Higg, a sustainability insights platform located in San Francisco, has introduced a new analytics tool that makes it simple for brands and buyers to analyze and act on the environmental effect of supply chain manufacturing facilities.

This innovative software solution gives contextualized visibility into suppliers' environmental performance, identifying which ones are behind on problems such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water sourcing. The three components of the new analytics charts are overall environmental performance, water and GHG impact, and improvement opportunities.

Higg claims that the user-friendly format makes it easy for non-experts to read and saves time and resources for companies as they evaluate where to prioritize improvements to meet their unique sustainability goals, while also assisting technical experts within corporate sustainability departments in translating risks and opportunities for executive management.

Critical environmental sustainability risks and opportunities for improvement in energy sources, chemicals management, waste management, water sources, and wastewater practices may now be identified at a glance by brands and buyers.

Jason Kibbey, CEO of Higg, said that sustainability data can be quite complex. They're dedicated to assisting clients in moving beyond data collection and measurement to putting data at the fingertips of business executives so they can make better decisions faster.

Kibbey added that the need for environmental data has never been higher, but measuring and reporting isn't the final goal. To detect and manage effect, businesses require synthesized, contextualized data with usable insight into where they're performing well and where they need to focus efforts, both for individual improvement and industry-level change.

Concerning the new analytics tool, Cerian Atwell, Senior Sustainability Manager at Marks & Spencer, said that it's great to be able to understand how much of our water or energy comes from a certain source. These dashboards provide them a high-level perspective of the data, which helps them understand the broader picture. They can also rapidly identify high-risk locations and work with their facilities to enhance them.

Higg is the sole licensee of the Higg Index, a suite of tools for the standardized assessment of supply chain sustainability, which was spun out of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition in 2019 as a public-benefit technology business.