industries need to move faster to address climate change and social impact, using sustainability data that is comparable and contextualized,” says Kibbey.

The high-quality data and analytics within the Higg sustainability technology platform unlock a comprehensive view of a business’ social and environmental impacts in value chain operations, from materials to products, factories to stores, across energy, waste, water, and working conditions, and deliver tools, data reports, and analytics to consumer goods industries professionals and C-Suite leaders.

“We’re at the start of what’s possible,” says Kibbey. “We started with the apparel industry, but our platform can serve other industries effectively and demonstrate that sustainable improvements are good for business. Recognizing there is no single ‘silver bullet’ and businesses are at different points in their impact reduction journeys, we’re also progressively adding new integration capabilities and data sets.”

Higg’s Impact At-a-Glance on Its Second Anniversary

• Higg represents users in 120 countries.
• Higg has seen over 70% user growth since 2019.
• There are more than 45,000 Higg users today.
• More than 500 fashion brands are committed to using the brand & retail tool.
• Manufacturer environmental scores have improved nearly 20% since 2019.
• Nearly 60,000 performance reports shared between supply chain partners since 2019.
• Factories are completing assessments faster — from 250 to 115 days.
• Nearly half of users are sharing assessments with more than one supply chain partner.

Higg is also a signatory to America Is All In, a statement from communities, businesses, and institutions calling on the Biden Administration and the U.S. Congress to prioritize a climate change agenda.

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About Higg

Higg is the sustainability insights platform for consumer goods businesses, delivering software and
services for measuring, managing, and sharing value chain performance data. Higg helps businesses take
responsibility for their entire impact – from materials to products, from factories to stores, across energy,
waste, water, and working conditions. Our tools gather and organize primary data on environmental and
social impact at each step of the value chain, providing the comprehensive intelligence needed to move
from insight to action. Built on the leading framework for sustainability measurement, Higg is trusted by
brands, retailers, and manufacturers across the globe – accelerating progress for individual businesses and
entire industries.

Media Contact
Higg
Alexandra Rosas
Senior Manager of Marketing & Communications
media@higg.com