JNA Awards 2020 - Jewellery Industry Best Practices

JNA AWARDS • 2020 51 support anti-poaching measures over five years and has established new facilities for a larger team of rangers, thus providing jobs for local communities in the process. Environmental protection A name synonymous with diamonds, De Beers Group is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. “Diamonds come from the earth and can be more than one billion years old. We are privileged to recover nature’s treasures and compelled to treasure nature for future generations,” explains David Prager, Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs of De Beers. In recent months, the group also teamed up with internationally renowned scientists for the CarbonVault project. Together, they are developing technology to speed up kimberlite’s ability to absorb carbon, removing it from the atmosphere and locking it away for millions of years. The pursuit of ecologically sound practices benefits not only nature but enterprises as well. “This isn’t just about doing the right thing. Pioneering ground- breaking programmes to protect the natural world makes business sense,” Prager says. Social responsibility Knowing that strong ethical foundations are integral to ensuring long-term success, the company is raising the bar on responsible sourcing and diamond traceability through two initiatives – GemFair and Tracr. Through its Best Practice Principles, De Beers also set stringent social and environmental guidelines in its operations, which included detailed requirements for upholding human rights and ideal labour conditions. Moreover, this is applied to the company’s direct workforce and across all 2,700 partner entities, and the 350,000 people they collectively employ. The group has also supported more than 1,000 enterprises and 10,000 people through its Tokafala and Zimele programmes in Botswana and South Africa, respectively. The company also launched an HIV Disease Management Programme in 2001, providing testing and treatment for employees and their spouses for free. As a result of this programme, no HIV- positive babies have been born to mothers receiving this treatment from De Beers Group for over 10 years. The COVID-19 crisis has strengthened the group’s resolve to take action for sustainability. “As revenue from tourism is disrupted and countries redirect funding to health and economic recovery, it is increasingly important for companies like De Beers Group to invest in and raise awareness of sustainability and conservation in a post-COVID world,” says Prager. 1. Elephants roaming the Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve, which is a part of De Beers Group’s Diamond Route in South Africa 2. A large rough diamond from De Beers Group 3. Wang Li Na, Forevermark Brand Ambassador, at the world’s first Libert’aime by Forevermark flagship store in Shanghai 4. Diamond engagement ring being worn at Forevermark’s boutique in Gaborone, Botswana 5. An employee grades a diamond using a loupe and a pair of tweezers at De Beers Industry Services in Surat, India 2 3 5 4