COMMITTED TO PROTECTING THE PLANET

The Higg Material Sustainability Index (MSI) provides a credible, standardized source of information on the environmental impacts of a finished product. This information helps with product labeling and providing additional information to the public and brands. The MSI is built using LCA data, but it focuses on the use of industry average datasets for their models, meaning Gore specific process improvements are not taken into account. It´s also important to note that the MSI covers a product´s environmental impact from “cradle” (or raw material) to “gate”, which in our case means the shipment of a Gore laminate to a manufacturer. This view represents a major portion of the product´s total environmental footprint but it does not reflect the benefit of a long lifetime of a product. This tool does not replace a full Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) on a specific product and should be used for directional guidance only.

The Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) provides self-assessment and independent third-party verification tools companies can use to measure and share the impacts of their activities and products. Since 2018, all three manufacturing plants of the Gore Fabrics Division have conducted an independent third-party verification on their environmental performance using the Higg FEM self-assessment. The verification reports in the areas of energy, water, emissions, waste and chemicals are shared transparently on the Higg.org platform. After each Higg FEM cycle, the Gore Fabrics Division plants screen how the recommendations of the auditors can be implemented and how we can continuously improve our environmental performance.

The Higg Facility Social & Labor Module (FSLM) is a tool to assesss the social compliance performance of manufacturing plants. In August 2019, the Gore fabrics manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China successfully underwent an independent Higg FSLM verification process with results available for our customers to review on the Higg platform. We also use the Higg FSLM for assessing our performance in our plants in Putzbrunn, Germany, and Elk Mills, USA. Verification audits will be conducted in these facilities as the verification process becomes available in those countries.