The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) has approved the first edition of a book providing due diligence guidance related to the responsible sourcing of gems and metals in the jewellery sector.

The new Responsible Sourcing Book is the latest in CIBJO’s Blue Book series of definitive industry guides for standards and nomenclature, joining the Blue Books for diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls, precious coral, precious metals and gemmological laboratories.

Designed to serve as guidance for ethical business practices and supply-chain due-diligence systems in the jewellery sector, the book is “not a definitive code of practice in and of itself and cannot be described or interpreted as a compliance mechanism or chain of custody,” noted the confederation.

Referencing the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, CIBJO’s Responsible Sourcing Book insists on compliance with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and the World Diamond Council’s System of Warranties for diamonds, and supports the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

It recommends that all participants in the industry have a responsible sourcing policy in place, and undertake due diligence on their supply chains to the best of their ability, to identify, assess and mitigate any identifiable risks in the jewellery supply chain related to human rights, labour practices, money laundering, financing of conflict and corruption.

“The philosophy that guided us in the creation of the Responsible Sourcing Book is that all participants in the jewellery business have a duty of care, and thus should conduct supply-chain due diligence to the best of their ability,” explained Gaetano Cavalieri, president of CIBJO.